WARRENTON, Va. - Before the Lin-vasion of Lin-sanity and the infusion of Lin-fusion, there was another Jeremy Lin.
"I'm the original Jeremy Lin(n)," said Jeremy Linn into a CBS 21 News camera.
Yeah, he is.
It's been almost 16 years since Jeremy Linn the swimmer was Lin-demand.
Linn won gold and silver medals at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta; and now at 37, is still in great shape. He also can't help but notice that everyone everywhere is saying his name.
"I'm standing in line at the grocery store and they'll be like, 'I was watching Jeremy Lin on TV the other day,'" recalls Linn, who graduated from Central Dauphin High School. "And I look over and I'm like, 'Are you guys talking about me?'"
No, they're not.
And yes, it's become a big joke wherever he goes.
He's also fascinated by the Lin-probable and Lin-incredible story of Jeremy Lin, too. Some friends of his who are big basketball fans alerted Linn of Lin a couple of years ago when Lin first tried to crack the NBA as an undrafted free agent out of Harvard.
Jeremy Linn the swimmer is now a teacher; coaching some of the best young talent in the country at the Curl Burke Swim Club in northern Virginia. "We've been ranked #1 for a couple of years now," added Linn.
Linn's kids are dedicated; and they say all the right things, too. "This is the original Jeremy Linn; 100% authentic!" shouted one during an outdoor workout.
His swimmers would never, ever trade their Jeremy Linn for the other one, either.
"The personality of (our) Jeremy is probably 10 times better than anyone else," said Natalie Martin, a senior at Battlefield High School, who's committed to the University of Virginia. "He's just the best."
"He definitely focuses on the love of the sport; and not about success in the pool," said Brian Rothschild, a senior at Chantilly High School who will attend Virginia Tech next fall.
Success in the pool? Jeremy Linn has held national and world records; won 17 All-American awards at the University of Tennessee and, of course, won two Olympic medals.
These days? Linn is not envious -- or Lin-vious. In fact, you could argue the other Jeremy Lin has some mighty big shoes to fill. "I feel like if he keeps it up, he'll be able to be mentioned in the same breath as me someday" said a joking Linn, with a wink of his right eye.
And someday, should these two ever meet, what would the original Jeremy Linn say to the new Jeremy Lin?
"We need to do a jersey swap," Linn laughed.
Some images and video used in this story courtesy of Sports Illustrated, MSG Network, and TSN.
