The United States crowns champions in many sports, although the scope of the championship tends to be national rather than global. The World Series of baseball is a prime example, not to mention the Super Bowl of American football (not to be confused with soccer).

Over-the-top marketing is an American trait that we see elsewhere, especially in the marketplace of technology. In research on over 30 content management systems we found repeated claims from suppliers that they were the “leader,” “market leader,” and “leading” solution in the space. Of course nearly every company claimed to offer an “enterprise” product. Many were “next generation,” while some claimed to be “easier to use” and “cheaper.” Just a few claimed claimed to be “global” or “worldwide.”

Globalization and tool service suppliers dabble in hubris as much as Major League Baseball and the National Football League. This week’s press releases trumpet the “world’s leading provider of translation services and technology,” “the world leader in global information solutions,” “a worldwide leading provider of high-quality localization tools,” and “the only enterprise software company to deliver advanced XML-based publishing and content globalization solutions.” Many such claims come from relatively small suppliers.

Although boxing isn’t our cup of tea, we do like the binary nature of the sport — you are the champion or you’re not. While you might claim to “float like a butterfly” and “sting like a bee,” reality sets the bar for the championship.