ESPN buys into the hype, prematurely names Man City Premier League Champions

The lead-up to Monday's top of the table showdown between Man City and Man United was inflated by a number of erroneous and ridiculous claims of the match being a "title decider,"comparableto the Super Bowl and thatthe 650-million person global reach of the match's broadcast was actually the estimated viewership. But after all these shouts about a winner-take-all derby that would be watched by 78 trillion people, the match ended 1-0 to City, putting both clubs at 83 points with two matches left to play.

Immediately after the match, the top story on ESPN.com's frontpage announced that "Manchester City claimed its first first [sic] EPL title since 1968, defeating Man U thanks to Vincent Kompany's goal..."Maybe they were a little overeager or just bought into too much of the overblown pre-match hype. Not to mention the fact that ittechnicallywasn't the "EPL" when Man City won in 1968.

ESPN quickly changed the caption to read "Manchester City, seeking its first EPL title since 1968, defeated Manchester United thanks to Vincent Kompany's goal, the only one of the match, just before the half." But this proves the danger in letting hyperbole trump the facts: People believe it.