Linsanity [lin-SAN-i-tee] n. 1. a derangement of the mind brought about by New York Knicks player Jeremy Lin 2. the fervor over Jeremy Lin causing seemingly level-headed people to behave irrationally. 3. an unnatural use of bad puns incorporating the prefix "lin-."
For the past three weeks, linsanity has overtaken this country. Dispassionate basketball fans have rediscovered the game, once-cynical citizens have embraced a new hero, and the airwaves have become linundated with feel-good features, all causing the Federal government to almost grind to a halt ... (although in fairness, that seems to be a regular occurrence with our government and may not have anything to do with basketball).
Jeremy Lin is the ultimate Cinderella story, not unlike a former groundskeeper on the verge of winning the Masters. (I bet Bill Murray could play Lin in a movie. He's just that versatile.) And with the blossoming excitement, it stands to reason it would come with the requisite controversy. The phenomenon has spurred linappropriate comments, linciting anger and linspiring bad puns from commentators. (I propose that, more than anything, people are only enamored with him due to the bad pun thing.)
(Side effects of linsanity may include restless leg syndrome, shortness of breath, excessive breathing, bad breath, goose bumps, redness, bouts of racism and selected ethnic slurs, swollen tongue, itchy scalp, and puffy combs.)
Why just this past week, an ESPN copy editor was fired for using the derogatory term a "chink in the armor" when referencing the Knicks star. Similarly, a Fox Sports columnist tweeted a crude sexual innuendo about Lin. And others have opined that had the point guard been black, he would not have garnered the same attention he has as an Asian-American Harvard graduate. (It's more reasonable to claim that had the point guard been black, his name would not have been Lin.)full story >>
