Is There Too Much Pressure on Jeremey Lin on Being The First?

Recently Sports anchor Rick Quan had this comment on Jeremy Lin: "Really, not since Bruce Lee displayed his power in 'Enter the Dragon' have we Asian-American men had someone to rally around. Lin has given us a sense of pride."

Wow, no pressure there.

Although the rise of the Harvard grad turned New York Knicks fan favorite has captivated not just sports fans but the world, but question now is there too much pressure on Lin?

Trying to carry the Knicks on his back every night is pressure enough, but carrying the cultural weight of being the first Asian American basketball star is a blessing and curse.

The blessing comes where Lin is breaking racial barriers and being a roll for young Asian American boys and girls who now dream of playing professionally in the NBA or WNBA.

However, just like when President Obama became the first African American President, there is now an "All Eyez on Me" factor going on with young point guard, where every move he now  makes not only represents himself and his family, but Asian-Americans and Asians around world.

That's a heavy burden for a guy who was almost waived by the Knicks a few weeks ago.

The another caveat of being an overnight success is that Lin's anonymity is now gone.

Instead of sports reporters pushing past him to get to Melo or Amare after a game, cameras and digital recorders are now thrust in his face every night answering the same questions over and over again.

The Broadway street where he once walked in shadows like the Phantom of the Opera are now filled with fist bumps, autograph seekers, new family members and people trying to hitch a ride on the Linsanity bandwagon or worse yet, women trying score their on fighting moment on Basketball Wives.

But its still early in the game.

Jeremy Lin might be one those people where fame means absolutely nothing to him, where clips of his a dazzling assist or game winning shot on YouTube, only means its onto the game.

Maybe, just maybe the the cultural pressures of being the first Asian American ball player will not change Jeremy Lin at all  as he remains being the same guy who slept on his brother's couch hoping to make a shot or two in the NBA.

The only difference now is the couch is a lot nicer and shots now are a whole  lot bigger.

But I think Mr. Lin is OK with that.