America’s new favorite quarterback is the corporate media’s worst nightmare

Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky once famously advised athletes to “say nothing when you win, and when you lose, say less.”

The mark of a true professional in Gretzky’s heyday was to be modest in victory and dignified in defeat — it was the mark of class. Even when deflection felt forced, such as when Gretzky would credit his teammates in the postgame interview after scoring a hat trick, the standard was a good one. More than unappealing, self-praise is self-defeating, as it does nothing to attract further praise but just the opposite. Or, as Lord Byron put it: “Self-praise is no praise at all.”