Nah, I was not the one calling out the invalidity of someone's 'true pvper' status. It is very legit to want to get rewarded from doing something that takes time and effort. I am not sure of any long-standing PvP games where there is not /some/ reward in it for the players, either through gear, vanity, titles, or whatever.

I love pvp, I consider myself a hardcore pvper. I am rank 40, no win-trading, what have you. Did I enjoy the gear that I unlocked as I PvPed? Yes, quite. Do I enjoy my horse mount? Yes, quite. I continued PvPing even after receiving rank 40 and receiving the gear I want, but now the amount of time that it takes to get into a PvP match (1-2+ hours) is not worth it for 3-30 minutes of PvP 'fun'. Do I want more rewards? Yes, I enjoy them. It gives others incentives to play, keeping queue times short. Do I consider myself 'not a real pvper'? No, not in the slightest.

Check your privilege.