「林來瘋」的媒體再現和國族焦慮

2012年2月，台裔美籍「哈佛小子」林書豪（Jeremy Lin）在籃球「殿堂」NBA戲劇性出場，隨之形成一股「林來瘋」（Linsanity）潮。狂喜、與有榮焉充斥台灣社會，背後卻隱藏著一份難以言明的集體國族焦慮。本文所欲論述的是，台灣社會中現代運動／體育與國族主義、國族認同的關連如何被建構？意義為何？「林來瘋」如何承載國族認同的期待？彰顯出什麼國族、運動／體育意涵？透過2012年2月5日至3月31日《蘋果日報》、《自由時報》及《聯合報》相關文本分析，本文描繪「林來瘋」崛起與稍歇的媒體再現，結果顯示基於多重殖民歷史構造與「遲到的現代性」，台灣現代運動／體育與國族主義的關係有別於西方社會的認同軌跡而徘徊於「沾光」與「爭光」間。簡言之，「林來瘋」使台灣社會內部對於體育／運動與國族認同的認知、詮釋與實踐獲得重新言說、認同與實踐的機會，反映出運動／體育與國族的集體焦慮與恥辱，引發運動／體育與國族認同的反思與重構。

關鍵字

全球化；林書豪；國族主義；籃球

並列摘要

On February 2012, Taiwanese-American Jeremy Lin's dramatic performance in the National Basketball Association ignited ”Linsanity” across the United States and Taiwan. Delight and pride were felt among the Taiwanese. However, there was a hidden and ineffable collective national anxiety behind the phenomenon. We discuss the relationship between sports and nationalism in Taiwanese society, especially regarding how Linsanity became a vehicle for Taiwanese nationalism and its multiple implications. By adopting critical discourse analyses for reviewing stories in Taiwanese newspapers, including those from Apple Daily, The United Daily News, and The China Times published from February 5, 2012 to March 31, 2012, we discovered that, because of the country's belated modernity and its colonial past, a Taiwanese sportsman, Jeremy Lin, became a ”national hero” without ”beating any foreign enemy,” and he ”became one of them,” which is different from the situation in most Western societies. Moreover, ”Is Jeremy Lin Taiwanese?” was the central topic of Linsanity in the discourses of the Taiwanese media, which triggered Taiwan's diverse perspectives on identity, and the interpretation and practice of nationalism through sports/physical education.