Went to New York City a few weeks ago and the temperatures were in the mid-60s. Hard to think of Christmas with spring like weather, but I wanted to find a Christmas story. My favorite A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens was published way back in 1843. You remember, Scrooge gets visited by some ghosts and finds his way from being a cheapskate egomaniac to a new life embodying the Christmas spirit of giving. Could I find a story to rival the Dickens' masterpiece in some corner of Gotham, home of Wall Street bankers and subway strap-hangers?
Guess what? I found a story and it did take place in New York City. Remember Insanity? That two week period in Jan- Feb 2012 when Jeremy Lin, an Asian-American basketball player, sparked the New York Knicks to an amazing run of victories. Lin's name blazed around the world as he didn't fit the expectations of a NBA superstar. He rose from anonymity to super stardom in two weeks-- something never done before or since by anybody in a NBA uniform. Jeremy Lin has continued as an NBA player. He's having a great season with the Charlotte Hornets this year.
I watched the Netflix documentary entitled Linsanity produced by Evan Jackson Leong. The movie entertains with the life story of Jeremy Lin, the middle son of a Chinese-American family living in Palo Alto, California. My pleasant surprise, my Christmas story, happened around a minor character in the film, a fellow Knick player named Landry Fields.
Landry Fields made room in his apartment when Lin arrived in New York. Jeremy Lin, slept on a couch in Landry's place, a couch not quite long enough to contain Lin's 6' 3" frame. Coincidentally it was Landry Fields who the Knicks drafted with the 39th draft choice in Round 2, a spot Lin had high hopes of obtaining. Lin did not get drafted. Landry played at Stanford. Lin wanted to play basketball at Stanford but the coach showed no interest in giving Jeremy Lin a scholarship. Lin played at Harvard and surprised the skeptics. Lin bounced around the pros, showed some potential and found his way to the same team as Landry Fields. The two became teammates and temporary roomies.
Landry Fields impressed me in the margins of the Linsanity film. Most viewers will hardly notice him. I perceived something special in Fields' excitement and enthusiasm for Jeremy's history-making run of basketball stardom. Fields would congratulate Jeremy with chest bumps and genuine joy as Lin's last-second shots fell through the hoop. Landry's enthusiasm defied the competitive world of professional sports. For Landry there was no jealousy, no sign of holding back in the way Landry Fields shared those celebrations with Jeremy Lin.
I checked out Landry Fields on Wikipedia and noticed he has suffered injuries since his Knick days. The NBA is a tough, heartless business. You stay on the roster only if the team benefits. Your career ends when your skills diminish or you no longer serve the team's success. Landry Fields has struggled in recent years. Landry Fields does not show up on a NBA roster this year. But Landry showed the true spirit of giving in his friendship and appreciation of Jeremy Lin's meteoric rise. Landry Fields is my Christmas story
