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Jonathan Thomas
January 26, 2014
Eng 1030-19

Youre the Real Author!

Youre the real MVP is a simple construct of words that has turned into an almost iconic
saying for the ages. Immediately going viral the minute they were spoken, the author behind
these words never saw it coming. The term author here is not used lightly due to the true
profession of the speaker, but a term he deserves none-the-less . The professional basketball
player that is responsible for this simple statement is Kevin Durant (KD), and he was not
expecting this simple moment of appreciation to be considered authorship. So what makes
something authorship? It cannot be merely the intent of the author that makes something
authorship, because then KDs famous saying is not considered authorship; it has to be
something else, like the passion of the author and the impact that the message carries. If this
definition is embraced through fairly effortless analysis, then KD and anyone, can possibly claim
two skills now; because what makes something authorship or someone an author does not have
anything to do with the credentials behind their name or the recognition they get under a title. It
all has to do with the way in which the audience receives, processes, and understands the
message.
One of the most important aspects of authorship is the target audience that the piece is
trying to reach. When traditional authors write, they have an audience in mind, and they write
according to how that audience will best receive it. Many things go into this consideration, from
age to culture, and multiple other demographics all go into the decision making process of
audience analysis. Once the author has all the information he/she needs, that is when the
creating process can finally begin. Authors construct unique styles for the type of audience they
are trying to reach, adding originality and personality to the work. For example, romance novels

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are written in a certain stylistics way to appeal to women more than men. This type of analysis
also happens daily with everyday people who are verbally communicating; everyone analyzes
their audience and constructs their message accordingly. Sometimes this process is done
unwittingly and all the sudden something somebody says has 1 million views on facebook. The
modern term for this is going viral, but down in its roots, going viral is just hitting the heart
strings of the people listening. This is exactly what KD accomplished here.
When looking at KDs most valuable player (MVP) of the National Basketball League
(NBA) acceptance speech, he definitely considered his audience. The audience he was
addressing was America, especially NBA fans. The speech was broadcasted over the entire
nation and anyone with a television could tune in. This considered, KD knew he had to construct
a simple speech that did not confuse many viewers. The easiest way to accomplish this was to
keep the speech straightforward and avoid any basketball lingo that everyday people would not
understand. KD explains where the love of the game started, a small hometown gym; my mom
just wanted to get me and my brother out of the house for a few hours, but thats where I fell in
love with the game (qtd Kevin Durant). KD masters perfectly the connection with with the crowd
by personal anecdotes and even a joke every so often allowing the audience to follow his
message from beginning to end. The simplicity of the speech also added to the effect of the final
section of the speech. When KD is addressing his mom and thanking her for all that she did
throughout his life, he gives her credit for it all by proclaiming (to his mother), Youre the real
MVP (qtd Kevin Durant). The power of a simplicit speech is a result of proper audience analysis
on KDs part. He delivered the speech in a way that personally touched and delivered the proper
message to the widest possible audience.
Another major aspect of traditional authors is establishing character and appealing to the
ethos of the audience. Ethos is the use of persuasion by providing credibility of the author.
Known authors have distinct character traits and credit that come along with their work. It is so
obvious and apparent that sometimes you feel as if you know an author just by reading, looking

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at, or listening to their work and acknowledging the distinguishing characteristics about it.
Authors embed their character into their work and slowly reveal it to us as we dig deeper,
gaining our trust along the way. Many of them do it very subjectively, while others are very blunt
and straightforward. No matter how authors prove their credibility and character, it is important
that the audience knows these things and that they carry on into the subject matter. This is so
important because the audience can not truly appreciate the work until he/she appreciates the
author.
The main reason that KDs speech had such a great impact and went viral the day it
broadcasted is due to the character that he established for himself from the very beginning. By
starting off the speech with recognizing fully that God gave him the abilities he has in basketball
as a platform for [him] to inspire people KD immediately establishes character (qtd Kevin
Durant). With this he begins to build his argument that he is not the sole reason for his success,
nor does he want sole recognition. The Bleacher Report commented on the speech saying,
Durant thanked everyone who helped him reach this point. From his teammates to his coach to
his mom, the 25-year-old was very emotional during his speech (Newport, 2014). He continues
on with this appeal to ethos by sharing a personal story about his childhood and how he felt
trapped in a box that he would never get out of. Allowing the audience to see him vulnerable to
the point of tears, they empathize with him on the struggles of life, taking his thankfulness more
seriously. The fact that he also calls out by name a few players on his team that played a major
role in his achievement adds to his credibility, by admitting that he did not do this alone the
audience sees his humility. Both of these things, character and credibility, build on top of each
other to the climax of the speech where again in an ultimate stance of humility he tells his
mother, Youre the real MVP (qtd Kevin Durant)!
Examining this viral speech in the scope of authorship is very enlightening, especially on the
idea of everyone possibly being an author. Everyone having the capacity to be an author is
something that is decided individually. With todays modern access to the whole world, it only

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takes a few key aspects to make true and worthy authorship. When audience analysis and
character/credibility of the author come together to make a coherent message, there is authentic
authorship. Everyone has a story to tell, a comment to exclaim, or a creative idea for the world,
and when these are expressed in proper context and originality, they become authorship.
Regardless of the letters at the end of youre name, because youre the real author.

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WORKS CITED
Kevin Durant Accepts Kia NBA MVP Award : NBA.com." NBA.com. National Basketball
Association, 06 May 2014. Web. 28 Jan. 2015.
Newport, Kyle. "Durant Gives Emotional MVP Speech." Bleacher Report. BleacherReport, 06
May 2014. Web. 25 Jan. 2015.

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APPENDIX A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehlBKRqPveQ

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