From baller Kevin Durant to poet Adrian Matejka to a lil blogger channeling a sideline hype man

Adrian Matejka reads in St. Louis, September 19.

Some years ago, there was this now legendary moment when Kevin Durant showed up at the Rucker in Harlem, put in serious work, further etched himself into basketball lore, and, most importantly, elevated his street cred. In one of the videos that popped up online, after Durant hits yet another three, there's a dude on the sideline going, "Told you. I told you. I told you," talking as if he and he along predicted Durant's unbelievable display.

I watched and marveled at footage from that event many times. I also laughed and shook my head at the sideline hype man.

Fast forward to this week. This week, the National Book Awards were announced, and Adrian Matejka's book The Big Smoke on Jack Johnson is on the top ten list for poetry. If I were a more responsible and refined literary critic, I would offer a detailed analysis of the merits of the volume. Or maybe, I could even just say "Congrats to Adrian." Ok, I'll work up to that. 

But I have to say, when I first heard the news that Adrian's book was nominated, I somehow became possessed by that dude from Durant's game. Before I knew it, I was transformed into a sideline hype man and got on some: Told you. I told you. I told you.    

Related: • A Notebook on Adrian Matejka