by Zettler Clay

The fervor behind him has died a little, but be not mistaken, Jeremy Lin remains as pervasive a name as they come. Today, we got another reminder as he was named by Time as one of The 100 Most Influential People in the World. U.S. Secretary of Education — and avid hooper — Arne Duncan hails that Lin’s arrival “debunks and defangs so many of the prejudices and stereotypes that unfairly hold children back”:

It’s great to see good values rewarded in professional sports because that’s not always the case. Often it’s the bling, the glam, the individual that gets celebrated — not the team and working together to advance a goal bigger than oneself. Jeremy cares only about one thing — winning. And I don’t care whether you are an Asian-American kid, white, black or Hispanic, Jeremy’s story tells you that if you show grit, discipline and integrity, you too can get an opportunity to overcome the odds.

You won’t get any argument here. Lin’s ascendance and international reverberation has been covered ad nauseum, but inspiration never gets old. No matter how many ways you slice it, we’ve been better for the few games this hitherto unknown took Madison Square Garden and the Association by storm.

And as a bonus, Lin penned Tim Tebow’s introduction in the same list.

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