Remembering Jeremy

The one who got away…

Everyone has that ex. The one you triumphantly ended things with after months of happiness suddenly turned sour, going from good to bad overnight like expired milk. You convinced yourself things were better off without each other, even if you didn’t have a concrete reason. You wanted a change, hoping it would somehow remedy all of the other problems bouncing around in your life, and this seemed like the quickest and easiest solution. But you were wrong, and as time passed, you only found yourself missing them even more than you could have imagined.

Today you know that the quickest and easiest solution isn’t always the best solution. Today you understand that the best things in life take time and patience to develop and blossom. Your remorse over the ill-fated decision compounded over time. Shortcuts leave the deepest wounds.

You dated around over the years, trying to find a replacement for what you had, desperately looking for an upgrade despite your inability to define exactly what needed to be better.

You missed the moments of comfort and reliability that you grew to expect and the random moments of exhilaration and joy that would surprise you when you least expected it.

You experimented with someone older and younger, familiar and completely different, even someone covered in tattoos, but after a while, you finally understood what you couldn’t at the time.

You had the best you could get. The missing piece to your puzzle. You found the one and you gave up.

One afternoon, while you’re sitting on a park bench in your favorite sweatpants and a dirty tee, a few too many days without a shave, about to unwrap and scarf down your second value menu double cheeseburger, you see them walking in the distance.

They look even better than you remember.

Clearly they’ve been working out and eating right. Is that…a new haircut?

Who the hell is holding their hand!

They look happy. Happier than they ever looked with you.

You, on the other hand, have never been worse.

Last night, Jeremy Lin came off the bench for the Charlotte Hornets and outscored every other player on the court as he led his team to a 23 point comeback victory against the San Antonio Spurs. The Hornets only scored 7 points in the first quarter of the game! With one minute left to play, they were down 88–87 to the Spurs, but 60 seconds later, Jeremy Lin had scored 4 unanswered points, lifting the Hornets to a 91–88 victory. He went 11–18 shooting to score 29 points (4–4 on three-pointers) while grabbing 7 rebounds and a couple of assists. This feat of strength is even more impressive when you consider that the Spurs have only lost 10 of the 69 games they’ve played this season and have never blown such a large lead in the history of their franchise.

By no means is Jeremy Lin a superstar, or the best player night in and night out on his team, but he is a damn fine point guard with the skills and basketball IQ needed to play the position efficiently, speckled with occasional moments of pure, unfiltered greatness.

“He was spectacular. We couldn’t stop him all night. He had a great night. He was wonderful.” — Spurs coach Gregg Popovich

You may go as far as to say he is exactly what the New York Knicks need so desperately on their team, which is about to miss the playoffs for their third consecutive season and finish with one of the worst records in the NBA for the second straight year. The failure taking place in Madison Square Garden when the Knicks take the court isn’t solely on the shoulders of Jose Calderon, Jerian Grant, or any of the point guards trying (and failing) to fill the void left by our short but sweet and oh so unforgettable LINSANITY love affair of 2012. There’s the coaching, the triangle, Carmelo Anthony, and so many other directions a finger can point, but it’s impossible to deny that the crux of the problem is at point guard!

Meanwhile, the Charlotte Hornets are 16–4 over their last 20 games with no signs of slowing down, streaking and peaking as they surge toward a potential third seed in the playoffs; a bastion of hope against Lebron James and his evil empire of the Eastern Conference.

Watching Jeremy dazzle his home team fans last night in Charlotte against the Spurs made me think back to all the good times we had together in New York when he still played for my home team. When I was still proud to call myself a fan of that home team. When a random, unheralded player from Harvard made millions of angry, cold New Yorkers fall in love with the game of basketball and the joy it could bring when played with youthful exuberance, energy, and love.

Keep shooting Jeremy, and keep smiling too. We’ll never get back together, but maybe you’re better off without us. We sure as hell miss you.

With love and regret,

Knicks fans