Jeremy Lin and the resulting "Linsanity" has caused an unprecedented media and marketing frenzy worldwide. This essay examines its implication through reviewing media narratives in Taiwan, Lin's ancestral homeland. Japanese colonizers first brought modern sports to the Taiwanese as a symbol of "civilization" and "modernity." Although "athleticism" confronts Confucian tradition, sports began to play a subtle but crucial role in the Taiwan nationalismbuilding process. Although sports are marginally positioned in Taiwanese culture, various regimes have used sports and physical education to integrate national identity and national morale. Taiwanese nationalism lacks self-assurance and must be recognized by its significant others. "The glory of Taiwan" has become a common phrase in contemporary Taiwan media coverage. Regardless of how trivial the issue, the Taiwanese appear desperate for every chance to prove their existence and worth. Recently, Jeremy Lin became the famous "glory of Taiwan." However, "Is Jeremy Lin Taiwanese?" raises a tricky and ambiguous question reflecting the complexity and anxiety of Taiwanese national identity. Through the lens of Linsanity in Taiwan media discourses, we argue that the Linsanity situation significantly differs from that of most Western societies. Taiwanese sportsmen, such as Jeremy Lin, became national heroes without "beating any foreign enemies." Lin's identity has become the most important issue of Linsanity for Taiwan media discourses. In the process of exploiting Linsanity, a peculiar embodiment of sports nationalism has surfaced in Taiwan.

This article aims to build contextualised and cross-cultural understandings of gender discourses on sport and nationalism. With its multi-colonised history and its multi-ethnic groups, modern Taiwan has a very different 'national' story from most western societies. The way that sport is articulated with Taiwanese nationalism is also unique. With the Taiwanese being desperate for every chance to prove their existence and worth, sport becomes an important field for constructing national honour and identity. When sports women succeed on the international stage, especially when their male counterparts fail, the discourse on women, sport and nationalism becomes unusual. In sum, the unique character of Taiwanese sport nationalism creates empowerment opportunities for female athletes. But, we should bear in mind that men still take the dominant roles in Taiwan's sport field. Gendered disciplinary discourses, such as the beauty myth and compulsory heterosexuality, still dominate Taiwanese female athletes' media representation and further influence their practice and self-identity.

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