Underrated for years, Wizards star Gilbert Arenas has recently arrived as a true media-validated superstar complete with the lavish birthday party and loose talk of MVP awards. The obvious question becomes: When does the backlash against Gilbertology begin? Perhaps this very afternoon.

Arenas fans who tuned in to ESPN.com scheduled chat with the high-scoring point guard were disappointed when, after almost fifteen minutes of waiting, we heard that "we were forwarned that he might not be here right at 2. So please be patient. Thanks!" At 2:36 p.m., over half an hour after the scheduled start time, it was "We were told by the Wizards' PR people that things may be running a bit late. Thanks for being patient!" A bit before 3:15 came another update promising that the chat would proceed eventually, until, at last, at 3:48 p.m. it was . . . canceled. Or, rather, postponed indefinitely.

So let the backlash begin. We hereby proclaim Arenas officially sooo 2006; 2007 is all about Caron Butler. Of course, all will be forgiven with an invitation to next year's party.

UPDATE: DCist gets results! Stung by the backlash, Arenas decided to show up after all, a bit after ESPN announced he was canceling.

Matthew Yglesias is a staff writer at the American Prospect, and blogs at MatthewYglesias.com. Photo by the DCSportsGuy over at MrIrrelevant.