Top 5 Athlete Music Video Cameos

by Mike Cannon
Follow @mcann333
The other night I was bored and started flipping through channels on TV. Finally, I got to the section where the movie channels started. Nothing seemed to be on that worth watching, so I was scrolling through fast. During my light-speed scrolling, I passed a movie which I thought said, “Space Jam.” Being already bored, and knowing that the movie itself is something I loved as a kid; I decided to go back and watch. Great decision. Space Jam is awesome. Even though the box score and storyline didn’t always makes sense, does it honestly really matter? Michael Jordan was playing basketball with Looney Tunes against aliens who transformed into NBA mutants. It can’t get much crazier than that.

One of my favorite things about it is all of the real-life athletes appearing in it. Patrick Ewing, Mugsy Bogues, Larry Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shawn Bradley, and of course Jordan himself were all funny in it. Larry Bird was funny in the small role he had too. I love the random athlete appearances in things like that.

From there, this led me to think about athletes making cameos in non-sports related media. I started thinking about music videos, and some of them made me laugh at the randomness in them. I then compiled a list of what I thought were the best songs where an athlete makes a random appearance in the music video. The song has to be good, and so does the athlete. So, I’m sorry to say Anna Kournikova (as good looking as she is), didn’t make the cut in Enrique Inglesias’ “Escape” video. There are plenty of videos, so feel free to add some.

Here’s my top 5:

Honorable mention: Daunte Culpepper (Lil Wayne ft. Mack- Shine)

                Ok. I’m not a Weezy fan by any means. I actually think he’s one of the most overrated rappers in the history of hip hop, but that’s another story. I went against my own rule in this, this song sucks. BUT, the randomness is too ridiculous for me to not even mention it. At around 0:57 seconds, you see a guy bouncing and nodding his head real quick feeling the beat. I saw this the first time and had to go back. WHAT is Daunte Culpepper doing in this video? And if he is going to be in it, why is there only a 2 second clip of him through the whole song? Crazy stuff.

5. Ray Allen (Public Enemy- He Got Game)

                For people who have seen the movie, this one was kind of a given. This song is awesome too though. Cool beat from a Buffalo Springfield song. And Ray Allen was really good in the movie. For anyone who has never seen He Got Game, I recommend it. One of my all time favorite sports movies. Spike Lee did a sick job directing it.

4. Jalen Rose (Jadakiss- We Gonna Make it)

Most people probably would not have picked this up for two reasons. 1) Because the cameo itself is really short. It’s only about a couple seconds long. And 2) A lot of people probably didn’t recognize Jalen Rose. You can see him around the 3:03 mark waving his hands in the back. Again, another one where I find this really random but I don’t care. Jalen Rose is the man and this song is dope. Probably my favorite Jadakiss song. The beat is really catchy and although the music video itself really edits a lot of it out, the song is legit. Also, at around 0:25, that may or may not be Ludacris, can’t tell.

3. Carmelo Anthony and Terrell Owens (Common- Be)

I always wished this Common song was longer. It is one of his more catchy beats and has a nice rhythm, and Be (also the name of the album) is probably his best album, but the song itself is only 2 ½ minutes long. C’mon Man! Anyway, T.O. and Melo are seen many times throughout the song so I don’t have to point them out for you. As a Knicks fan, Melo has become one of my favorite players in the NBA and T.O was a star at the time this was made. I think the video itself is pretty cool too so this cracks the top 3.

2. Ron Artest aka Metta World Peace (Nas- Nas is Like)

MAJOR PROPS to the person who can find the young Ron Artest in this video without scrolling down and checking. His cameo makes it even cooler because Artest wasn’t even in the NBA yet, still very young, but had grown up in the same neighborhood as Nas. SAY QUEENSBRIDGE! Also, for anyone who doesn’t know the full story behind this beat/song I suggest you read more about it. It’s really cool. DJ Premier is the best hip-hop producer of all time and this song is just one example why.

(pause it at 1:25 and you see him giving a high five to Nas)

1. Dan Marino, Alonzo Mourning Fred Couples etc. (Hootie and The Blowfish- Only Wanna Be With You) 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln6WQqRDrCo&ob=av2e
(YouTube won't let us embed, but follow the link!)

I bet you expected this to be a rap song, right? Nope. This song/video is really cool. Are Hootie and the Blowfish and this video both really corny? Absolutely. But that’s what makes it even funnier. I actually like this song. And the idea to make this a SportsCenter themed video is really creative. I love the old school theme music. Keith Olberman, Dan Patrick, Mike Tirico, Charley Steiner and Chris Berman being behind the desk is really throwback. I thought the part where they just get their shit swatted by Alonzo Mourning, Alex English and Charles Smith was great to watch. Dan Marino’s reactions were funny on the dropped passes. Plus this video is nostalgic, which fits the original first line I had in this whole thing.

There you have it. Peace out.