You are the one who is overhyping and exaggerating, in this case as to how it was reported. While indeed there were a few excesses, for the most part the reports stated that this was approaching as 1 of the most powerful, not THE most powerful, since it had reached the 4th lowest pressure reading of an Atlantic Basin hurricane, which is a fact. The NHC said that they couldn't count on it weakening much before landfall, but also routinely stated that estimating intensity is very difficult for them, much less precise than forecast track. And in fact Gulfport has received 22' storm surge, which is pretty darn high.
Enough wasting time on this silly carping.
Did you watch the news yesterday?