Jeremy Lin: NY Knicks Star's Insane Jersey Sales Are Product of Media Hype

It's tough to remember a phenomenon sweeping through the sports world quicker than Linsanity did just a few short months ago. After riding the pine for the first part of the season, point guard Jeremy Lin stepped in for the New York Knicks and captivated the sports world. Because of that, it should come as no surprise that his jerseys sold like hotcakes.

According to CNBC business analyst Darren Rovell, Lin had the second-highest-selling jersey in the league this season behind the reigning MVP, Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose.

Since Linsanity was red hot for several weeks it isn't a surprise to see him that high on the list. When you consider that he hardly played for the first month of the season, yet still beat out the likes of teammate Carmelo Anthony, Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant and Miami Heat star LeBron James in jersey sales, though, it's quite incredible.

There is no doubt Lin was a nice story for a while, but he has since gotten injured and wasn't fitting into the Knicks system too well following the firing of former head coach Mike D'Antoni in favor of Mike Woodson. There is a real chance Lin may never again be a starter in the league and that his hot stretch was an aberration, so he has the media to thank for his popularity.

Lin was a bit of a novelty act as his status as an Asian-American player made him an extremely rare commodity, and coupled with the fact that he was playing in New York City, he was bound to get some attention. If not for the mainstream media covering him ad nauseum, though, there is no way he would have risen to such heights and sold so many jerseys.

It's tough to blame the media for covering Lin since he was obviously a hot topic, but you have to wonder if the coverage would have been the same if he were a white or African American player for the Milwaukee Bucks or a similar small-market team. I tend to say it wouldn't have been, as Lin and his situation happened to create the perfect storm.

However, Linsanity is all but over and he will go back to being a bench player in the future, so it is highly unlikely we will see him this high on the jersey sales list ever again. When you consider the fact that there are Hall of Fame-caliber players all around him on that list, it lends credence to the theory that stars can be manufactured.

As much as we like to say that news can easily be avoided, it was impossible to avoid seeing stories and images of Lin this season if you watched or read anything related to sports. It wouldn't be a stretch to call Lin one of the biggest sudden sports stories of the past decade, and it's clear fans ate it up as they came out in force to buy his jersey.

We may never see this type of story again as it isn't every day that a minority player comes from out of nowhere and produces at an insane clip for one of the biggest franchises in the sport. In a lot of ways, Lin transcended basketball this season, and his jersey sales reflect that as it's doubtful that only Knicks fans were buying his No. 17 threads.

Years from now fans may look back and view Lin as nothing more than a career role player, but it will be impossible to forget the impact that he made this season, even though it was ultimately for a short amount of time. Even if Lin's career is all downhill from here, owning his jersey will be a conversation piece in the future as the media may have succeeded in making him a star forever.