Someone Great Who Looked Like Me

Kicked back in my time machine
Reminiscing everything was so promising
Siblings let me win so I would feel like I was King
Caught the pigskin ran it in then I was high as he
Who's kneeled down when I've cried and brought the sky to me
Like God, the gridiron brought my highest being
Fell in love with the sport when I was high as knees
Then I learned of Jim Thorpe and I knew I could beast

Blow up and get the paper like them Shakopee's
Go up to snag the ball on y'all like Moss and flee
Show up or be shown up because I've got to peace
That was the Jim Thorpe effect on my philosophy
But somewhere down the line I must've lost the beat
Started going in for my feast like I forgot my teeth
Jim Thorpe isn't in the public conscious P
All I'd ever see was black and white on colored screens

All I hear about is chiefs but they're all long deceased
Man I wish could've seen you play ball on TV
I wish that you'd receive the same notoriety
The mass media has given all these other athletes
I just needed someone great who looked like me
Jim Thorpe you could be my Muhammad Ali
Afflicted with addiction alcoholic like P
No submitting both spittin' up in college like G's

My focus not there we probably both got B's
You're the star RB, I'd skip to smoke trees
When I finally got sober I became an MC
Messing up on stage cause I care what people think
I needed your influence I don't care what people think
See for me to feel great man I needed that drink
Graduated school and flushed the liq down the sink
Now I gotta be you for kids who wanna be me

I was young Jim went in one and out one
Cause even though he's goat he was always outdone
How I'm supposed to stay inspired by the top gun
When they'd never say a word about him not one
All I heard was Tyson, Jackson and Jordan
It made me feel like other races were more than
On top of that I had identity crisis
I thought not even sports could save me from how serious my life is

Young Native growing up without his culture
No role models to show me it was out here
Didn't have a dad and mom was gone for weeks
You would think it's romance the way it swept us off our feet
The foster home is the modern day boarding school
Kill the Indian and save the man you know the rule
Matter fact ol' Jim Thorpe knew it too
It took the light from us and made it all dark and blue

We were all athletically gifted
But when we played them white kids somehow we just missed it
In them big street football games
I see now it's more mental than anything
Became resentful of my one true Queen
Started clouding everything with blunts and things
Giving women fits instead of diamond rings
When they deserved my heart and all the finer things

Dang ol' Jim we got a lot in common
I'm glad I finally came around to put the time in
Cause you're the type of hero I know I could vibe with
A legendary native athlete is what I missed
At least I can share your legacy with my kid
Them other athletes are dope but they ain't goat
Sitting Bull was brave but ancient war ain't sport
It's time I shared about your name what they ain't spoke

All I hear about is chiefs but they're all long deceased
Man I wish could've seen you play ball on TV
I wish that you'd receive the same notoriety
The mass media has given all these other athletes
I just needed someone great who looked like me
Jim Thorpe you could be my Muhammad Ali
Afflicted with addiction alcoholic like P
No submitting both spittin' up in college like G's

My focus not there we probably both got B's
You're the star RB, I'd skip to smoke trees
When I finally got sober I became an MC
Messing up on stage cause I care what people think
I needed your influence I don't care what people think
See for me to feel great man I needed that drink
Graduated school and flushed the liq down the sink
Now I gotta be you for kids who wanna be me

First of all let's define what's the greatest
It ain't about marketing and being famous
So it can't exclude the nameless and faceless
Just because they didn't have the frames then to trace it
With that said let's get down to some basics
I don't think a one sport athlete can claim it
Unless all their measurables reach out to the spaces
Haven't seen that it's just facts that I'm stating

There's a lot of great names erased on that basis
In baseball Jordan never made it to the majors
Boxing was the only sport Ali made the papers
But he used his platform to fade all the racists
So next to Jim Thorpe he's my vote for the A-list
Bo was the first two sport all star
But Jim Thorpe epitomized durability
A star in many sports with great versatility

He won gold in the Olympic decathlon
A ten event competition can you grasp on
Played football with no face mask on
A three time champ with the Bulldogs of Canton
And to be clear he put his teams on his back
As a place kicker, punter and a running back
Put the ball in his hands and he'd run it back
An All American college football champ

He was decent playing Major League Baseball
If you don't know about him you should probably face-palm
Got inducted into three major hall of fames
Track and field the NFL and the NCAA
Somehow these sports fans still got none to say
I guess they didn't have sports-center in his day
Leather shoes no drugs no hope
To accomplish all that bro he's gotta be goat

All I hear about is chiefs but they're all long deceased
Man I wish could've seen you play ball on TV
I wish that you'd receive the same notoriety
The mass media has given all these other athletes
I just needed someone great who looked like me
Jim Thorpe you could be my Muhammad Ali
Afflicted with addiction alcoholic like P
No submitting both spittin' up in college like G's

My focus not there we probably both got B's
You're the star RB, I'd skip to smoke trees
When I finally got sober I became an MC
Messing up on stage cause I care what people think
I needed your influence I don't care what people think
See for me to feel great man I needed that drink
Graduated school and flushed the liq down the sink
Now I gotta be you for kids who wanna be me