Over saturation in the world of sports

It seems that today a player’s road from underrated to overrated is a short one.  I remember the first time I consciously witnessed this transformation of a player going from underrated to overrated.  As the Pistons were making deep playoff runs I remember hearing how Ben Wallace was far and away the most underrated player in the NBA; he did all the dirty work for the Pistons team while Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, and Chauncey Billups took care of most of the scoring.  I heard this phrase over and over again coupled with highlights on Sportscenter of Ben Wallace’s blocks.  It didn’t take long and Ben Wallace was universally regarded as an overvalued player for his last years in Detroit and all of his time in Chicago.  Not surprisingly, the pendulum has swung back and Ben Wallace is once again regarded as underrated, although playing at a significantly lower level than in his prime.

            This trend has continued and grown over the years.  My first Google search of “underrated NBA players” led me to a slideshow on BleacherReport of the top 10 underrated NBA players as of March 21^st 2010.  Notables on this list, for my purposes at least, are Carlos Boozer, Monta Ellis, Lamar Odom and Joe Johnson.  Because when Google led me to BleacherReport’s 12 most overrated players in the NBA as of January 2012 those four players all made the list.  After one season, the perception of four players completely changed.

            As Twitter has emerged and successfully taken over the world, the journey from underrated to overrated is shorter than ever.  Twitter has made the opinions of everyone from Laos to New York instantly accessible.  Now you’re not only taking in the opinions of ESPN’s talking heads but also your friend’s friend who thought that dunk was awesome!  Social media has also changed the way we ingest the best sports stories.  The stories of Tim Tebow and Jeremy Lin have been treated very differently largely due to the prevalence of blogs (pardon the irony here) and Twitter.

            I thoroughly enjoy watching a sporting event while checking my Twitter to see what various people have to say about the game.  Game 162 of the most recent baseball season was one specific event that I felt was enhanced because I looked at tweets while watching the madness unfold.  However, along with my decreasing attention span, there are negative affects of absorbing so many opinions at once.  Hearing the same opinion over and over again gets irritating.  Quickly.

            Although Tim Tebow had millions of supporters across the country, another portion of the country hated him with just as much passion.  Some people disliked Tebow because of the way he spoke of religion after every game, but most people were turned off by Tebow due to the excessive media coverage.  Which if you think about it, is pretty sad.  One of the most fun, incredible stories of my lifetime was significantly marred because ESPN dedicated hours at a time to talk about Tebow.

            I know some people have already reached this place with Jeremy Lin.  I haven’t let the excessive Linsanity coverage mar my viewing experience yet, but I’m certainly not enjoying the constant attention.  It seems inevitable that either Lin’s play will level off and the coverage will subside or we will collectively turn on a young man we once adored.  It’s too bad the media we’re living with, both the social and professional, can take an unbelievable story, chew it up, swish it around, and spit it back out as something we’re all sick and tired of.