Before there was Linsanity and its Linteresting puns, there was Michael Chang.
Michael Chang: The Asian-American Who Changed America Before Jeremy Lin
Born to parents who grew up in Taiwan and educated in America, Chang is an Asian-American tennis star who reached as high as No. 2 in the world.
He made history at the 1989 French Open for Asian-Americans and male tennis players when he became the youngest male in Slam history to win a major.
Know what else he is?
“I thank the Lord Jesus Christ,” he said in after winning hit first Grand Slam title, “because without Him, I am nothing.”
Chang has also been a role model for Lin. There’s even more that’s in common between them, and ESPN highlighted it.
Following the NBA lockout, Lin was cut twice and then sent to the NBA Development League, making his sophomore breakout even more unexpected than Chang’s run at the 1989 French Open.
In his second year as a pro, a 17-year-old Chang entered Roland Garros as the 19th-ranked player in the world. In the Round of 16 he beat top-ranked Ivan Lendl in an epic match, then came back from down two sets to one to beat third-ranked Stefan Edberg in the final.
The win inspired many Asian Americans to pick up tennis. They wanted to be like Mike.
Chang feels many more will now head to the basketball court.
“In the tennis world, there weren’t a whole lot of Asians playing. You see it a little bit more now. The same can really be said for basketball,” Chang said. “There were only a couple of Asian guys before Jeremy [in the NBA] -- Yao Ming being the most prominent. I feel people can relate to Jeremy a little bit easier. He’s 6-3, not a huge guy. People could never say: ‘I want to be like Yao Ming.’”
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