Athletes Who Weren't Worth All the Hype

Throughout the history of sports, fans have been given a lot of names to digest as "the next best" or "a budding superstar."

Unfortunately, not all of those can't-miss stars end up being more than just a distant memory, falling victim to overhype by the media after a short stretch of memorable moments or premature expectations when they were youngsters.

While we should all prefer success stories, here are a few players* who failed in their quest for superstardom, landing on this list of athletes who weren't really worth the hype.

*There are always going to be busts, but we're talking about the athletes people couldn't stop talking about. Let me know in the comments who else you think should be on here.

Andy Roddick

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Expected to void the gap in American men's tennis following the retirements of Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, when Andy Roddick broke onto the scene in 2001, he had many thinking he would be the next great United States star.

That never developed, though.

After peaking by reaching No. 1 in the world entering the 2004 season, Roddick was still just 21 years old and already had a Grand Slam singles title under his belt—2003's U.S. Open.

From there, though, Roddick struggled to follow the path of the aforementioned American stars, failing to add any other major championships to his resume and retiring at age 32.

The dude could hit the felt off of a tennis ball, but the rest of his game was just average.

Sergio Garcia

There was just a part of me that, when he first broke onto the PGA Tour in 1999 at age 19, wanted to like Spanish golfer Sergio Garcia.

Playing with a certain flare and confidence that was appreciated—and rare—during that time, Garcia was believed to have the game to challenge fellow young star Tiger Woods, creating a rivalry that would span a couple of decades like Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer's did.

It's too bad Garcia could never get one big monkey off of his back—winning a major title—as he is still looking for his name on any of the four majors.

Handed a golden opportunity to build a legacy, Garcia is still trying to hold on to a rivalry with Woods that never really existed, making him more of an agitator than anything else between the two.

Johnny Manziel

This is a delicate one—and not only because I'm a huge Cleveland Browns fan.

The ups and downs of Johnny Manziel are well-documented, with fans finding themselves either supporting or dogging this guy, with no in-between stance on everything he has done or will do in his football career.

After bursting onto the scene as a redshirt freshman at Texas A&M in 2013 and winning the Heisman Trophy, Manziel gained fame with his whole Johnny Football act, flashing money signs and becoming the president of the college football fraternity.

Selected No. 22 overall in the 2014 NFL draft by the Brownies, Manziel put up embarrassing numbers in his first career start, created a circus with some of his off-the-field activities and is currently in rehab to try to break his party-boy ways.

The jury is still out on Johnny, of course. But as of right now, one can't help but think he has been overhyped.

Rick DiPietro

Andre Ringuette/Getty Images

There have been a number of athletes who have gotten cut or traded to go away, but when a player gets paid to leave, you know it's bad.

That's exactly what happened to former NHL goalie Rick DiPietro and the New York Islanders, though, as the former No. 1 overall selection was bought out of a massive deal that was a mistake from the beginning, as the team inked the netminder to a 15-year, $67.5 million deal in 2006.

Unworthy of the money due to a career record of 130-136-36, DiPietro never again played in the NHL following the release, yet he is still earning $1.5 million per year until 2029—so maybe he does come out a winner.

Either way, as a former top pick and the hope to help turn the Islanders franchise around, DiPietro is best remembered for being a dud, and he is currently doing sports talk radio.

Danica Patrick

Richard Drew/Associated Press

Danica Patrick is a high-profile name in the world of NASCAR. She's still void of her first career victory.

Patrick is fiery, showing that she has the talent to have earned her place among other drivers on the circuit and accomplishing a lot for female racing drivers.

The problem is, Patrick has been recognized as one of the best drivers, which just isn't the case because of her career record. She hasn't lived up to the high expectations—which irks people who have been around the sport for so long.

Brian Bosworth

For any of you who watched the 30 for 30 entitled "Brian and the Boz," or followed the career of former football player Brian Bosworth, you know exactly why he is on this list—because he flopped when he got his chance with the big boys.

Although Bosworth's career with the Oklahoma Sooners was full of All-American honors and Butkus Awards, when he was selected No. 1 overall in the supplemental draft by the Seattle Seahawks in 1987, The Boz carried a persona that just didn't fly in the NFL.

Much like the aforementioned Johnny Manziel, the star linebacker had a reputation entering the league that made him a target for both veterans and media.

When he failed because of multiple injuries—and got bulled over by running back Bo Jackson—people labeled him a flop and, as you would imagine, overhyped.

Anna Kournikova

Tom Pennington/Associated Press

If there's one thing that former tennis player Anna Kournikova is remembered for, it was her ability to be a marketing guru, often selected by big-name brands as the spokesperson or model for various products.

Other than that, though, the Russian was a dud in what she was supposed to be good at: tennis.

She never actually won a singles tournament during her pro tennis career.

For someone who was expected to be a mainstay on the tour and capture at least one Grand Slam singles title—Kournikova did win two titles in doubles competition—that's really embarrassing.

Still, she has run with the whole endorser role, as she is still prevalent in ads for a number of companies.

Jeremy Lin

Ah, yes, Linsanity.

For about three weeks during the 2011-12 NBA season, the entire country was infected with Linsanity thanks to then-New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin, who went from a teammate's couch to the court to tear up the league.

Hitting clutch shots, helping guide the Knicks to wins and becoming the must-see star for a short period of time, Lin's story became front-page news that was about as good as a Hollywood drama.

Unfortunately, the magic he had wore off, and he has since become an afterthought, playing for a Los Angeles Lakers team that is full of role players who are expected to be starters—Lin included—and trying to prove that he can be the player everyone saw during that three-week stretch.

Tim Tebow

Barry Gutierrez/Associated Press

Fans are always talking about how dumb athletes are or how they just wish they would be themselves both on the field and while talking to the media, yet they hate on a guy when he actually does it.

That was the life of former quarterback Tim Tebow, who experienced firsthand criticism for staying true to what he believes in.

Regardless of his faith, success or leadership ability, Tebow proved that he was lacking one key attribute—the ability to throw a football accurately.

With the Denver Broncos reaching by drafting the former Heisman Trophy winner and two-time national champion with the 25th overall pick in the 2010 draft, Tebow seemed to become enemy No. 1, with fans doing what they could to knock him off of his pedestal.

Finishing his pro career with a 47.9 completion percentage after playing for three NFL teams, Tebow might have grabbed a lot of headlines, but his inability to set up his receivers to grab passes led to the end of his pro career.

Lance Armstrong

Sure, former cyclist Lance Armstrong may have earned* seven Tour de France victories in his career—which were stripped due to doping—but because of the enhancements he took for his performance, his entire legacy was wiped away.

I commend the guy for everything he did in generating both money and awareness for cancer research after battling testicular cancer himself, but for publicly denying and blatantly lying about his connection to performance-enhancing drugs, Armstrong deserves criticism.

Although Armstrong is remembered for being a champion and making millions of dollars from sponsorships and career earnings, his career was a disappointment for being a cheater, making him the prime example of everything that is wrong in sports.

Corruption, success, money and fame—Lance lied to achieve them all, even admitting he would do it again, and fooled all of us in the process by earning praise he never deserved.

Freddy Adu

TINA FINEBERG/Associated Press

In the history of overhyped athletes, is there really anyone who can compete with the aura that Freddy Adu brought to American soccer over a decade ago?

Assumed to be the savior of the sport in the United States when he signed a pro deal with the D.C. United of MLS in 2004 at the age of 14, Adu wasn't just overrated, but he was forced to deal with heavy criticism at an age when he still couldn't even drive—which he deserved after mega-million-dollar deals.

Maybe we were all foolish to really think that he would be U.S. soccer's version of Pele to begin with, but the fact that he has only played in 17 games for the national team by the time he is 25 years old is alarming.

Not only did Adu fail to do anything of recognition on the pitch, but he failed to even make a dent in transforming the game in America by missing out on the national level. For that, he has to be considered the greatest hype to fail—even if he was set up to do so at such a young age.