We played at Memorial middle school. The court had a tiger in the middle of it. There were big speakers on the stage blasting “Remember the Name,” by Fort Minor getting us motivated. The outline of the court was black and looked really good. When this happened we were in 5th or 6th grade and our jerseys were reversible and the colors were black and white. On the jersey it said tigers in big orange letters.

I heard this song during a basketball game. It gets me motivated to work hard, have hustle and loyalty for sports like basketball and football. The song, “ Remember the Name,” was in a mix tape for the game. I don’t remember who we played against or who was on the team besides Marcus and Brad. A person who was controlling the music chose the song.

When I hear the lyrics,  “This is 10 percent luck, 20 percent skill, 15 percent concentrated power of will, 5 percent pleasure, 50 percent pain, and a 100 percent to remember the name,” it pushes me to play my positions better during football and basketball. To play better I need to work hard and hustle every play on the field, or up and down the court.

When I listen to this part of the song it inspires me as if I was little and looking up to someone that’s humble and gets many opportunities, “Humbled through opportunities given despite the fact that many misjudge him because he makes a livin’ from writing raps put it together himself, now the picture connects.” I realized that it helps me to be humble and have good sportsmanship. The song shows me that there is more to the sport I’m playing than hustle. There is also loyalty. Loyalty is important to your team because if your team doesn’t trust you with the ball you can’t become a better team.

This part of the song inspired me almost as much as the first one because it reminds me of Allen Iverson and how he started out in the NBA with no all stars on his team and still won a championship, ”He knows how to work with what he’s got makin’ his way to the top.” In this piece of the song the words help me realize anything is possible. Just because I don’t have an all star team we are still a team and we can still win games. These lyrics are my favorite parts because they motivate me to work harder than everyone else. Only because working hard will help me in the long run. At the end of the day your team still works hard, but in different ways.

The song is still important to me because it helps me in sports and I think it always will. I always listen to “Remember the Name” before I play, so I don’t think it is ever going to leave my thoughts. It is really special to me because it shows me to have hustle, loyalty, and trust in my team. “Remember the Name” definitely helps me through all my sports problems and goals. Everyone should have trust in their teammates because if you don’t, then what’s the point in playing?