Jeremy Lin. Tim Tebow. Jerry Sandusky. Bernie Fine. What all four of these men have in common are that they have served as role models at one point in time. The world of sports gives people in power a great deal of influence over the public. They and their team’s every moves are documented by all sorts of media, beyond ESPN.
Jeremy Lin and Linsanity took New York City along with the rest of the nation by storm when the former Harvard guard and NBA journeyman turned into the star point guard for the New York Knicks. His story was documented by many publications, expressing a sort of rags-to-riches, defying all odds story that intrigued more than basketball fans, Asian Americans, and Christians but also every underdog listening. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/08/sports/basketball/jeremy-lin-has-burst-from-nba-novelty-act-to-knicks-star.html?sq=jeremy%20lin&st=cse&adxnnl=1&scp=5&adxnnlx=1328995385-SyqaubwAYOytTJRKXAa2WA What Lin has done plenty of in NY has sold jerseys, drive Time Warner Cable to broadcast MSG, and brought many Asian Americans and Christians together to watch Linsanity. Despite the firing of Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni and the lessening role of Lin in the Knicks system his value continues to thrive. http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2012/03/25/jeremy-lins-brand-thriving-with-knicks-new-coach/
Tim Tebow and Tebowmania has long been in brew. Since his days at Florida University, leading their football team to a national championship as a freshmen and then becoming the first sophomore to win the highest honor in college sports, the Heisman trophy, Tebow has become an increasingly house-hold name. Once he was drafted in the first round, beyond all expectations, of the NFL draft the devout Catholic prepared to be a starting quarterback in the league. After much struggle, Tebow lead an improbable winning streak and won a playoff game for the Denver Broncos this year. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/11/opinion/sunday/bruni-tim-tebows-gospel-of-optimism.html?scp=40&sq=tebow&st=cse http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/08/sports/football/in-tebow-debate-a-clash-of-faith-and-football.html?scp=39&sq=tebow&st=cse Trends and sayings like “Tebowing” http://espn.go.com/blog/high-school/new-york/post/_/id/600/students-suspended-for-tebowing and “Tebow time” blew up the Twitter world. Tebow’s switch to the New York Jets this past week has brought Tebowsanity to New York. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/25/sports/football/the-tebow-party-moves-its-big-tent-east.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=the%20tebow%20party&st=cse
Jerry Sandusky, the former assistant coach of the Penn State football team, a team that programs nationwide modeled for its way to breed a “family” has been accused on several counts of sexual abuse. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/09/penn-state-scandal-timeline-jerry-sandusky_n_1084204.html?ref=jerry-sandusky http://espn.go.com/ncf/topics/_/page/penn-state-scandal Alongside one of the greatest football coaches of all time, Joe Paterno, who past shortly after the end of this year’s football season and the break of the scandal, Sandusky took down a once revered program. He also unfortunately took with him the reputation of Joe Pa. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/23/sports/ncaafootball/joe-paterno-leaves-a-complicated-legacy.html?ref=joepaterno
Bernie Fine, similarly to Sandusky chipped away at Syraucse’s reputation as the former assistant basketball coach at one of the top programs in the country was also accused of sexual abuse. http://espn.go.com/new-york/story/_/id/7288286/bernie-fine-fired-syracuse-orange-amid-molestation-allegations Although his case is not as firm in belief of all the allegations as the Penn State man’s is, Fine’s situation certainly is not a clean one. He too hurt the reputation of a great coach, Jim Boeheim although it seems it has not dented his armor nearly as much as it has with Joe Pa. This case followed the outbreak of the Sandusky case, possibly diminishing some of the shock that came from the first scandal.
All four of these sports figures have played an intricate role in both the sports sphere along with the general public. Lin and Tebow both bring new followers to sports with the thrill they provide viewers with their will to win and the reason they got there. Everyone (Americans) likes a winner, and everyone (Americans) loves a winner who is an underdog. Linsanity won over the hearts of NBA viewers and Tebow Mania changed Mountain West Time to Tebow Time. When walking into Sports Authority today I walked into a store filled with green Tebow jerseys, just days after his trade to New York and months away from the NFL season, and blue and orange Lin jerseys celebrating his success. These two athletes, despite not being the most gifted ones on their respective teams certainly are doing one thing, selling. Underdogs seem to sell in this capitalist society. In contrast to these two superstars, Sandusky and Fine, assistants to great programs brought down not only their own reputation but their respective university's reputation. Programs like that of the family oriented Penn State and the always successful Syracuse are ones not only students and alumni look up to but also children in pursuit of their own goals. There are many traits associated with a sports star or sports team and these traits can drive or hurt people’s day’s, outlooks and morals, along with the economies need for business.
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