Does Jeremy Lin’s popularity signal a post-hype world?

February 22, 2012

Photo by Anthony J. Causi/Icon/Corbis

“Linsanity” over New York Knicks basketball star Jeremy Lin is refreshingly free of hype, Jason Gay wrote for The Wall Street Journal yesterday. Hype is when you can buy a personalized jersey or action figure before the athlete has started playing, he said, adding that such attempts are annoying and mostly fail to inspire.

Bucking established trends, the “Linsanity” phenomenon is too fast, fluid and authentic for traditional promotional machinery, Gay said. Since the injury-plagued team named Lin a starter on Feb. 6, the 23-year-old has galvanized fans with his energetic game.

Lin’s ascension from an undrafted benchwarmer to media darling skipped the formulaic paths to glory, in which an athlete does something exciting and then marketers build a myth around it. Gay wrote that Lin “is 0 to 100 mph, with no stop on Madison Avenue or Beverly Hills” — a reversal of the last decade’s manufactured celebrities.

Meanwhile, as the New York Post reported today, Lin’s agent has received hundreds of requests from companies who want endorsement deals with the player. Despite the interest, the Post noted that “his inner circle [is] passing on easy money and quick deals to seek opportunities that will fit his squeaky-clean image.”  — Greg Beaubien

 

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