Classic Rant #669 (February 6, 2012): Stupid Bowl To Possible Cinderella Story

Now that the Stupid Bowl ... err, Super Bowl--is over, maybe the world can get back to normal.

I didn't watch a single minute of the game, really don't care about football, and congratulate the New Jersey Giants ... err, New York Giants for their victory.

In fact, my wife and I watched the film "Moneyball," a film about baseball and really about life, instead. It was the perfect film to watch when the rest of the world is losing their sanity about a game that 90 percent of them could really care less about.

Funny how betting and parties makes most everyone a football fan. I bet most of those people don't even know what the line of scrimmage is.

And now we can move on.

Oh, that's right, I forgot, the parade in New York City for a New Jersey-based team that left New York City decades ago is on tap for tomorrow.

Boy, New York City is sure a friendly town, holding a parade for a New Jersey-based team.

But anyway, I saw a New York team that plays in New York play this weekend.

Yes, I went to a Knicks game with my son, and we saw a great game, probably the most important game of the year for the NBA team.

They beat the New Jersey--until next year, when they become the Brooklyn--Nets by a score of 99-92, and we might have seen the birth of a new star in the name of one Jeremy Lin.

Lin has been a journeyman player during his short career. Only recently signed by the Knicks, he might be a focal point of one of the great Cinderella stories in New York sports history if he can do what he did on Saturday night on a regular basis.

The Knicks, who were supposed to be a powerhouse this year, have been downright terrible. They had lost two straight tough games and have been perennial losers the past few weeks, and the shine that the Giants put upon the city was not rubbing off on the lowly Knicks, who continued to lose.

One main reason is that the Knicks do not have a point guard, or the player who sets up the other players on offense.

Without a point guard, players simply stand around, and without dedicated ball movement, the offense goes static.

The Knicks had two point guards--Chauncey Billups and Raymond Felton--but through various deals and trades, those guys are gone.

The Knicks were losing again, and losing badly to the also lowly Nets. The Knicks were down 12 points in the first quarter, and it looked like another dismal showing for the team.

Then came Lin.

Coach Mike D'Antoni, who I swear would have been fired if the Knicks didn't win this game, inserted Lin during the second quarter, more out of desperation than anything else.

And Lin clicked.

He ended up scoring 25 points and most importantly, registered seven assists.

That is what a point guard is supposed to do, and it appears the Knicks may have had one buried on the bench all of this time.

Lin is an interesting story. He is just the second NBA player of Chinese-American heritage. The other one played during the NBA's inaugural season in 1948, so there's nearly a 65-year gap.

And Lin played his college ball at Harvard, of all places.

He went undrafted, and when he finally caught the eye of the NBA, he was let go by two other teams before being signed by the Knicks a few weeks back to take up bench space. They even demoted him to the developmental league, their minor league system, to add polish to this guy before he got bed sores.

So Saturday's game was the game of this young player's life.

It also brought life to the newly refurbished Madison Square Garden, which had been more like a mausoleum than an arena lately as the losses piled up.

Fans were chanting his name, the place was loud, and you could have sworn you were at a playoff game, not just another regular season contest.

Nobody is expecting this kid to have another game like this, but even if he doesn't, he made my and my son's evening something special the other night. And the same can be said for the nearly 20,000 other fans who were there that night, and millions of others watching on television at home.

Maybe it is the first coming of a major star on the horizon, maybe not.

The last time something like this happened to the Knicks, it was with John Starks, who became a mainstay with the Knicks teams of the 1990s, teams that never won a championship but came close numerous times.

But New York loves underdogs, and maybe Lin is that guy, and with football season mercifully over, maybe the light can shine on him, and the Knicks ... until baseball season begins soon.

JE-RE-MY! JE-RE-MY!

And yes, people wanted to buy his basketball shirt after the game, but none were to be had. You can bet that at tonight's game, you will be able to get them.

And just imagine. If this guy does become a star, he couldn't do it in a better place. With New York's huge Asian population--and Chinatown just blocks away from the Garden--this guy could be the biggest thing since Hideki Matsui played for the Yankees.

I wish him well. The Knicks need some spark, and this unlikely sparkplug might be just what they needed.

Sometimes, you really can't see the forest for the trees.