Of all the people who have been inspired and won over by Jeremy Lin this past week—and that list includes teammates, opposing players, celebrities, sports writers, MSNBC pundits, Linthamist.com editors and loyal Linthamist.com readers—none have been more excited about his success than the Asian-American community. “All the Asian-American guys want to be Jeremy Lin. And all the Asian-American girls want to marry him,” graphic designer Su Nam told the Times while watching last night's game in SoHo with a group of 50 other Asian-Americans.

Many in Nam's group admitted to not being big sports fans—but it has captured the zeitgeist for them in ways they've never experienced before. “He is so much what I am,” said Stanley Lee, who is Chinese-American, Christian and athletic just like Lin. “I know what it’s like to be picked last,” he added. Some, such as Jay Kim, particularly identify with Lin's outspoken (but not in-your-face) faith: “He’s bold about his faith,” said Kim, a videographer who regularly attends church. “He’s not apologetic about it. That’s something that’s impressive to me."

Michael Luo wrote a piece for the Times trying to explain the rush of emotions that led to him getting caught up in Linsanity. Like Kim and Lee, he identifies with Lin—a Harvard grad, a second generation Chinese-American, and "one of those every-Sunday-worshiping, try-to-read-the-Bible-and-pray types." He's particularly happy that Lin seems to be avoiding the "Taiwanese Tebow" tag, which he credited to Lin's seemingly humble character:

For me, as an Asian-American, the chants of “M.V.P.!” raining down on Lin at the Garden embodies a surreal, Jackie Robinson-like moment. Just as meaningful to me as a Christian, however, is the way the broadcasters have hailed Lin as not just the “Harvard hero” but the “humble Harvard grad.” His teammates appear just as overjoyed at his success as he was. Both seem to be testaments to his character.

Lin previously spoke to NPR about being passed over in the draft, and how he felt his Asian-American heritage may have impacted his recruitment. In particular, he spoke of the stereotypes Asian players have had to deal with, and the slurs some spectators yelled at him throughout his career:

Yeah. I mean, I get Asian jokes and, you know, when other fans try to heckle us, I don't really hear from other players very much. That was more of the case when I was in high school, but in college it's mostly just the fans and they say just stuff about, you know, stereotypical jokes in terms of go play the orchestra or yell out beef and broccoli or sweet and sour chicken. And they call me sometimes, I heard Chinese import, go back to China, slanty eyes, can you see the scoreboard. So pretty much everything you can think of.

But here's some great news for all NY-area Linatics: he's not going anywhere, as long as the Knicks want him. Lin will be a restricted free agent this summer, and the Knicks can match any offer he receives without respect to the salary cap. And even if Lin can't keep his current production up, fans think he's still made an impact: “He’s already a success and made so many people proud,” said Audrey Kim, a Korean-American who works in New York University’s admissions office. “He’s such an inspiration to young Asian-Americans.”