A rockstar on and off the field, Linfield football running back number 23 Andy Nelson has risen to local fame through his original rap “Catdome,” which became an anthem for the 2015 wildcat football season.

Rapping had been a hobby for about two years when Nelson was approached by friend and teammate Cody Oden with the idea of writing a rap about the Linfield football team.

One instrumental from Soundcloud and two and a half hours later, “Catdome” was born. Since then, it has gained popularity on Twitter, Soundcloud, YouTube, and obviously in the football stadium.

“Catdome anthem was more than just a song to me, it represented the 2015 Wildcat team,” said teammate Tavon Willis. “It was a depiction of the team, roles we played, our brotherhood, and the purpose we all shared, which was honoring our brother Parker Moore by a commitment of excellence in pursuit of a national championship.”

Tribute to Parker Moore is made in the rap, found in lyrics “this is our season, 35 is the reason,” showing that his memory continues to be an inspiration and motivation for the team.

The anthem was soon played before every game, and fans gradually learned the lyrics and sang along.

I think it’s impressive how he almost fit every individual player into the song,” teammate Spencer Payne said.

This is an aspect that definitely made the song more unique and personalized to this year’s team.

“I was thinking that the football guys would find it entertaining and would maybe play it in the locker room – I never imagined it would get this big,” says Nelson humbly.

Nelson is a junior history major and has mentioned hopes of becoming a teacher post-college, however he said that he would perhaps consider pursing his passion for rap.

Although he does not have any professional equipment of his own, Nelson worked with broadcaster Kevin Nelson in Renshaw’s recording studio to record the song.

For those of you who have seen the video for the song on YouTube, it may interest you to know that the filmography and editing was actually done by Linfield alum Ryan Carlson, who has been described by Nelson as the team’s “biggest fan.”

Carlson has made many highlight videos of the games, and therefore when approached by Nelson with a rap he was more than happy to set it to a visual track comprised of his own filmography during games and practices.

For those of you who have not seen the video, it can be found on YouTube by searching “Linfield College Football: ‘Catdome’” by “catdomealumni.”

Due to its success this past season, Nelson has already written a rap for next season, which he said could be released as soon as May of this year so that fans can “learn the lyrics and get pumped for next season.”

Nelson also has several other songs available on his Soundcloud, ADMIRAL, for anyone interested in hearing more of his creative verses.