I don't know about that. The best Umpire ever, Dickie Bird, was certainly noticed. It's just he was noticed for the right reasons, rather than the wrong ones. He's not the only one, either. Shep and Brent Bowden are similar, though in Bowden's case I've had reason to doubt the calibre of his decision-making more than once (howardj - I think - once said "bloody Bowden should never be allowed near any Australia game, never mind an Ashes Test").
Someone like Taufel is very different, and is noticeable only for his decision-making, which is usually excellent. Aleem Dar to a lesser extent, too.
I don't know Hair well, neither does (in likelihood) anyone on this board. So we don't really know whether he made the controversial decisions (mostly concerning Sri Lanka and Pakistan) that he did because he wanted the attention, because he saw himself as some sort of crusader, or just because he did what felt right at the time. It's unfair, I think, to pre-suppose - we have to have substantial evidence to make such accusations.
Hair was stood down because his position had become untenable, no other reason. I fully agreed that him Umpiring games involving Sri Lanka and Pakistan was no longer possible as the trust had completely gone, and in such a situation problems will arise at the smallest provocation. However, I think it's a shame he wasn't kept on to Umpire other teams, as none of them have ever had any real issues with him.