|
8 Overrated Attention Grabbers of 2008
by Larson Hill
Although we're still mulling over whether we want to play follow the leader with a few already re-hashed "Best of, Worst of" lists for 2008, one year-in-review feature we don't mind tackling is a round-up of some of the captivating yet overrated stories, events, and attention grabbing happenings of 2008. Like previous years, some events and stories feel like they were rollovers from 2007 while others are still fresh in our minds. Some stories and events are at the forefront of our brains simply because they spent way too much time in the headlines or casual conversation.
Although we could list off a lot of stories that captivated the public in 2008 for good reason, there were some garnered more attention than they deserved. At the same time, other offbeat happenings sprouted to life in 2008 that were fun, shocking, and bizarre while others we still can't figure out why they deserved any attention at all.
But one thing we know for sure, all eight on our "overrated" list were talked about to death. For some people, the overrated status was a good thing since they diverted attention away from the real world. For others, the chaos of daily reality deserved more attention than a celebrity wedding or an overhyped movie.
Here's a look at eight overrated attention grabbers of the year that are still fresh in our minds nearly 365 days removed from January 2008.
The Montauk Monster
 Overrated? Sure, why not? Fun? For sure! When CNN tries to cash in on the popularity of a budding online story, you know something that was cool for a fleeting moment is about to be overexposed and overrated. When this "alien" creature washed up on the shores of Montauk Beach in New York in July 2008, the entire online community was abuzz over its unknown origins. And despite the sad and tragic end for what was once a living being, the readers of Gawker.com provided some of the most entertaining comments of 2008 over what the Montauk Monster could possibly be.
Some of our unforgettable personal favorites - "That's a turtle, without its shell." "Naw, man, it's a chupacabra." "Looks like a turtle sans shell or a dog missing part of its nose. with a beak. ok, turtle. or griffin. or chupacabra. turtle. land turtle. possibly a tortoise. no, wait... it's Voldermot." "Whatever that thing is, it definitely portends evil. I'd stay in doors tonight people." What is the Montauk Monster? Who cares at this point? Out of any overrated happenings of 2008 on this list, this was the most entertaining because some people actually believed it was an “alien”.
For all of the comments and the original story, head this way for memories of the Montauk Monster on Gawker.com.
The Spice Girls Reunion
 We'll admit, The Spice Girls could have performed 600 shows around the world in 2008, at least two a day, and there's a good chance each one would have sold out. But what obviously sounded like a good idea at the time to all five spices turned out to be a monkey on their collective backs halfway through their reunion tour in 2008.
After 47 shows The Spice Girls cancelled a massive portion of their international leg, bursting the bubble of Spice fans in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Cape Town and Buenos Aires. And since their Greatest Hits album wasn't selling like their previous albums in the spicy pop heyday, it appeared as though The Spice Girls were touring out of nostalgia without a #1 single to keep the momentum alive. Girl power obviously turned to Milf power, which didn't have enough spice in the jar to complete the recipe.
The Digg Revolt and Faux Exodus to Mixx
 Back in January 2008, a group of top users within the social media giant Digg staged a revolt after Digg founder Kevin Rose and execs announced changes would be made to the network's algorithm. Given the millions of users who submit news stories to Digg on a monthly basis, many of the top Diggers felt the algorithm changes were much too harsh in trying to prevent people from "gaming the system". Instead of complimenting the network and its submissions, the Digg algorithm appeared to penalize its users for being successful. As the movement began to pick up steam, many Diggers threatened to take their valuable submission business to the newly created Digg competitor Mixx.
However, despite the seemingly endless changes to the Digg algorithm in the first quarter of 2008, no one wanted to make the first move in the social network game of chicken. Although users tried to give Mixx a huge boost in users, many Diggers were unwilling to give up their positions in the network to start fresh on a new social network. In the end, while the movement made headlines in major print publications, the 2008 Digg revolt was buried like previous attempts in 2007, 2006, and 2005.
Kimbo Slice vs Seth Petruzelli
 For a few brief moments of 2008 within the MMA world, the hype surrounding street brawler Kimbo Slice picked up steam as many fight fans thought Kimbo would beat the legendary but aging Ken Shamrock in their EliteXC battle on CBS back in October. Although it wasn't nearly "the" elite match-up on the scale of Brock Lesnar's Pay-Per-View clash with Randy Couture, the scheduled Kimbo battle against Shamrock had everyone's curiosity piqued.
But when Ken Shamrock pulled out of the fight at the very last minute due to an injury and replacement fighter Seth Petruzelli stepped in to fill the void, it's safe to say no one could have predicted what happened once both fighters stepped into the Octagon. With so much hype building around the intimidating Kimbo, underdog Seth Petruzelli shocked fight fans by dismantling Kimbo 14 seconds into the first round with one punch. Yeah, 14 seconds!
The Madonna - Guy Ritchie Divorce
 The question we kept asking in 2008 whenever we'd see a headline surrounding Madonna's divorce from director Guy Ritchie was, well, "Who cares?" Okay, sure, the actual final divorce headline was newsworthy. But a couple hundred thousand filled with speculation from someone named anonymous? Hey, we know the private lives of celebrities have become the hot ticket item for all news outlets, but why does anyone care whether Madonna gets a divorce? Any celebrity for that matter!
The last wedding that was even remotely attention grabbing was that of the late Princess Diana and Prince Charles back in the '80s, with an honorable mention in tabloid hype value to Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes just for the sheer volume of headlines. Even Madonna's secret wedding to Sean Penn in the '80s was more interesting than the Material Girl's divorce from Ritchie. Hell, even Pam Anderson and Kid Rock got married four times in one year before their eventual divorce. At least they gave people something strange to write about. And fresh on the heels of the Madonna - Guy Ritchie divorce, we get the newly formed Madonna and Alex Rodriguez (A-Rod) romance. Madonna and A-Rod in Mexico over the Thanksgiving weekend? I guess that must mean there's a wedding on the horizon in 2009.
Twilight Fever
 Why anyone would want to camp out at Wal-Mart for a cheap DVD player or a not so big screen TV under the threat of being trampled to death at any moment by a bunch of zombies from a George Romero movie is beyond crazy, but…
As the buzz for the big screen adaptation of author Stephanie Meyer's teen vampire love story Twilight picked up steam in 2008, feverish and impatient fans of the novel began to lose their minds. Everything was fine on the Twilight train until August 2008 when a portion of Meyer's Twilight sequel, Midnight Sun, was leaked online. As a result, Stephanie Meyer had to shelve Midnight Sun indefinitely, which sent fans into a tailspin of despair before hitting the web to voice their rage in an online hunt for Twilight blood over the leak. Although Twilight fans were as passionate, if not more than Harry Potter disciples, many also knew how quickly the actions of a few could possibly spoil the party.
So just when the anger over the Midnight Sun leak had subsided, with the culprit caught, Twilight fever took a frightful turn on November 10, 2008 when thousands of unexpected fans descended upon a Hot Topic store in San Francisco to meet Twilight heartthrob Robert Pattinson, resulting in a riot that saw several fans get injured and trampled in an impromptu melee. As a result, Pattinson's appearance was cancelled while several Twilight fans were sent to the hospital with minor injuries. In the end, Twilight was released and became the huge hit everyone thought it would be, punctuating the fact that the over-the-top Twilight fever was completely unnecessary and overrated.
Tina Fey as Sarah Palin
 First, before anyone gets crazy political fever, when Tina Fey first appeared on Saturday Night Live back in September as an unexpected guest to open the show dressed as Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin, it was hilarious. Even now, thinking back to Fey standing behind the podium next to Amy Poehler as Hillary Clinton, it's still hilarious. And when the 30 Rock star made a second guest appearance on SNL as Palin, the joke still had legs. But since Fey's guest stints came at a time when the 2008 Presidential race was reaching its peak, her Palin bit fell victim to the "too much of a good thing" will ruin anything scenario.
When politics began to overshadow the comedy after Fey revealed she wouldn't appear in a sketch with the real Sarah Palin, the magic of Fey's brilliant impersonation was gone. What started as a fun and lighthearted impersonation became nothing more than another lightning rod of controversy that tightened the heated political tension cables of the election. And when the public began to expect Tina Fey to appear on SNL each week as Sarah Palin, it all started to feel forced. What should have remained a brilliant and “occasional” guest spot transformed into endless amounts of headlines and segments that took away from the real issues at hand. Cool at first, but way overblown and overrated.
The Comeback of Britney Spears
 We all know everyone loves a comeback, and we all knew this was coming down the road eventually. But how Britney made the leap from troubled has-been pariah to second time superstar in under a year is astounding. You've got to put this into context to see the scope of it. It was January 2008 when paramedics hauled the troubled pop star out of her home on a stretcher, as outlets like UsMagazine wrote headlines with the words "Britney Spears went completely psycho on hospital gurney." Seems like two years ago, doesn't it? Nine months later Britney was at the MTV awards to take home three VMAs, including video of the year, as if nothing ever happened. After two years of seemingly destructive and relentless headlines surrounding Britney's troubled personal life, her recovery must be the quickest in celebrity history.
The strange thing about her comeback is how it’s almost as if the headlines willed it to happen. But why this makes our "overrated" list for 2008 is because we're not buying this completely or lapping it up like a celebrity junkie. We're glad Britney's on the mend, but her comeback is far too overrated. Although I don't mean this in the direct sense, it just has a manufactured, publicity stunt quality to it given all of the previous headlines of the past two years and the seriousness of her issues and her out-of-control behavior. The comeback looked cool but was far too quick. It also raises our eyebrows with the question, why are the tabloids so friendly now after tearing her apart? At least I'll give it to Britney on this front; she did her part in giving us a break from her own headlines. That should be high atop anyone's "best of" list.
|
