林书豪只是中国人借来的英雄

Indeed, Mr Lin's parents might never have allowed him anywhere near the system. To put a child (usually an only child) into the Chinese sports system is to surrender his upbringing and education to a bureaucracy that demands sporting success at any cost. If a child were to be injured or fail to make the grade as an athlete, he would for nothing have been separated from his parents for lengthy stretches—and given up his chance at an all-round education, to boot. Although poorer parents from rural areas may welcome the chance for their child to attend a sports school, with the chance of upward mobility, most middle-class Chinese parents prefer to see their children focus on schooling and exams. So China almost certainly has its own Jeremy Lin, but there is no path for him to follow. 事实上，林书豪的父母也许永远不会让他参加官方的体育训练。让孩子（通常是独子）进入国家体育系统意味着将孩子的培养和教育全部交给政府，这个政府将获胜当作唯一的目标。如果孩子在训练期间受伤或者表现不理想，他所付出的代价（例如放弃受教育的机会、与长期父母分开参加训练等等）将得不到任何回报。虽然在农村的家境不好的地区，父母愿意利用这次机会把自己的孩子送入体校，因为这样有利于提高他们的社会地位。中国中等收入的家庭宁愿希望他们的孩子专注在学业和考试方面。中国也许有自己的林书豪，只不过他在当前制度下无法像林书豪那样成长。

China Central Television (CCTV), the national monopoly that usually broadcasts NBA games, has not joined in the "Linsanity", as American commentators have called the fever surrounding Mr Lin. CCTV told NetEase, a Chinese internet portal, that most Knicks games could not be shown owing to the time difference. But if the timing allows, it said, the games "will definitely be broadcast preferentially." It remains to be seen if that will happen. 中国中央电视台（CCTV）是中国的国有电视台，并经常播出NBA的比赛，但是这次他并没有加入到“林来疯”的行列。“林来疯”是美国评论者给“林书豪热”定的名字。央视告诉中国门户网站网易：由于时差关系，大多数尼克斯的比赛都没能在中国转播。但是如果时间允许的话，央视表示“一定会选择性地播出。”至于是否会播出，还要靠时间来证明。

Fortunately for Chinese sports fans, the internet provides a ready-made alternative to the state television system. Most of Mr Lin's games are being made available by live stream on the portal Sina.com. The game against Mr Yi's Mavericks was an exception, a mysterious black hole on Sina.com's NBA schedule. Frustrated Chinese fans had to go looking for dodgier streams elsewhere online. What they found was a closely fought game between the two teams, with Mr Lin again starring and leading the Knicks to victory 104-97. More poignantly, they saw their countryman, Mr Yi, remaining on the bench for the entire game, reduced to the role of spectator. As a glimpse of the Chinese sports system versus American soft power, it was perhaps deemed not fit for viewing. 中国球迷是幸运的，因特网成为了电视频道之外的首选。很多林书豪的比赛都在新浪网上直播。不过林书豪对战易建联所属的小牛队的比赛并没有显示在新浪网的赛程表上。沮丧的中国粉丝们只好通过其他并不稳定的在线直播观看比赛。球迷们发现林书豪再次闪耀赛场，尼克斯以104-97的比分赢得小牛队。与林书豪形成对比的是，易建联在整场比赛中都没能上场，沦为一个观战者。两个人的处境显示了中国体育系统与美国软实力的差距，对于中国当局来说，的确还是不看得好。