Jeremy Lin Rookie Card Sells for $21,580: Has Faithfulness Caused Linsanity?
It hasn't taken long for "Linsanity" to translate into numbers, and the price tag of one of Lin's collector's cards is raking in just a bit more than most rookie cards do, according to one of the latest eBay auctions. Some speculate that the player's Christian faith has a lot to do with the fan craze.
Jeremy Lin seems to have taken the whole world by a storm. The up-and-coming Knicks basketball star- who was once just grateful that he was still receiving an NBA paycheck as his performance standards seemed low- has now been credited as leading his team.
Three weeks ago, Lin wasn't even part of the team's rotation, now some believe that he may be saving the whole organization. The new "Linsanity" craze seems to have drawn people's attention back to the sport of basketball.
"What I can tell you is that seven games into King Lin's tenure, I'm more excited about the NBA than I've been since the days of Michael and Magic," Reid Forgrave wrote on Fox Sports.
Lin is also now being compared to Tim Tebow, who started his own fan craze during this year's football season. One writer believes the Linsanity has nothing to do with skill.
"The phenomenon - which speaks to how desperately we crave decent human beings to root for in sports - is their underdogness (for lack of a better word)," Jen Floyd Engel wrote on Fox Sports.
"Here are two dudes who were dismissed at various levels of their sports-playing careers for reasons ranging from racial (Lin) to mechanics (Tebow). And both guys proved everybody wrong, with a smile and a very sincere faith that makes them infinitely likable."
It is true of course, that both athletes have been extremely dedicated to their faith.
"Tebowing" began when the football player drew attention to himself by praying on field and causing a sports sensation. Lin also speaks very openly about his faith.
"I've learned how to be open and bold about my faith, but in terms of my influence, I just try to lead in a godly way," the player said while he was still playing for Harvard.
Regardless of what has started the craze, it appears that "Linsanity" is far from over.
On Thursday, one of Jeremy Lin's rookie basketball cards was sold in an eBay auction for a grand total of $21,580. The card was purchased only two weeks earlier for $1,000, a smart investment on one buyer's part.
WATCH VIDEO OF JEREMY LIN'S TESTIMONY
WATCH VIDEO OF JEREMY LIN PRAISING GOD FOR A VICTORY