Grit. Guts. Blue-collar. Never say die. Hard working. Toughness. Heart.
One of my least favorite things about the Twitter-era of sports commentary is the way we belittle these values. When a blogger talks about a guy who is giving it the proverbial 110%, odds are pretty good it is not meant as a compliment.
Team player is a guy not good enough to be a star. A hard worker is a performative try-hard. There’s nothing easier to mock than the fans who claim stars can’t measure heart.
And look, there is something to that. Talent matters.