Five Instances In Sports When Hype Was Bigger Than The Hyped...

Let's face it.

Hype sells.

The more they make us believe something is the greatest ever, the more we clamor to see the amazing feat.

Just as sex sells, so does super-promotion and the art of repetition.

Unfortunately for the people and events that are hyped, they have the task of actually trying to live up to it.

Furthermore, if the hype is actually reached, then comes the task of sustaining it. Only the ones who sustain the hype and perform consistently become legends of their field.

For example, Dave Chappelle is a funny comedian who had us all laughing with two seasons of the Chappelle's Show. I respect him, and will always remember and laugh at the skits from those two seasons.

Jamie Foxx is a comedy legend because he performed at a high level for such a long time. Not only does he have numerous stand-up's and cameos in movies, but he had a long-running prime time successful show.

Not to take anything from Dave Chappelle, but he seemed to burn out rather quickly.

He left us all hanging at the height of his success on the Chappelle's Show. Maybe the pressure became too much, and that's where the longevity separates from the one-hit wonders.

We can think of many busts for every one legend.

Therefore, many people don't live up to the hype, and if they do, it's not sustained so we forget all about the previous triumph.

This is not to say that because one is hyped and doesn't reach it or sustain it that they are not successful.

David Beckham was a highly successful soccer player outside of the United States. Dave Chappelle is a wealthy, successful comedian overall. The Los Angeles Lakers had a very successful season in 2008.

Regardless, none of the aforementioned lived fully up to the hype they generated.

Hype is a reflection of talent and public interest, thus making the hype necessary and plausible to us consumers.

If someone attempted to hype Washington Wizards G DeShawn Stevenson to me, I wouldn't care to listen.

Not that Stevenson doesn't have some form of talent, but not enough to justify significant hype. Now if LeBron James is the subject of hype, my ears are open like heat vents in the middle of December.

Therefore, to all who made this list of the over-hyped, it doesn't mean that you're not good.

It just means that in that instance, you weren't good enough. Thank the media, or yourself since you probably received a ridiculous payday for your great, uh, good fortune.

I hear the drum roll!

David Beckham Coming to the United States to Make Soccer More Popular

When I heard about David Beckham coming to the United States to attempt to promote a game that we Americans just don't fully embrace, I turned the other cheek. When I heard that his contract could be worth up to 250 Million, I choked on my Grape Kool-Aid.

I lost one of my favorite shirts that day, and nearly my sanity.

How the heck can we afford to pay Becks that kind of money to attempt the impossible, out of his prime? I don't know if a 22-year-old Beckham could've made that happen, let alone a 33-year-old, 32 at the time. I know his kick inspired a movie (Bend It Like Beckham) but this seemed rather nauseating. Sportscenter talked about it the whole day, and all of the "experts" weighed in on the story.

Needless to say, they all were right. There was no way Beckham could make us tune in to the MLS. There was no way Lauren Conrad and Audrina from the Hills barely dressed on the sidelines could make us watch the MLS. Not even Gabrielle Union.

All of that hype ended the way Jim Rome predicted. Nobody cares, just watch the ESPY's and listen to Justin Timberlake clown Beckham. When JT can clown you, you failed. Miserably. At least you get to wake up next to Victoria Beckham.

2008 NBA Finals- Boston Celtics def. LA Lakers, 4-2

David Stern didn't seem to really be smiling when he handed the Finals MVP trophy to Paul Pierce. Why would he be smiling? Donaghy, the 2002 playoff accusations, his terrible response, a landslide final he dreamed about being a classic and Paul Pierce officially making commissioners pay attention to gang signs. Whew, and I thought being poor was bad.

Did I mention I love Kobe Bryant? Despite that, I couldn't help but admit he and his Lakers got it handed to them in the 2008 NBA Finals. I've never saw a Finals more hyped than this one because of the storied past and rivalry between the Lakers and Celtics.

Stern even sent his other crooked ref, Mr. Joey Crawford to give the Lakers the series against the Spurs. Okay, maybe that's harsh, but when a ref tosses a superstar named Tim Duncan for absolutely nothing, and he happens to be playing in the game, the comparisons speak for themselves.

Brent Barry made Derek Fisher look like Shawne Merriman in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, and Crawford didn't make the call. Even the NBA released a statement saying it should've been a foul. Really?

It didn't matter because karma got the last laugh as the dream final of Lakers-Celtics was barely competitive.

Next year, Stern should release Donaghy from jail to referee Game 7 of the inevitable Lakers-Hornets Conference Final. Okay, I'll stop now.

2001 Junior Welterweight Title- Zab Judah vs. Kostya Tszyu

Zab Judah had it all. Impending title, Rocawear endorsement, fast hands and a baby face despite being hit for a living. On the fateful night of November 3rd, 2001, that would all change.

After months of hype all over the airwaves, and Judah having a mouth that wouldn't stop, the fight was finally here. It's never a good idea to hype yourself up when:

1. Your opponent doesn't say anything back to you, and

2. Your mouth is more hype than the television promoting the event.

Judah came into the ring like a wild animal, running around and trying to look like the prettiest man in boxing. Unfortunately for him, nobody cared how he looked and wasn't impressed, especially the game Kostya Tszyu. After exchanging menacing looks, Tszyu knew what was going to happen. He was too confident, and he wanted to make the pretty boy look rather ugly.

And that he did, with a flash knockout in the last 10 seconds of round two. Judah running around throwing cat punches and trying to look good backfired on him, as he ducked his way into a thundering right hook from Tszyu.

He tried to get up, but turned into a YouTube legend when he danced in circles from the hard punch and fell back to the canvas. After referee Jay Nady stopped the bout before Judah was killed, he proceeded to get angry and toss his stool and choke Nady.

He was suspended for six months, and wasn't sitting pretty anymore. So much for having a baby face.

World's Fastest Man Race 1997- Michael Johnson vs. Donovan Bailey

I was the biggest Michael Johnson fan alive. After the Olympics in 1996, I thought he was the fastest man alive, not to mention using an unorthodox running style that I tried to emulate. My track coach continuously tried to make me run upright, but I was completely sold on Johnson's running style.

When the hype started about Johnson being the fastest man, I believed every minute of it.

Until I saw Canada's Donovan Bailey run.

The man was flat-out fast, and I was a little skeptical of Michael being the fastest. Nike wasn't, as they poured millions into an ad campaign billing Johnson as the world's fastest over the #1 sprinter, Bailey. Bad mistake.

They decided to race one-on-one in June of 1997 in Toronto for the title of world's fastest man. In one of the most hyped sporting events at that time, the hype was gone after 75 meters.

At a point in which Bailey was winning by a good measure, Johnson pulled up lame, thus ending the race. He grabbed his hamstring and cried foul on his own body. It seemed to me and millions of others that he saw the developing loss coming, and did what anybody else in the situation would do:

Fake an injury. Hey, he didn't necessarily lose, and Bailey didn't necessarily win. But in regards to hype, they both lost. Except for Bailey, he collected 1.5 million.

Dan vs. Dave Reebok Decathlon Campaign- 1992 Summer Olympics

Dan O'Brien and Dave Johnson became world famous athletes, thanks to Reebok in 1992. Both men were decathletes, and were attempting to qualify for the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. Before either man qualified for the summer games, Reebok made them famous with a expensive, extensive marketing campaign called, "Dan vs. Dave."

The commercials were so ubiquitous that I had imprints of them behind my eyelids when I went to sleep.

Sadly, we all expected so much from these two men before we even really knew who they were. Americans love underdogs and triumphs, especially when they seem to be out of nowhere. Reebok duped us and we ate the barley, and everyone knew who Dan O'Brien and Dave Johnson was.

When the U.S Olympic trials arrived, we all tuned in to watch decathletes, not sprinters or long-jumpers.

Dan O'Brien must have eaten his Wheaties and Spinach that fateful day, because he voluntarily passed on the lower-heights of the pole vault, then failed to clear any height. He scored no points on the event, and failed to qualify for the Olympic team.

Dave Johnson on the other hand did qualify, and in an attempt to save O'Brien's career and reputation, Reebok made commercials featuring O'Brien cheering on Dave Johnson. Johnson hurt his foot and ended winning the Bronze Medal.

Not exactly what we expected after all of the hype.

Unfortunately for the hyped, they have a responsibility to live up to it once they have our attention. For these five instances, the hype outdid the actual performances by those hyped.

Next time I'll think twice when I wish to be the next big thing. Unless, of course, I get paid enough.