Jeremy Lin's journey has been multilayered. The unheralded Asian-American, Ivy League-educated athlete did much more than capture the world's spotlight as he led his team on a winning streak. He inspired us to reconsider what we do, why we do it and the meaning and purpose within it.
Lin's team play is unusual, his love and enthusiasm for basketball are inspiring, and his humility on and off the court is refreshing. He credits his opponents and honors those he "works with" to elevate all within the game. He is the ultimate competitor, free from ego and beyond fear. A knee injury that needed surgery has probably ended his season with the New York Knicks, the wins have waned and Linsanity is no longer front-page news. But he perseveres. In my opinion, Lin accepts injury and loss as part of the game and not the ultimate loss.
Our humanity begs answers to the question of what makes Jeremy Lin's story so spectacular? Is it the Harvard education? Is it his Chinese heritage as the son of immigrants from Taiwan? Is it his Christian faith? Yes, yes, and yes.
My book, "Sportuality: Finding Joy in the Games,'' examines words used in sport, that when redefined and re-considered can shift one's consciousness away from violence, hate, anger, and war, toward greater love, peace, and joy. Consider the word competition We use it to affirm our dualistic culture of "us vs. them." But its Latin root actually means "to work with."
Sportuality redefines the word community to mean "to have charge of together." It's sportual when one can feel empathic joy for one's opponents while understanding himself to be a part of a larger game.
It appears to me that Jeremy understands himself as a caretaker of the game and as a fellow competitor. He is a member of the NBA community, of the New York community, of the Christian community. We're hungry for such caretakers and uniters. We yearn to be inspired. And in this Easter season, we seek real metaphors of death and resurrection, where the Knicks experienced a resurrection and had a winning streak with Lin at point guard. Now Lin himself must come back from injury.
New York has recently acquired another evangelical Christian athlete in Tim Tebow, who was open about his faith on and off the field while with the Denver Broncos. Now the spotlight is on him in his new role on the Jets as back-up quarterback to Mark Sanchez. While both Lin and Tebow openly acknowledge their Christian faith, the difference between them is in how they acknowledge it during play. Some have taken offense when players like Tim Tebow use the playing field as an outlet for their religious practice. Others openly celebrate what they see as refreshing, unbounded and courageous. Tebow is obviously excited to be in New York and is willing to work with his new teammates. It will be worth watching to see the effect he and his demonstrative, evangelical identity have on the New York Jets and their entire community.
Sportuality asks us to find the joy in all of these games, in each of the players' stories, and in our own as fans. We all have charge of these community-based games that bind us, regardless of outcomes.
I too had a knee injury as a defining moment in my own sporting career. In my own life, I, too, have been influenced and taught by an Asian immigrant â€" my volleyball coach at the University of Michigan. He is a native of Shanghai and is my real-life hero. He never spoke of faith, but lived it on a daily basis. And 30 years after my graduation when I had reached the 500-win milestone in my own coaching career, his wisdom came again: "It's not the wins that are important. They are nice and fun, but it's the losses where you really get to teach."
I realize it was the times when I sat with my team in loss or consolation that I was able to understand and then teach the bigger picture. My outcomes aren't the national and global news that are Lin's or Tebow's, but my sportual faith tells me that these lessons have an amazing impact on me, my team and my community, extending out like ripples in a pond.
The fruits of the spirit include self-control, peace, generosity, gentleness, kindness, patience, faithfulness, love, and yes, joy. The greatest gift of sportuality is increased consciousness, a greater awareness of our connection to each other and to the Creator, the wise counsel who never stops coaching.
Jeanne Hess is a professor of physical education and women's volleyball coach at Kalamazoo College in Michigan. She can be contacted at Jeanne.hess@kzoo.edu or at www.sportualitybook.com
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