Perhaps only in New York could Jeremy Lin have become an overnight sensation. It's the 'concrete jungle where dreams are made', as the song goes, and I wonder whether Lin kept this in mind when he was sleeping on his brother's couch in the East Village, being shunted from one basketball team to another, hoping to one day get his chance to shine.
The Taiwanese-American New York Knicks player has become an inspiration for Asian-Americans, showing how far it's possible to go when an opportunity presents itself. Even Los Angeles Lakers icon Kobe Bryant had no idea who Lin was before the Knicks player led his team to a 92-85 victory over the Lakers just a month ago.
The media's initial reaction was to ask whether Lin was the new Yao Ming, but he's much more than that. Yao has certainly left big shoes for Lin to fill, but most of Lin's Asian-American fans find him easier to relate to. Standing at 190cm (compared with Yao's 229cm), he looks more like them.
'He is living proof that Asians don't need to be seven-feet tall to make it in the NBA. Lin challenges us to re-examine what is possible. He shows that any one of us can make it. It's this, above all else, that captivates us,' a fan named Ken said at a recent Knicks game in Toronto, Canada.
Also unlike Yao, Lin isn't a symbol of 'New China' but rather a 21st-century version of the American Dream - a son of immigrants who found success through hard work and determination.
'I'm happy he's a role model for Asian-Americans, who are usually under-represented. He connects with me because he's American and we have more in common. Also, it's a great story: the underdog who beat the odds to triumph,' says Brian Woo, an Asian-American living in Hong Kong.