It's a long day and I should be winding down, but there's so much stuff running through my head. So, here are my scattered thoughts and ramblings now that Linsanity officially came to an end.

As a Lin fan

Going to Houston may not be something terrible for him. The scrutiny by the New York media that came with his sudden fame and popularity can (or have) overwhelm him and might hurt him at the end if he stayed. Also, although he's shown that he can be decent in Woodson's system, he obviously fares better in an up-tempo system. And joining a team in the company of his buddies does not sound bad no?

And I think I owe Jeremy a thank-you. It's him who brought me to the Knicks, to last season's wonderful (roller-coaster) experience as a Knicks fan, and, indirectly, to P&T. So here's my heartfelt thaaaanks.

As a Knicks fan

F*****************CK.

Who qualifies as a fan?

This is constantly being brought up as a result of the end of Linsanity in New York. Whether it's because of utter disappointment in the organization, or just the fact that their favorite player is no longer on the team, some have declared that they are severing the ties with the Knickerbockers. I know that being a fan of a certain team, as in rooting for the franchise despite changes of players, coaches, front office staff or even ownership, is common in the States; it's almost the default (albeit narrow) definition of what a fan is.

I'd like to provide another perspective. I live in Hong Kong, where we obviously have no home teams whatsoever. There are many NBA fans here but rooting for teams is very much player-oriented. A friend of mine told me he's a Knicks fan because he likes Melo, Tyson and JR (he doesn't like Lin). He's also a Clippers fan 'cause he's a huge CP3 fan. A few weeks ago he told me that if Dwight's gonna be traded to Brooklyn (at that time it's still a possibility) he's gonna be a Nets fan because he's a D-Will fan, and the presence of Dwight would make them a strong contender. My sis is a huuuuge Lakers fan because of Kobe. My cousin, who grew up in Toronto, is a Thunder fan because he likes the young Big Three. Another friend of mine likes the Celtics because of the old Big Three (now it's Two) and Rondo. And so forth. When their favorite players leave the team, they will very much likely dump the franchise altogether.

I don't think it's fair-weather or bandwagon fandom. It's just an entirely different ideology. They don't root for teams ONLY because they're contenders. I rarely see someone say bye to a team just because the team loses, so long as the players they like (99% of the time they're all-stars) are still there.

That's all. No conclusion, no insight. This could easily be my shittiest piece of writing of the year, but I'm still publishing it 'cause I want to hear your thoughts. It intrigues me when some who had been Knicks fans for decades or since they were kids (both of which I think are epic) called it quits, it triggered such strong reactions from others. So yeah.

P.S. If there's anyone who cares (no?), at this moment I'm still sticking around. I can't see myself like the old uncles, but we'll see. It's Dolan that's bugging me now more than anything else.