In pretty much any walk of life outside of sports, saying that you're the best at something is an invitation to either A) someone assuming that you're telling the truth, and then giving you way too much work that you can't handle, or more likely B) everyone assuming that you're full of shit and laughing at you if you try and fail to put your money where your mouth is.
Scenarios A and B can be avoided by actually being that good, but for the 99.99999% of us that immerse ourselves in mediocrity like a octogenarian nun slowly lowering herself into a warm bath full of epsom salts, it's generally not a good idea to go around telling people how great you are (and by implication, how much everyone else sucks in comparison to you).
That didn't stop Chad Kelly though:
When asked whether he was the best quarterback in the SEC, Kelly responded, "I'm the best quarterback in the nation."
"You have to feel that way," Kelly told reporters when he was asked follow-up questions. "In order to have confidence in yourself and team, you have to think you're the best. That's what I want our whole team -- from offensive linemen to running backs -- we have to think we're the best players and the best team out there.
"I want to be remembered as the greatest quarterback that ever played."
To be fair, Chad Kelly is a very good quarterback. As a junior at Ole Miss, he threw for over 4000 yards, 31 touchdowns, and completed over 65% of his passes. He also threw for 13 interceptions, including a three game stretch where he had seven picks. Point is, while he's possibly the best QB in a conference bereft of experienced quarterbacks, "the greatest quarterback that ever played" is probably beyond his reach.
But that's irrelevant. What's interesting to me is how perfunctory athletes saying that they're the best (potentially the best ever) has become. Good or even great players don't simply acknowledge that they're good or great, they insist that they're the best ever, and in doing so, bore the absolute hell out of me.
Here's an example of what I'm talking about. This is Joey Bosa talking to the San Jose Mercury News about his draft prospects:
"I do believe I'm the best player in the draft," Bosa, an Ohio State product, said. "There's of course a lot of amazing players in the draft, and it's going to be up to Tennessee to make that decision (No. 1 overall)."
And here's what Nick Vannett said about his draft stock:
"I'm the best combo tight end in this draft. I'm working to get to (Gronk's) level." -- Ohio St. TE Nick Vannett pic.twitter.com/rykqo1XANb
— CollegeFootball 24/7 (@NFL_CFB) February 26, 2016
Look, I want to stress that I have no issue with any athlete saying that they're awesome, or the best, or that all of their opponents are about to get dumped on. That can be hilarious and awesome and fun no matter what the skill level of an athlete is.
These statements, including Chad Kelly's, are not that. They are rote, rehearsed whole grain millet to be fed to the media and fans (and in the case of NFL draftees, to potential teams) to prove that an athlete is going to work hard and make them proud and whatever. Claims like "I'm the best" shouldn't turn into a mandatory funeral dirge every offseason, they should be fun, off the cuff statements that show the true personality of an athlete.
Yet, if someone like Braxton Miller took the podium and offered a frank assessment of his weaknesses while admitting that he has a lot to learn to be a successful NFL wide receiver (note: Braxton Miller would never, ever, ever, EVER do this), some might question his "heart" or "drive" or whatever ridiculous intangible that First Take would assign to his lack of mandatory bravado.
And "mandatory bravado" is exactly the phrase I mean, because it isn't a spontaneous, Ali-esque boast that we're given, it's a calculated statement that's been run through the Sports Information Director and at least two coaches.
The last two examples that I want to use are Ezekiel Elliott, who does not want for lack of self-confidence, and J.T. Barrett, a consummate team player.
Zeke talking about his draft stock and saying that he's awesome should be entertaining as hell. It should be a twenty minute rant about how he stuck his foot up Nick Saban's ass and gave Jim Harbaugh a coronary while simultaneously developing his own brand and image before setting one foot in the NFL. Instead, he said:
Kill me! Kill me now, stick boll weevils into my ears so that they eat away at my eardrums so I don't have to hear Ezekiel Elliott say that he's awesome in the most tame, maudlin way possible. "I'm the best... I GUESS" is the most backhanded compliment that anyone can give to themselves, and talented people like Zeke need to knock it off.
Barrett, on the other hand, gave the best interview of his life as he vented his irritation about not being respected as a quarterback in some of the same ways that Cardale Jones was:
"I was just like that's crazy to me because if you go back and watch film, I threw a lot of deep balls. Were some underthrown? Absolutely," Barrett said. "That was earlier in the year. I got better as the year went on, but I was like, 'Man, do I have a weenie arm?' In the offseason it was in my head all the time lifting weights, because I feel like I can throw the ball deep. I felt like y'all were talking bad about me."
It was an honest, authentic, and hilarious quote from a guy who wasn't speaking because of some required braggadocio, he was speaking about this because he was pissed.
What's funny about this is that Elliott's best copy never was a result of him talking about how great he is, but like J.T., his was borne from a feeling of frustration. It came after the Michigan State game, where an upset running back vented his feelings about the playcalling. That was terrific, in part because Zeke was exactly right, but also because we knew that those were his true feelings about himself and his team. That's valuable.
I don't need to hear players tell me that they think they're great for me to believe it. What I do want to hear, as a writer and a fan, are honest, unfiltered thoughts from players that can help make an interesting sport even moreso. Chad Kelly good-naturedly speculating on his place in college football history if he works real hard and keeps his nose clean does not interest me. J.T. Barrett throwing down truth bombs absolutely does, and I hope that we see a little more of that this season.
Edit: Big thanks to my coworker and 11W reader Megan for the idea for this article.
