Tommy DeVito Is The New 'Linsanity' For New Yorkers

New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito is the most talked about surprise athlete the city has seen in years.

Everywhere you walk today sports fans are doing "the finger pinch," while asking each other "how ya doin?" as the undrafted 25-year-old-turned-starter helped the Giants win Monday to remain in playoff contention.

For the greatest city in the world, it's hard for the average New Yorker to really care about star athletes that make hundreds of millions of dollars. But every once in awhile an athlete becomes more than just a sports star - he becomes relatable and "one of us." That's exactly what DeVito has been able to accomplish and New Yorkers are reacted accordingly.

In fact, I'd argue that DeVito's rise is something we haven't seen since former New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin and his subsequent "Linsanity," in 2012.

'TOMMY CUTLETS' IS THE NEW 'LINSANITY'

Both DeVito and Lin's quick rise to pop culture stardom is one that was created from a mixture of the sheer humor of "Who the heck is this guy?!" to eventual endearment as they continued to excel. The fact that I can mention the word 'Linsanity,' and you most likely immediately chuckled or was like "Oh Wow, remember him?!" precisely proves my point.

And although I don't want to bring race into this - it definitely had something to do with it because it truly was unexpected. Lin was the first American of Chinese descent to play in the NBA, while Tommy DeVito's name says everything you need to know about the 100% Italian from New Jersey who has an agent straight out of The Sopranos.

SIMILAR STORIES

Like DeVito, Jeremy Lin was an undrafted player facing the chance of being released by the team when he began his surge. With the Knicks losing 11 of their past 13 games, the scrappy Lin went into a game off the bench and scored 25 points. His next appearance he scored 28 while then being declared a starter for the following game where he was dunking over John Wall to help the Knicks win three in a row. Oh, and that was followed up when he dropped 38 against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. Casual things, right?

Lin's dominant play immediately put him into the spotlight and the good graces of Knicks fans who were desperate for anything positive. For them, Lin was their answer as his random seven-game winning streak would secure the Knicks a spot in the 2012 playoffs. And although it was short-lived, "Linsanity" was very much alive at one point and it was great.

That same sort of buzz is happening right now with Tommy DeVito.

FANS ARE LOVING THEM SOME TOMMY DEVITO

The quarterback - who still lives at home with his parents by the way, was never supposed to step foot on an NFL field this year. The Giants had just given Daniel Jones a four-year, $160 million contract. However, once Jones went down the team went with backup Tyrod Taylor who also became injured leaving Giants fans puzzled as to who the heck their third-string QB is.

They know his name now alright as he's the talk at all the office watercoolers today.

Similar to Lin, DeVito has so far led his team to three-straight victories and a chance at sneaking into the playoffs. Absolutely wild considering the Giants were 2-7 when DeVito took over. Now at 5-8, he's given them the same thing Kicks fans had a decade ago - hope (while the rest of us non-Giants fans can still have fun and root for him).

Just as we still joke and mention Linsanity all these years later, you can be sure that Tommy DeVito is going to be talked about in the future as well.

We'll just have to wait and see what the ending of the story is.