The Jeremy Lin Problem

NY Times ^ | 2/16/12 | David Brooks

[Borges]

Jeremy Lin is anomalous in all sorts of ways. He’s a Harvard grad in the N.B.A., an Asian-American man in professional sports. But we shouldn’t neglect the biggest anomaly. He’s a religious person in professional sports.

We’ve become accustomed to the faith-driven athlete and coach, from Billy Sunday to Tim Tebow. But we shouldn’t forget how problematic this is. The moral ethos of sport is in tension with the moral ethos of faith, whether Jewish, Christian or Muslim.

[dead]

And his readers are as confused as he is, judging by the first comment:

"...the Bible makes clear that the strongest faith is one that is kept to oneself..."

Really? Where? The most relevant quote I know from the bible about this is:

Matthew 5:15-16
Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick;
and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works
and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

They must have a different bible.

[GeronL]

This writer is their token “conservative”, meaning he really isn’t one

[GeronL]

I am sure its not allowed in the NY Times

[Ditto]

The hardest I ever got hit as a kid plying sports was by another kid who had already declared for the Seminary.

He was a very good kid and far more devoted than I and he went on to become a Priest.

But I have to say that after he knocked me into next week, he come over and picked me up and made sure I was ok.

Despite Brooks' attempt to confuse the idea of competition with Christian values, there is absolutely no conflict here that I can see.

Probably the most deeply religious person I know of in sports is Troy Palomau of the Steelers. (I never understood why the picked on Tewbo when Polomo makes the sign of the cross on himself before and after every play)

Polomo actually has spent his off season's studying theology in a monastery in Greece... but if you happen to have the football on the field, he will knock you flat. And then he'll help you up.

[cookcounty]

I don’t think God plays favorites in sports, but I’m not necessarily a “Sports Deist” either, God could have some higher purposes in this bizarre kind of Lin/Tebow phenomenon, -—though I wouldn’t call Las Vegas just yet.

[Alberta's Child]

This article was clearly written by a guy who has never played any sports in his life.

I wonder if David Brooks ever even got into a fist fight as a kid.

[Eddie Kritzer]

Why do they insist on putting Muslim in with Judeo Christian? Wait. I know. Forget it.

[Vigilantcitizen]

I came to God and the bible through sports...my pony league baseball coach and also taught the boys Wednesday night RA meetings down at the baptist church. My parents weren’t churchgoers, and he introduced me to the bible.

On the ball field. He was tough. He was fair. He spent more time with the scrubs like me than the loaded talent at the top of the roster. He taught us to act like men win or lose. To respect the opponent. He ran his team in a Godly manner but left God off the field in words.

[color_tear]

1st of all, it is a GAME...a GAME.
2nd, Religion is a very very personal faith/feeling/emotion/belief. Nobody, even Mr. Brook can judge how Lin feels toward his belief.
3rd, I don't think Mr. brook has any ground to talk about religion because he is not a devoted believer.

I dare Mr. Brook to judge a Muslim athlete....
In USA only Christians are attacked...

[color_tear]

1st of all, it is a GAME...a GAME.
2nd, Religion is a very very personal faith/feeling/emotion/belief. Nobody, even Mr. Brook can judge how Lin feels toward his belief.
3rd, I don't think Mr. brook has any ground to talk about religion because he is not a devoted believer.

I dare Mr. Brook to judge a Muslim athlete....
In USA only Christians are attacked...

[SamuraiScot]

But ascent in the religious universe often proceeds by a series of inversions: You have to be willing to lose yourself in order to find yourself; to gain everything you have to be willing to give up everything; the last shall be first; it’s not about you.

Success in sports is based on exactly the same thing. Both are based on the life-long challenge of overcoming yourself. (Is it that you know nothing about sports? Or Christianity?)

Much of the anger that arises when religion mixes with sport or with politics comes from people who want to deny that this contradiction exists and who want to live in a world in which there is only one morality

There is only one morality. Is that why you're angry, punk?

[Getready]

The author of the article clearly has never played in any
type of childhood game. His explanation of what and why
athletes do what they do is on par with the explanations of
a smart mouthed 12 year old...the tension, the hatred, the
contradictions...the baloney....Sometimes fans just like
to see accomplished athletes perform and compete, just to
see “what if”...dude, next time try and make 10 baskets in
a row with someone else trying to prevent you from doing it...
maybe that will give you better insight into the mind of
the athlete...

[trebb]

Mr. Brooks is another lefty who doesn’t mind convoluted “reasoning” to try to quell religion. Evidently, according to him, being religious means one cannot have a warrior’s spirit and the courage and strength to be compatible with sports. Another pansy calling warriors “pansies”.

[jocon307]

I didn’t know that about Polamalu. And he has a good sense of humor too, judging by those funny shampoo ads.

[driftless2]

"missed"

It's not like he came out of mountains of Asia somewhere. He starred at Harvard and scored thirty points in a game against U-Conn...which I've seen clips of. He looked pretty impressive on those clips. But nobody drafted him. And he's 6:3 hardly undersized at point guard. There were people who knew about him. There was one analyst (can't remember his name) who thought Lin would do well in the pros, but apparently he was in the distinct minority. This shows you how good the "experts" are at evaluating talent.

[Ditto]

"I didn’t know that about Polamalu. And he has a good sense of humor too, judging by those funny shampoo ads."

Just tonight, I was talking to someone who told me a story about him. It was at a small local restaurant and Troy Polomau and his wife came in for dinner, and of course people recognized him and wanted autographs and pictures.

He politely said that he would wait outside after they had finished their dinner and sign as many autographs and take as many pictures as people wanted. Everyone there respected that request.

This person told me that after they finished she went out side to have her picture taken with him, and when she got back in and was preparing to pay her tab, was told that Palomau had already picked up the checks for everyone in the place.

Now that is a little beyond unusual for sports stars today. Many of them expect to eat for free and I have heard that many do not even leave a damn tip.

Troy is a different breed of cat... and a damn good one.