I really enjoyed reading your post but I have a comment regarding your final football analogy.

Football players goals and statistics are publicly available and analysed. Additionally, every football team plays the same game, so the rules and context are understood by all.

As an employee, you do not necessarily have this kind of visibility so you necessarily need to market yourself in some ways. This way, your achievements are visible, but also understandable to others who are not familiar with your company's context and situation (to put things in perspective).