This is some hard-won wisdom. You always know in your head that you're suppose to focus on users and not on competitors, but sometimes, until you make the mistake yourself, you don't know what it actually feels like in the thick of things.
The spectators in the arena, like your users and the media, like a drama. They'll invent one if they have to, in order tell a story to each other or to bring some excitement for people to care. But in reality, don't get caught up in the hype, and focus on the two things that matter: understanding users using your product, and understanding how to get more users.