I think publicizing self-validation is better reserved for individual player sports. Golf. Tennis. Skiing. Etc. How well you perform almost always dictates how far you can go.
That is not necessarily true in team sports. A team player can have an all-pro year and the overall team may come up way short as far as being championship competitive.
This is not a comparison observation. How many so-so seasons did the Detroit Lions have, even though they had Barry Sanders? The guy had ten or more all-pro seasons. He ended up one of the best, if not arguably the best, running backs in NFL history.
Maybe... it is wiser to just let your work speak for itself. Kinda like what Sanders did his entire career.