I listen to many interviews with athletes and lately I notice a new construction. I’ll give two hypothetical examples.

1) My teammates and myself played well.

2) The game went badly. It was the fault of my teammates and myself.

I think that covers it, although you may have more to add. In No.1 the speaker could just as easily say, “My teammates and I played well.” In No.2 the speaker could just as easily say, “It was the fault of my teammates and me.”

I’m sure you’ve heard this stuff. I am not saying the myself construction is wrong. I am saying it is unnecessary and it sounds awful. Why do speakers use the myself form? I believe they don’t know the correct pronoun and feel safe with myself.

Your thoughts? It will be between just you and myself.