Jeremy Lin: Knicks Star Looks Up to Tim Tebow for All the Right Reasons

It didn't take long for people to start comparing New York Knicks' surprise star Jeremy Lin to Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow.

To the best of my knowledge, people started putting the two players in the same sentence after Lin's performance against the Utah Jazz on Monday night, in which he scored 28 points and dished out eight assists. A couple days prior, he had scored 23 points and dished out seven assists against the New Jersey Nets.

Soon after the comparison started, the columns came. Bleacher Report's Bethlehem Shoals wrote a good one that's worth checking out if you haven't already. His wasn't the only one.

So, what does Lin himself think of Tebow?

Lin was asked that very question in his appearance on 95.7 the Game in San Francisco on Thursday. SportsRadioInterviews.com has a transcript of his response:

"

Actually a lot of inspiration just because he’s such a polarizing figure, but I think the things he says in interviews, his approach to the game is just unbelievable and I respect him so much.

I want to be able to do some of the things that he does in terms of the amount of charity work and the non-profit work and the way he impacts people off the field. I think that is what is most inspiring to me about him.

"

This is the kind of stuff that makes me want to roll my eyes. It doesn't get any cheesier than this.

However, this is also one of those statements that you just can't hate. As polarizing as Tebow is, he's one of the coolest dudes in America. You can hate on his play on the field all you want, but you can't utter a bad word about his person. You can't hate anybody who would look up to Tebow either.

We don't know a whole lot about him yet, but we've been told enough to know that Lin is cut from the same cloth as Tebow. He lives the good Christian life and is a model of humility.

Lin can't match Tebow's star status. Not yet, anyway. Given the way he's playing, though, superstardom is attainable. If he means to pursue it, he just has to keep getting better out on the court. It's going to take hard work.

Hard work is practically synonymous with Tebow. So are good deeds away from the field. As far as role models go, he's the total package.

Since Lin is inspired by what Tebow does on and off the field, he could also be the total package as a role model. Fans of both athletes will say we need guys like this and I'm inclined to agree. There's always going to be a shortage of true good guys in sports, so we have to cherish the ones we have.

Tebow is the most famous good guy of the bunch. He's also, if you'll pardon my bad English, the goodest good guy of the bunch.

If Lin means to give Tebow a run for his money, I say why the heck not. I'm skeptical about how long Lin will be able to stay hot, but I'm definitely rooting for the guy. If he were to become a Tebow-like superstar, nobody would be in a position to complain.

People will anyway, of course. Tebow has his haters and the same is true of Lin, despite the fact he's been famous for less than a week. 

Something tells me he could care less. He does, after all, take after Tebow.