The List: Most Overrated Sports Entities

This list is going to include some perfectly good sports icons.  The key to remember is that if an icon is overrated, that doesn't make it sucky.  It just means that the actual ability and achievements of the player/group don't live up to the hype. 

Here they are, in no particular order.  As usual, suggestions and additions are welcome:

David Beckham: Becks was at one time one of the top 5 football players in the world (that's soccer to you ignorant Americans).  The thing is, the hype is ridiculous.  The hottie wife, the fruity clothes, the rock-star aura...it's out of control.  He's never made a difference to the national team when it counted -- and, like it or not, international play is a huge barometer of how we view a player's career.  

Beckham has choked more times in the clutch than...well, I won't make that joke.  Let's just say he gets a case of the shanks whenever England's fate is on the line.  It may be that he just didn't want to play for England, and was doing so because it was the thing to do: within the past year, he has announced his retirement from international play.  Oh well.

St. Louis Rams: This team got a lot of hype in 1999 for their out-of-nowhere worst-to-first season, their former-grocer QB, and the most prolific offense in NFL history.  The thing is, they've maintained that hype over the past 6 years, even though they've nver achieved that pinnacle since.  Oh, they've had some great offensive seasons since then.  But too many media types continue to use them as the pinnacle of offensive efficiency -- even though they haven't played up to that level in at least 4 years. 

You know where the Rams offense ranked last year in total ofense?  6th or 7th.  That's a terrific ranking, but at least five teams were better!  Isn't it time we stopped talking about them as if they still were the offensive juggernaut of the NFL?

Notre Dame football: They had a long history of being excellent.  Over the past decade, they've sucked; over the past 20 yars, they've had decent moments but few great ones.  Nobody cares anymore except for nostalgia buffs.  RIght now, there's a whole generation of young people that have no idea why everyone speaks so reverently about Notre Dame football.  Unless Charlie Weis works a miracle, the dream is over.  Let's move on. 

Brett Favre: God, I'm sick of hearing him referred to in the same breath as Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Donovan McNabb and Daunte Culpepper.  Look, Favre was unconsciously good for 3 years back in the late '90s.  He managed to win a Super Bowl, and get voted MVP at least once in that timespan.  Fine. 

But over the past 4-5 seasons, he's been very good...but FAR from an elite player at his position.  He can't run like he used to, he throws too many picks, and quite frankly the running game is what carries the Packers more than anything else.  At this point in his career, Favre tends to pad his season stats by throwing 4-5 touchdowns against a team like the Raiders, then going 4 weeks throwing for maybe one score per game with a low yardage total.  And in just about every game, he heave-hoes a horrible throw that could potentially lose his team the game.  We all love him because it's so clear that he enjoys playing the game, and it's like watching a kid in a candy store every time he takes the field.  But let's face facts: he's not that good anymore.  

New York Yankees: Look, I'm not going to pretend that I like the Yankees.  Like most non-Yankee fans, I despise them.  And it's not because I'm jealous; it's because the most visible manifestation of their fan base is a bunch of fairweather backstabbers whose allegiances vanish when the Yankees are bad, but become obnoxiously evident when the team succeeds.  It was hard to find a Yankee fan in the 80s.  Now they are everywhere, talking about their storied history.  Please.  I don't ignore or hide my Redskins allegiances just because they've sucked lately. 

Anyway, it seems like every other episode of SportsCenter spends about 20 minutes talking about the Yankees no matter how bad they are.  For most of this season, they were mediocre.  Yes, they are the highest-paid team in sports history, so their early-season mediocrity made for a compelling story.  But can't we spend time talking about teams that are actually good for a change?

Chris Webber: Poor guy.  He never wanted to be a franchise player, a savior, or the man in the clutch.  But because he had the potential to be the best power forward of all time, everyone asked more than he wanted to give.  It's a shame, really.  Since his Michigan days, he's been a choke artist.  Face facts: if a guy doesn't want it, he doesn't want it.  Now let's stop talking about trades involving him as if they were 'blockbusters'.  They ain't.

Babe Ruth: He may be the greatest player of all time.  He's at least in the top 3.  But if he hadn't played for the Yankees, would we talk about him so much?  And why is it that when Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds were breaking his records, they both got death threats?  Obviously racism played a role (for real this time), but people act like Ruth's recordsare some holy grail.  Why?  Yes, he was awesome.  But he's a man, not a religion. 

Any additions to this list are welcome...as long as they make sense. 

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