Friday 26 October 2012

The White Mamba

Selected in the second round of the 2001 NBA Draft, Brian Scalabrine played 11 seasons in the NBA with 3 different teams. With career statistics of 3.1 points and 2 rebounds per game, Scalabrine was largely considered a non-factor by fans and fellow players. As a joke, fans mockingly proclaim his greatness by giving him the nickname the "White Mamba", which is derived from the "Black Mamba", the nickname of superstar Kobe Bryant. Additionally fans propose outlandish scenarios involving Scalabrine such as featuring him in trade proposals in exchange for the game's marquee players or claiming him to be the "god" of basketball.

Background

The New Jersey Nets selected Brian Scalabrine in the second round of the NBA Draft. Playing on a championship calibre team alongside all-stars Jason Kidd and Vince Carter, Nets' management had hoped Scalabribe would improve over time. However, before his first season had even begun, Scalabrine had already injured himself twice in training camp, resulting in him missing the majority of his two seasons in the league (Robbins 2001). He recovered in time for the NBA play-offs both seasons as the Nets made back-to-back finals appearances. By his forth season (his contract year), his statistics improved to 6.3 points and 4.5 rebounds, sparking enough interest from other teams such as the Boston Celtics. The Celtics, who were desperate at the time for a young player at the forward position, took a gamble and signed Scalabrine to a 5-year deal (Springer 2005). However, by 2008 the Celtics coaching staff grew increasingly reluctant to play Scalabrine and during the finals series he was not used at all  (Johnson 2011). The Celtics won the NBA championship that season. And despite winning a championship ring with the team, Scalabrine did not play a single minute during the 2008 NBA Finals. Fans and analysts questioned why he was deserving of a 5 year - $15 million dollar contract, let alone an NBA championship (King 2009 & Payne 2009). The warm response he received in New Jersey quickly transformed into jeers in Boston (King 2009). It was also during this time that fans begun to sarcastically proclaim his "greatness".








With continued decline in his playing time and his performances, the Celtics chose not to renew Scalabrine's contract. In the 2010-11 season, he was signed by the Chicago Bulls to a veteran's minimum salary and as expected he was used sparingly, appearing in only 18 games throughout the 82 game regular season (Wojnarowski 2010). This only fuelled basketball fans into further mockery of Scalabrine. His non-factor in games along with his sub-standard statistics inadvertently made Scalabrine one of the most popular players in the NBA. As a result, memes about Scalabrine also became increasingly popular and continue to evolve. 
















Discussion concerning Scalabrine begun as early as his first year in the NBA. Perhaps it was not justified at the time given it was his first few seasons in the league since it would have been difficult to predict his development as a player. By the 2008 NBA Finals, Scalabrine jokes were being spread within different mediums on the internet such as comment spaces on YouTube and basketball related websites. And as technology continued to evolve, so did jokes about Scalabrine, spreading onto nearly every medium on the internet, most notably meme communities on Facebook. 

And like Jeremy Lin and the Linsanity phenomenon  it is difficult to explain Scalabrine's online popularity without resorting to stereotypes. It is perhaps with truism that his enthusiastic mannerisms in cheering on his team mates from the sideline are amusing for fans, but that is only among a host of reasons he became viral as a meme on numerous occasions on the internetA career that spanned 11 seasons which included a 5 year- $15 million dollar contract on a player who was the penultimate 12th man on any team that he was a part of, was perhaps justifiably mocked by fans. There is also another factor to consider, his race. In the premier basketball competition in the world, the NBA, Caucasian players are a minority making up only 18% of total players in the 2011-12 season (Lapchick 2012, 4). And within the minority crop of white players, very few have reached the pinnacle of the sport compared to their African-American counterparts. And also within the minority of Caucasian players, very few have red hair, as comical as it may sound; Scalabrine's fiery red hair has been an integral aspect in his immense popularity. Scalabrine never put up big numbers during his career, nor was he expected to, fans and industry insiders knew he had little to offer on the court. Yet, the consistent mockery of him by fans through the countless internet memes has inadvertently transformed him into a real life cult hero. The trend has spread from commenting about his non-factor on the court to posting video highlights of him. Comments on these highlight reels often convey a sense of approval despite the majority of them being clips of him committing errors or being outplayed by an opponent. These sentiments have transferred to real-life events where chants of "MVP" for him have become common trends during basketball fixtures.  





Despite the fact he is no longer a competitive basketball player, Scalabrine memes consistently remains present within meme communities on the internet. And perhaps, if it were not for all the viral memes that made a mockery of him, he would not have been as popular as he is today. After announcing his retirement from professional basketball, Scalabrine, without any prior broadcasting experience, was hired by broadcast network Comcast to provide "expert" commentary for Boston Celtics basketball matches for the upcoming season (Friedell 2012). Additionally the NBA also released a video package paying tribute to the career of Scalabrine. The NBA's media synergy has traditionally focused on marketing the game's elite performers, promoting the classical sporting myths of achieving greatness through hard work and determination. Yet, they shifted away from this trend and appropriated the consensual sentiment of mockery towards Scalabrine. Perhaps there is no denying that Scalabrine worked equally as hard as his more popular contemporaries. However, his playing style and career statistics suggest he was no more than a less-than-average player. And yet, the NBA chose to craft an advertising package focusing on an internet favourite, who embodies the precise opposite of the distinct images of male masculinity the league has traditionally favoured. 




















These themes coincide with Shifman's typology for analysing memes. Particularly the aspect of flawed masculinity. The memes depicts a theme where the men fail to meet the expectations of masculinity that contemporary society have become accustomed to, in appearance, behaviour or performance (Shifman 2011, 190). The fiery haired, pale skinned and non-muscular physique of Brian Scalabrine fails to represent the Western ideals of a male idol. Additionally, his less than impressive playing style and statistics further emphasises his flawed masculinity. We live in a world where players like Scalabrine are mock cheered for their [lack of] accomplishments and his lack of athletic prowess because people can not seem to understand his worth, believing he is undeserving of his position on the team. Conversely, we also live in a society where players like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant are revered by the masses as heroes, marked by their achievements on the basketball court. It is perhaps this very notion where we are constantly being encouraged to embrace the extraordinary while at the same time reject the ordinary, in which fans have invoked their own version of a "hero". According to Shifman, the consistent theme of flawed masculinity can be seen as an extreme manifestation of contemporary representations of men within mass media (Shifman 2011, 190). Scalabrine memes can be interpreted as a response to the mass marketed images of the over achieving athlete, in which the memes present a far-from-perfect man who fail to fulfil basic expectations in their appearance and performance. Such themes embody a distinct rebellion against professionally crafted star images of hegemonic masculinity and yet at the same time creating new ideologies, providing a unique insight into the psyche of contemporary sport fans. 

The rise of social media and the encouragement of participation that is embedded within it have thrust memes into the daily interactions of web users. It is a phenomenon that deserves our attention. On Facebook alone, there are meme communities for just about everything, from sports to entertainment, from schools to local landmarks and from global events like the Olympics to cultural movements such as gay rights. Similar trends are happening in the world of politics. In response to actor / director Clint Eastwood's criticisms of the Obama government by comparing President Obama to a empty wooden chair, Obama's advisers responded by posting a image on Twitter and Facebok, showing the president sitting at the cabinet table accompanied by the caption "This seat's taken" (Singer 2012). The meme went viral and was the most tweeted during the National Republican Convention, the rallying event of the opposition party. 


"Texts from Hillary" is a Tumblr website that features images of Hilliary Clinton, in her sun glasses, using her mobile phone. The images are connected to photographs of a host of celebrities and political figures, portraying the impression of a back-and-forth conversation between them and Hillary Clinton. Perhaps the most interesting meme from the website is the "conversation" between Clinton and Barack Obama which shows the President laying down on a couch texting on his mobile phone accompanied by the caption "Hey Hill, Whatchu doing?" Clinton responds, "Running the world" (Parker 2012). Whilst the meme may just be another example of the satirical humour that has become so common on the internet, it is also an indication of people's impression of her. The meme went viral and created a buzz among voters, not only signifying her popularity as a possible presidential candidate in 2016 but also the impact viral memes can have. 



Clearly, memes have become a convenient, fun and interesting way for people to converse, debate and bond over similar interests. However, the effects on industries are potentially much greater. Industry administrators may not be particularly pleased that memes may present a negative view of their organisations and equally, star athletes and other culturally prominent figures may not be too happy that memes perceive them in ways that works against their professionally crafted star images. Furthermore, in some cases, by using photographs of everyday normal people as stock images, meme-creators could be inadvertently violating the privacy of certain individuals. A further exploration of the positions fans take when making memes, whether they are creating or exhibiting respect for the less than perfect protagonist , is crucial for understanding the implications of contemporary fandom and the potential influences it can have on athletes, fans and the industry in a digital environment where impression can turn into perception within an instant.


Friedell, Nick. 2012. "Report: Brian Scalabrine retires." Accessed October 17th. http://espn.go.com/chicago/nba/story/_/id/8345043/report-chicago-bulls-brian-scalabrine-retiring-boston-celtics-broadcast-booth.


Johnson, K.C. 2011. "Scalabrine still finds ways to contribute: 'No one has been to the Finals more and played less than me!'." Accessed October 8th. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-05-21/sports/ct-spt-0522-bulls-scalabrine-brian-ch20110521_1_brian-scalabrine-tom-thibodeau-pick-and-roll.


King, Jay. 2009. "Chubby, Slow, But Finally Useful: Brian Scalabrine's Player Capsule." Accessed October 3rd. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/182170-chubby-slow-but-finally-useful-brian-scalabrines-player-capsule.


Lapchick, Richard. 2012. The 2012 Racial and Gender Report Card: National Basketball Association. Vol. 2012: The Institute for diverstiy and ethics in sport
Shifman, Limor. 2011. "An anatomy of a YouTube meme." New Media & Society 14 (2): 187 - 203.


            Parker, Suzi. 2012. "Hillary Clinton is finally hip, thanks to a meme." Accessed October 17th. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/post/hillary-clinton-is-finally-hip-thanks-to-meme/2012/04/12/gIQALzOODT_blog.html.



Payne, Greg. 2009. "Brian Scalabrine Could Have a Breakout Season." Accessed October 5th. http://www.celticsblog.com/2009/10/13/1080650/brian-scalabrine-could-have-a.


Robbins, Liz. 2001. "A Healthy Nets Team Is Too Much to Wish For." Accessed October 5. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/27/sports/pro-basketball-a-healthy-nets-team-is-too-much-to-wish-for.html.

Singer, Paul. 2012. "Obama gets most retweets of the GOP convention." Accessed October 18th. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2012/09/obama-tweet-chair-gop-romney-eastwood/1#.UH93hMXMixw.



Springer, Shira. 2005. "Celtics agree with free agent Scalabrine." Accessed October 5th. http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2005/07/08/celtics_agree_with_free_agent_scalabrine/.

Wojnarowski, Adrian. 2010. "Bulls invite Scalabrine to training camp." Accessed October 3rd. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ys-scalabrinebulls092110.








Tuesday 16 October 2012

Linsanity

Linsanity is the nickname of Houston Rockets point guard Jeremy Lin. More precisely, the nickname was coined in February 2012 by the NBA fan community, as a Twitter hash tag after a string of strong performances against the game's elite players.

Background



The New York Knicks claimed Lin off free agency at the end of 2011 to serve as a reserve point guard. He was designated as a forth-string point guard on the team's depth chart, meaning he would only see minutes on the court if players ahead of him were unable to compete (Brennan 2012). It also meant he would likely have been released by the Knicks once starting point guard Baron Davis and second-string point guard Iman Shumpert recovered from their injuries (Brennan 2012). In the start of February 2012, with extended injury setbacks to Davis and third-string backup Toney Douglas, Lin was thrust into the limelight by coach Mike D'Antoni (Beck 2012). In his first four career starts, Lin averaged 27.3 points, 8.3 assists and 2.0 steals, culminating in a career high 38 point performance matching up against superstar Kobe Bryant (Pedulla 2012). To put into perspective, Lin's feats from his third, forth and fifth career starts were the highest statistics ever in the history of the NBA, surpassing records set by all-time greats Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal (Smith 2012).

His fast-paced, highly-intense style of play quickly became a trending topic among NBA fan communities, who dubbed the new phenomenon "Linsanity", a pun on his surname. According to Twitter, the Linsanity hashtag trended and peaked on the evening of February 10th 2012, after the Knicks' unexpected victory over league powerhouse the Los Angeles Lakers in which Lin scored a career high 38 points while matching up against Kobe Bryant (Flegenheimer 2012).

Fans, journalists and industry insiders on social media collectively examined his stats, created humoristic memes among a host of tidbits to further burnish his growing legend, and praise his virtues as both a player and a individual (Gregory 2012 & Mahoney 2012). The Linsanity hash tag would also inspire a host of memes that would spread not just within online basketball fan communities but also within networks unrelated to basketball, such as communities advocating Taiwanese independence, the Christian religious faith, Asian culture, and it has even inspired rap tributes from rap artists on YouTube.














The Linsanity catchphrase has also inspired memes featuring Jeremy Lin. They range from featuring other Lin related puns to cultural stereotypes about Asians. The diversity of which is perhaps more robust than memes concerning other basketball stars. 















Perhaps the most popular extension of Linsanity has been the "Linning" meme. Linning was a pre-game handshake performed by Jeremy Lin and former Knicks team mate Landry Fields (Newcomb 2012). The handshake composed of signs that made connection to both player's roots as believers of the Christian faith and graduates of prestigious American universities (Lin graduated from Harvard and Fields graduated from Stanford). The final pose of the handshake comprises of Lin and Fields putting on "nerd" glasses and it is that particular frame that has captured the attention of not just basketball fans but those who are familiar with popular cultural trends (Ferenstein 2012). Linning has been the subject of discussions and articles throughout different communities of the internet, from basketball fan forums to economic and political commentaries. 





More significantly Linsanity has also spawned several websites devoted to specific aspects of the phenomenon. For example, Jeremylingo.com is a website that shares accompanied by Lin related puns. Linstagr.am is a picture sharing portal that is a replica of Instagr.am network (Davis 2012). As the name suggests, Linstagr.am is a picture sharing network that allows users to submit any images that has relation to Linsanity, ranging from Jeremy Lin t-shirts to images of the player himself. Linning.com is another picture sharing site that allows users to circulate images of them performing the nerdy glasses hand sign that has been made famous by Lin (Ferenstein 2012) . 





Lin's on court success and his overwhelming online popularity has also translated into success for him in the real world. He has been dubbed the "One-Man Global Economic Stimulus Package" by Forbes magaizne and has been named among the "Top 100 Most Influential People in the World" by Time Magazine (Rishe 2012 & Duncan 2012). The internet-borne phrase Linsanity has been used to create a host of merchandise related to Lin. They range from sporting goods to mobile phone protectors and from ice cream to marijuana, carrying the Linsanity moniker. His success has also impacted the industry of basketball in general, most notably his former team the New York Knicks. During the first week of Lin's Cinderella run, Madison Square Garden (the Knicks' home court) shares rose 6 percent ($228 million) to an all-time high (Young 2012). At the time Lin had only been paid $48,000 of his minimum wage contract, meaning he had bought the Knicks a 474,000% profit in his first week as an NBA starter. During this off-season, the day the Knicks decided not to match the Houston Rockets' contract offer to Lin, MSG (Madison Square Garden) shares plummeted $93 million U.S dollars on the New York Stock Exchange (Madden 2012).









On one spectrum Jeremy Lin captured the world's imagination because his meteoric rise affirms the ultimate sporting dream. As stated in a Sports Illustrated article, he succeeded "against all odds" with hard work, determination and persistence (Beck 2012). He was touted as the ultimate underdog by the media and he captured the attention of fans not only because of his on-court talents but his modesty and morality off the court. The Linsanity is arguably one of the biggest phenomenons in the history of basketball even surpassing the hype of Michael Jordan's record breaking feats. Jordan played in an era while networked communication was at its infancy while Linsanity is occurring in amidst of a digital revolution. 

However, despite leading his high school basketball team to the California state championship and winning player of the year honours, Lin received no athletic scholarship offers from American universities (Gregory 2009 & Bolch 2012). Instead, with an impressive grade point average (GPA), he was accepted into Harvard as a academic who later made the basketball team. He broke Ivy League basketball records during his Harvard tenure, yet was overlooked in the NBA draft by all 30 teams (Reily 2012). Arguably, Lin's talents were ignored because of the traditional stereotypes of Asian men as weak and athletically inferior. Whilst the Linsanity phenomenon can be considered as something new in the world of sport, Lin's story and how people interpret it follows a somewhat distinct pattern, of racial and cultural stereotypes and this notion and is also emphasised within the memes created about him. Even though the majority of memes convey support for him, most of them appropriate a racial stereotypical tone. 

Lin's meteoric rise to stardom and the overwhelming support for him from the plethora of communities that make up online basketball fandom raised various issues concerning the operational methods of the basketball industry and also society's traditional ideologies. 

His feats on the basketball court raised concerns regarding the American college basketball system. More specifically how an entire industry of talent scouts and team officials bypassed a player of his calibre and potential. Lin's high school basketball coach Peter Diepenbrock, believed race may have hindered his opportunities at a pro career (Bolch 2012). He was quoted as saying, "If [Lin] was African-American or Caucasian, it might have been a different deal" (Bolch 2012). 

Fan created Jeremy Lin memes are intended for supporting him, yet, they also reflect the prominent social ideologies that exist within society, reminding us of the prejudice with which Asians have often been depicted within Western culture. What all of the Lin memes have in common is that they all make reference to his race such as his facial expressions and physical appearance. Other memes associate him with classic Asian stereotypes such as the importance of academic excellence within Asian culture, the consensual view of Asians as "bad drivers" or the notion that all Asians appear to look the same. Whilst his on-court success has garnered him the worldwide attention of basketball fans, the memes suggest the dominant theme is actually Lin's "Asian-ness"- the sense of surprise at his success in a sport that has historically been dominated by African-American athletes. 




























References

Beck, Howard. 2012. "At the Buzzer, It’s All Lin." Accessed September 18th. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/15/sports/basketball/at-the-buzzer-its-all-jeremy-lin-as-knicks-edge-raptors.html?_r=2&ref=basketball.

Beck, Howard. 2012. "Lin Sparks Knicks, to Crowd’s Delight and D’Antoni’s Relief." Accessed September 19th. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/sports/basketball/lin-leads-knicks-over-nets.html?_r=1.

Bolch, Ben. 2012. "Jeremy Lin's high school coach says race hindered opportunities." Accessed September 13th. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2012/02/jeremy-lins-high-school-coach-says-race-hindered-opportunities.html.

Brennan, Sean. 2012. "Harvard grad Jeremy Lin claimed off waivers by NY Knicks; Asian-American guard offers backcourt insurance." Accessed September 20th. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/harvard-grad-jeremy-lin-claimed-waivers-ny-knicks-asian-american-guard-offers-backcourt-insurance-article-1.997304.

Chu, Bryan. 2012. "Asian Americans remain rare in men's college basketball." Accessed September 17th. http://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Asian-Americans-remain-rare-in-men-s-college-3258007.php.

Davis, Zach. 2012. "#LINSANITY MEETS INSTAGRAM WITH LINSTAGR.AM." Accessed September 19th. http://tech.co/linstagram-2012-02.


Duncan, Arne. 2012. "TIME 100: The List." Accessed October 15th. http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2111975_2111976_2111945,00.html.


Ferenstein, Greg. 2012. "Jeremy Lin Now Has His Own Meme: Linning." Accessed September 18th. http://whatstrending.com/2012/02/jeremy-lin-meme-lining/.

Flegenheimer, Matt. 2012. "A Player’s Rise, Charted on Twitter." Accessed September 17th. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/nyregion/jeremy-lins-rise-charted-in-tweets.html.

Gregory, Sean. 2009. "Harvard's Hoops Star Is Asian. Why's That a Problem?" Accessed September 14th. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1953708,00.html.

Gregory, Sean. 2012. "It’s Official: Linsanity Is for Real." Accessed September 19th. http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2012/02/11/its-official-linsanity-is-for-real/.

Madden, Lance. 2012. "Jeremy Lin Signed With Houston, MSG Stock Plummets $93 Million." Accessed September 16th. http://www.forbes.com/sites/lancemadden/2012/07/20/jeremy-lin-signed-with-houston-msg-stock-plummets-93-million/.

Mahoney, Brian. 2012. "Linsanity: Knicks benchwarmer becomes a star." Accessed September 20th. http://news.yahoo.com/linsanity-knicks-benchwarmer-becomes-star-184355068.html.

Newcomb, Tim. 2012. "Oh Great, Now ‘Linning’ Is Becoming a Meme." Accessed September 20th. http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/02/14/oh-great-now-linning-is-becoming-a-meme/.

Pedulla, Tom. 2012. "Even Kobe impressed by 'Lin-sational' Knicks." Accessed September 19th. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/story/2012-02-09/Lins-third-career-high-in-a-row-leads-Knicks-past-Lakers/53045018/1.

Reilly, Rick. 2012. "How do you like me now?" Accessed September 17th. http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/7574087/overlooking-jeremy-lin.


Rishe, Patrick. 2012. "Jeremy Lin: A One-Man, Global Economic Stimulus Package." Accessed October 12th. http://www.forbes.com/sites/prishe/2012/02/15/jeremy-lin-a-one-man-global-economic-stimulus-package/.

Smith, Sekou. 2012. "“LINSANITY” … FIVE AND COUNTING!" Accessed September 18th. http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2012/02/12/linsanity-five-and-counting/.

Young, Royce. 2012. "Linsanity? MSG stock hits all-time high." Accessed September 20th. http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/22748484/34822303.