None of us want to admit it, but deep down in the cockles of our hearts, we know that there have been tons of athletes who have been overrated.
Shit, prior to winning two titles with the Miami Heat, one could argue that LeBron James was the most overrated player on the planet. He shut all of us up by copping those rings, though.
Sure, dudes like Tim Tebow, Yasiel Puig and others might have driven sports fans fucking crazy with how much they were talked about, but this list is for those who really proved that they weren’t worth the praise.
So whom, in the past 25 years, failed to live up to the expectations the most? I answer that question below—and, no, Derek Jeter isn’t among them, assholes.
10. Any Top-5 Draft Bust
It’d be easy for me to sit here and make a fucking list of guys who failed to live up to expectations. Players like JaMarcus Russell and Kwame Brown were former No. 1 picks who absolutely sucked so much they don’t even deserve me going into depth about how much suckiness they really had.
We all know that, with a top-5 selection, comes a lot of expectations. And when a guy fails to live up — or come come close to living up to them –that whole bust label sticks with them forever.
Any of the usual suspects you and I can think of fall under this spot, so let’s just remember their good times—which was guaranteed millions the second they signed that rookie contract.
9. Alex Ovechkin
Is Alex Ovechkin one hell of a player? Clearly. The Washington Capitals captan has netted 427 career goals and has earned three Hart Trophies as the league’s MVP.
So how do I have the audacity to call a probable Hall of Famer overrated? Someone tell me what Ovie has done in the playoffs.
Oh, that’s right, you can’t.
It’s because Ovechkin has only gone as far as the Conference semifinals in his career, never even sniffing the Stanley Cup Finals for a shot to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup.
This guy was once compared to Mario Lemieux, meaning he was looked at as a winner when he was first being scouted as the top pick 10 years ago.
Yet, while he feeds himself with stats that make him a star and fan favorite, he hasn’t done a damn thing to make his teammates better, even being called a quitter in the past.
Until he wins a title, Alex Ovechkin will be nothing but a street performer to me—someone who is fun to watch for awhile, but only gets a couple seconds of applause once his act is done.
8. Andy Roddick
He scores some serious ladies–looking at you, Mandy Moore and Brooklyn Decker—but former tennis player Andy Roddick sure didn’t know how to score more points than his opponents.
With just one Grand Slam title in his career—which jolted him to a No. 1 world rankings back in 2003—Roddick failed to become the next great player from the U.S., a path that was paved by players like John McEnroe, Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras.
While Roddick could serve the hell out of the ball—which is one reason why I hope he never reads these harsh words I have about him for fear of my future children—the rest of his game was just average.
Anointed the next, great American way too soon, Roddick was never able to live up to the hype that he was given.
7. Sergio Garcia
Before there was Rory McIlroy, there was Sergio Garcia—the young, hard-hitting, energetic Spaniard who was supposed to challenge Tiger Woods.
It’s too bad that shit never happened, like, ever.
Never finishing higher than second in a major, Garcia is just about the biggest disappointment the PGA Tour has seen in the past 15 years.
That’s probably harsh to say, but you know what? I don’t fucking care, because the guy fails to produce after he was handed an opportunity that few golfers could ever imagine.
There’s no denying that he has some game, but he clearly chokes in the biggest moments. You know, the ones where legacies are made.
What makes Sergio even worse is that he actually believes there’s still a rivalry between he and Woods, when, really, Tiger could give two shits about the guy.
6. Danica Patrick
Sorry, Danica, but not even mega-hot athletes like yourself are safe from being called overrated.While the race car driver knows how to burn it up in photos for all us dudes to enjoy, she’s still trying to figure out how to burn up the racetrack, still void of her first victory.
She’s got a ton of talent and bigger balls (not literally, that’d be weird) than most of us for sitting behind a car that goes 175 miles per hour, but she’s vastly overrated.
Patrick always talks about being recognized as just one of the drivers, and not a female driver. That would be OK as long as she didn’t get praise for being the first woman to do (blank), only drawing attention to herself for, once again, not winning a race.
She’s hot as fucking hell, but, let’s face it, other racers are probably right when they claim that she’s just a marketing ploy to help generate new fans.
5. Sebastian Telfair
I really wanted to find another guy who was more overrated than the former high school phenom who, yes, actually followed in the footsteps of Bron Bron and graced the cover of Sports Illustrated.
While I first thought Vince Carter was a good choice, VC has enjoyed a near Hall of Fame career and helped reinvent the dunk contest when it completely sucked for a decade or so.
Sebastian Telfair, though? Yeah, this kid thought he was everything and a bag of chips, but wasn’t even worthy of the potato to make the crispy snack.
One of the most decorated prep players in the country, many believed that the kid had a pedigree that would make him one of the best points guards in the NBA. That never happened.After skipping college and jumping straight to the pros, Telfair flat out sucked on the court, and ran into a few problems off the floor that included a few run-ins with the po-po.
Playing for eight NBA teams in nine seasons—including a trip overseas to ball with Tianjin in China—Telfair recently signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder, hoping to somehow prove he’s still worth a roster spot.
4. Freddy Adu
One could make a case that soccer player Freddy Adu is actually the most disappointing player on this entire list. Looked at as the savior of U.S. soccer back in 2004 at the age of 14, Adu wasn’t just overrated, but he was unfairly judged at an age where he was just learning how to shave.
After signing with the MLS’ D.C. United to become a pro player in his teens, many have written him off—and he’s still just 25 years old. Sure, he hasn’t played for the U.S. in the World Cup—and probably never will—but the hep around this kid was so high that the people claiming he would be the U.S.’ version of Pele were probably smoking some serious weed helping themselves believe it was true.
The only reason why Adu isn’t higher on this list? Well, let’s face it, did anyone really believe a 14-year-old kid was going to resurrect the game of soccer in the States?
3. Lance Armstrong
Much like another guy who’s going to pop-up on this list, former seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong’s career ended up being nothing but a lie.
After failing to win cycling’s biggest event, Lance defeated testicular cancer and found himself *winning* the next seven races he took part in.
Of course, there were a bit who weren’t as impressed with Armstrong’s cycling achievements, with numerous teammates accusing him of being a fucking cheater who doped.
Trying to save face, he denied it all, eventually digging himself into a deeper hole with fans once the truth finally came out.
That day was January 15, 2013, when Armstrong finally owned up by telling Oprah Winfrey what many had thought to be true for so damn long.
Was Lance Armstrong’s career a disappointment? Not if you ask him. But seeing how it never really happened, he absolutely was a fucking overrated piece of shit who, when it comes to sports, represents everything wrong with them.
2. Troy Aikman
Don’t let the Super Bowl bling or bust in Canton fool you—Troy Aikman was not as good as everyone might think.
I’m not a dumbass and I’ll give credit where it’s due, but that doesn’t mean that Aikman should be mentioned amongst the other quarterback greats.
With three titles on his resume, the former Dallas Cowboys signal-caller benefitted from playing behind, arguably, the greatest offensive line in NFL history, handing it off to the NFL’s all-time leading rusher in Emmitt Smith and had a target on the outside in Michael Irvin who wasn’t afraid of going up against anybody.
With a career TD-INT ratio at just 165-141, Aikman did end his career at 94-71, but most of those wins came during a Cowboys run that saw them go 46-14 from 1992-95, declaring themselves the Team of the ’90s.
Was Troy Aikman a good football player? Of course he was.
But could any above-average quarterback accomplished the same things he did with that type of supporting cast? I wouldn’t doubt it.
1. Alex Rodriguez
You want to know what’s fucking hilarious about Alex Rodriguez’s entire career? It’s a complete joke.
There’s no arguing that the dude had natural talent, but he decided to choose some unnatural—and banned—substances to put in his body as help to boost his stats.
Of course, that led to some insane numbers and even more insane money, but, thanks to the never-ending cloud over his head, no one in their right mind believes that A-Rod is amongst the game’s best players.
Even without the steroid allegations and full season suspension, Rodriguez still never led a team to a World Series title on his own—though he did eventually win one with the New York Yankees in 2009, but not as “The Guy.”
He’s a shitty postseason hitter, a self-entitled prick and still feels like people are just against him—plus, there was this from the Super Bowl a few years ago.
Please justify this guy earning over $350 million in just salary in his career.