What's the deal with Betelgeuse?

Betelgeuse is much closer to the Sun than VY CMa, so is brighter now, and will be brighter when it becomes a supernova. No astronomers are making a deal of this, because they understand cosmic time scales and the unlikelihood of either star going supernova in our lifetimes. This is just another example of the hysteria of the media and the internet to find headlines.