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Adopting the diasporic son: Jeremy Lin and Taiwan sport nationalism

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International Review for the Sociology of Sport

Published online on

Abstract

Jeremy Lin and the resulting "Linsanity" has caused an unprecedented media and marketing frenzy worldwide. This essay examines its implication through reviewing media narratives in Taiwan, Lin’s ancestral homeland. Japanese colonizers first brought modern sports to the Taiwanese as a symbol of "civilization" and "modernity." Although "athleticism" confronts Confucian tradition, sports began to play a subtle but crucial role in the Taiwan nationalism-building process. Although sports are marginally positioned in Taiwanese culture, various regimes have used sports and physical education to integrate national identity and national morale. Taiwanese nationalism lacks self-assurance and must be recognized by its significant others. "The glory of Taiwan" has become a common phrase in contemporary Taiwan media coverage. Regardless of how trivial the issue, the Taiwanese appear desperate for every chance to prove their existence and worth. Recently, Jeremy Lin became the famous "glory of Taiwan." However, "Is Jeremy Lin Taiwanese?" raises a tricky and ambiguous question reflecting the complexity and anxiety of Taiwanese national identity. Through the lens of Linsanity in Taiwan media discourses, we argue that the Linsanity situation significantly differs from that of most Western societies. Taiwanese sportsmen, such as Jeremy Lin, became national heroes without "beating any foreign enemies." Lin’s identity has become the most important issue of Linsanity for Taiwan media discourses. In the process of exploiting Linsanity, a peculiar embodiment of sports nationalism has surfaced in Taiwan.