Top 7 Sports References in Music

In recent weeks, the top seven has looked at athletes crossing over into music and musicians that have tried their hand at various sports. 

This week, it’s sports-related music!  A future list may deal with the most popular songs played at arenas, but this one is strictly sports mentions in songs and videos. 

Ice Cube’s “It Was a Good Day” was left off on purpose because it was written about extensively in the musicians-as-athletes list. 

Onto the list:

7. Michael Jackson

When the molestation charges first started being thrown at Michael Jackson, his response was to find as many famous people as possible to appear in his videos as a way to vouch for him as an okay guy. 

This led to Magic Johnson appearing in the Remember the Time video, and Michael Jordan teaching Jackson some basketball skills in the “Jam” video.  The Jackson stuff is not slowing down, by the way.  I was in L.A. this week, and there were two stories about him on the local news, as well as a line just to place flowers and have your picture taken next to his Hollywood Walk of Fame star.

6. El Da Sensei

The only known Pujols mention in a song obviously gets its spot in the Top Seven.  “Crowd Pleasa” is the name of the song, and it’s not bad either.  “Swingin’ the wood like Pujols, prepare for a new host” makes perfect sense.  There was a Top Seven streak where JD Drew was mentioned something like eight weeks in a row, and Pujols is dead-set on challenging that streak.

5. Skee-Lo

It’s almost unfathomable that Skee Lo did not have a career that still continues to this day.  He was destined to become the next Elvis or Michael Jackson, only if you paired the two together to create the single-greatest artist in musical history.

Instead, he simply settled for the “I Wish” video and song, where he discussed how he was not picked very high when playing playground basketball.  Seems like he would have gotten over it by his mid-20s, but suit yourself.  In many ways, Skee was the anti-rapper, he had the least amount of self-respect of any rapper of all-time. 

Contrast that with a guy like Krayzie Bone or Wyclef, who think that the government is tapping their phone. 

I believe that Skee-Lo also set an all-time record for shortest amount of time that the obligatory follow-up single to a one-hit wonder was in rotation.  Can’t even remember what it was, but it was awful.  Four or five months ago, I would have bet six or seven dollars that Katy Perry would give that a title a run for its money, but I am also wrong a lot.

4. Outkast

“Time to drop these bows like Dusty Rhodes, then I yell ‘ho!’”  There is your quota of wrestling mentions.  You could make a case for Macho Man’s “Be a Man,” since the entire song is about challenging Hulk Hogan to a match when both men were nearly 50. 

As for Rhodes, does anyone have more famous elbows in history?  Actually, of all of the most famous elbows ever, all of them would have to be wrestlers.  Macho Man would be in there too.  Rowdy Roddy Piper too.  The only other one I can think of right now who’s a non-wrestler would be the guy in the Crash Bandicoot costume who said “you’re hurting my elbow” in that old commercial.

3. Wu-Tang

They had several great ones: “ayo my rap style swing like Willie Mays, my eyes purple hazed” was the way one of Inspectah Deck’s verses that rhymed for 45 consecutive lines started. 

They managed to even make a Juan Pierre comparison in a song once.  But Rod Strickland was their go-to guy.  He got a special shout at the end of “Wu-Tang Ain’t Nuthin to F Wit,” the greatest shout-out part of a song of all-time. 

But the best Wu-Tang sports mention has to be the end of “Triumph” when Raekwon says that he’s going to make you “jump like Rod Strickland,” especially since jumping wasn’t exactly what Rod Strickland was known for.  But one can’t argue with Wu-Tang, they know what they’re doing.

2. Britney Spears

During the unbelievable amount of intense, weeks-long research and planning that goes into each Top Seven, I asked five people if they remembered where they were when they saw “Baby One More Time” for the first time; all five said yes.  It’s the JFK Assassination of music videos.  Of course, Britney showcases some of her tremendous basketball skills at the tail end of the video.

1. Notorious BIG

In the everlasting BIG versus 2 Pac debate, I’m more in the 2 Pac camp, but in the sports department, Biggie has the clear lead.  One of his lines was so good that it also made it into the movie “Boiler Room,” which also contained an early showcase of Vin Diesel’s amazing range as an actor: “either you slang crack rock, or you got a wicked jump shot.”

This is a pretty open list, so let Major know what he missed in the comments or shoot him an email at [e-mail].

---

Subscribe (for free!!) to our weekly sports podcast, deemed "incredible" by two out of three of our moms.

© JoeSportsFan.com, 2009. | Permalink | Tweet This