Happy #PrinceDay! Here are The Purple One’s greatest sports moments

Prince Rogers Nelson would’ve turned 58 today. The late iconic artist transcended music and pop culture, and also was an avid sports fan. The last game he took in was the Golden State Warriors vs. Oklahoma City Thunder in March, sitting court-side to watch his favorite player Stephen Curry.

Here’s a look at some of our favorite moments when The Purple One graced the sports world with his legendary presence.

The Baller Formerly Known As Prince

Prince was a musical genius, but his skills didn’t stop there. He also had a bit of prowess on the court. He played basketball at Bryant Junior High and Central High in Minneapolis, standing just 5’2″ and serving as a solid role player off the bench. But like any person driven by greatness, Prince wasn’t satisfied with his position as described in this clipping from the Star Tribune archive:

From the Strib archives: Chappelle was right. pic.twitter.com/icXBFGWkij

— Libor Jany (@StribJany) March 3, 2015

The Purple One and the Purple And Gold

It’s fitting that Minnesota’s football team rocks purple as its primary color. When the Vikings beat the Dallas Cowboys to reach the 2010 NFC Championship game Prince was beyond pumped, he was inspired. Prince created a Vikings anthem called “Purple and Gold” (listen here), but it unfortunately didn’t help Minnesota as the New Orleans Saints prevented the team from reaching the Super Bowl.

The Artist meets The Greatest

In 1997, Prince received a phone call and dropped everything to fly from Minneapolis to Washington D.C. Who called? None other than Muhammad Ali. According to BBC, Ali wanted to meet Prince to get support for his World Healing Project, which raised money to combat bigotry worldwide. Prince considered Ali his hero and the two of them hit it off immediately, bonding over magic tricks. Ali passed away just four days ago on June 3, we hope that they are creating more magic together in the afterlife.

We’ve lost a true original. @Prince was someone who cared for others & used his genius to help many. #AliTweet pic.twitter.com/jGmjj3Fgi6

— Muhammad Ali (@MuhammadAli) April 22, 2016

Purple Rain in the rain

Prince put on an energetic performance at Super Bowl XLI in 2007, singing hits like Let’s Go Crazy and Baby I’m a Star. As rain fell from the sky towards the end of the performance, Prince performed Purple Rain for a magical close to one of the best halftime shows ever.

That Chappelle’s Show Skit…

We leave you with the hilarious skit from Chappelle’s Show where Charlie Murphy recounts a story of the time he challenged The Purple One to a game of basketball (watch here). It’s one of the most famous skits in the show’s history. Even Prince loved it and said the story was mostly true: