Randy Moss, the Greatest Wide Receiver of All-Time, Is a First Ballot HoFer!
Joe Johnson
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Since beginning purplePTSD.com back in May of 2015, I’ve really only written a couple articles about the player that is perhaps as responsible for my love of the purple and gold as my dad is/was, a player that came around right when I was 12 or 13 and that immediately showed me exactly what my dad was getting worked up over all those years, that was and still is the greatest player at his position of all-time (and was somehow run out of Minnesota not once, but twice), the most talented of so many talented Vikings players, my favorite player of all-time… That player is Randy Moss. It was announced on Saturday that Moss had made it to the Hall of Fame as a first ballot honoree, a place that some people thought he’d never get, let alone on his first try, but the sports writers seemed to recall that Moss was never as bad as Terrell Owens (Who, ironically is also joining Moss in this year’s Hall of Fame class (He had to wait though)) when it came to actually taking attention away from his team or dividing a locker room, something that Vikings fans seemed to forget or not understand when they turned on him all those years ago (after welcoming him so kindly before that). Because of his reputation, it was surprising even to me that Moss made it into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility as even Cris Carter, who was widely considered the second best wide receiver of all-time after Jerry Rice, didn’t make it (he also had some struggles early in his career, and afterwards (the Rookie symposium)) until after his first attempt. By putting Moss in as a first ballot wide receiver, the sports writers who are allowed a vote are saying that Moss is an all-time great, a rare talent, perhaps the best ever (at least physically)… And they’re right about everything, including about his “bad attitude” or lack thereof.
Most older Millennials like myself have countless Randy Moss stories and if they’re real fans of the team (and want the team to win) they would’ve broken something (internally or externally) when they first heard that Moss was traded to Oakland back after the 2004 season while definitely remembering where they were when they heard that news (just as my Dad remembers where he was when he heard that the Vikings had reacquired Fran Tarkenton on the radio) . Sure, he had a unique personality, but that was sort of the way good wide receivers were back then (and now), it all really started with the aggressively mediocre Keyshawn Johnson, who wrote the book “Give me the Damn Ball”, a brashness or selfishness that seemed to overtake the league especially when Terrell Owens and his personality disorder(s) got involved. So, while I’m clearly biased, I never really thought Moss was that type of guy, rather he was sort of a small town fella that used his attitude as a coping mechanism when he was upset or uncomfortable. Most of his “worst” moments, even if they were as reported at the time, are nothing compared to what Owens was doing on whichever team could stomach him (and his amazing stats) for a year or two. Moss had run in’s with the law as a kid, sure, but the stuff like him wearing sunglasses to the Heisman Trophy Presentation (which was widely reported as part of his character flaws at the time) was nothing to begin with but also sort of endearing if you know the story behind it (one of the flashier wide receivers in the history of the NFL was intimidated by and felt less nervous in his shades).
There was the run in with the crossing guard, the marijuana, the “I play when I want to play” (which was taken out of context), the squirting of the ref with the water bottle, the walking off the field with 2.6 seconds left (during an onsides kick). All of those (on-field) things spoke to a frustration that Moss had with Vikings owners/management, who refused to put a decent defense on the field to take advantage of his skill and the most powerful offense in the history of the league. Then Vikings owner Red McCombs was the worst owner in league history, he just happened to fall ass-backwards into Moss, then was fined for attempting to cheat his way over the minimum salary cap level by adding signing bonuses, and “missed” putting in the pick for the teams first-round draft pick two years in a row because he wanted to pay less for that player. Moss’ issues on the field never divided the locker room like others did, in fact, outside of Matt Birk (who has done a great deal to discredit Harvard as a bastion of intellectuals since retiring), have ever said anything other than great things about Moss the teammate. Sure, he was extremely talented from a god’s gift perspective, but beyond that, he worked extremely hard too. He lucked out by being drafted by the team that had Cris Carter on it’s roster, as Carter turned him from a pure burner into the most well-rounded receiver in the history of the league. Check out the “Moss Method” on YouTube if you want to see how hard he worked. Beyond that, there was a definite feeling like people were going after Moss for no reason at times. The outcry over the “Straight Cash Homie” line was laughable, or would’ve been, if it wasn’t part of the reason why Moss didn’t play his entire career as a Viking. There was nothing wrong with that statement, but of course it became a scandal because people in Minnesota “Work hard” and for Moss to pay is fines in “Straight cash” is a “slap to the face” of all of those who can’t pay their bills that way! The mooning incident in Green Bay? Hilarious and also payback for the actual mooning that the Packers fans would greet the Vikings with before each game in Lambeau (Sidenote: I can’t personally think of a collective ass crack I’d like to see less than that of the people in Wisconsin). Like most things Moss, if you actually spent the time to understand why he was doing what he was doing, or saying what he was saying (ie in “Context”), you’d realize that he wasn’t some villain that tore the locker room apart, but rather a pretty normal guy considering he just so happened to be the best wide receiver of all-time during an era where wide receivers were attempting to outdo one another with celebrations and “ME ME MEEEEE” moments. Perhaps that’s the influence of Cris Carter, but Moss was never really that type of guy, he really did want to win and he really wanted to win in Minnesota. He stated that he thought about retiring after he learned he was traded to Oakland, not because he hated the Bay Area, but rather because he loved the State of Minnesota because it spoke to him. He kept a house in Medina for the longest time because he loved to fish, to play basketball in his in home court, as opposed to what some people would’ve assumed he was doing which was probably going to the club and spending straight cash on a gaggle of strippers.
We thought that we’d never see Moss in Vikings colors again, but as if some miracle, he came back during the much maligned 2010 season for three whole games, only to be run out of town, again, over a catering menu and Brad Childress’ ego. It was a crushing blow to that season and the hopes and dreams of those that were so excited to see him back, to see a roster with Brett Favre, Randy Moss, Adrian Peterson and Percy Harvin play for three glorious weeks only to fall apart in typical Vikings fashion. Sure, that entire season was a disaster and Moss bounced around the league after that, but he still showed that he was the best wide receiver of all-time both as a Viking and as a Patriot. When he was traded the first time, after seven seasons, he had 93 touchdowns and just under 9,200 yards receiving. His final season, most of which he was injured for, was the only season as a Viking where he had less than 1,000 yards receiving (or under 1,233 yards to be exact). He had 767 yards receiving that year, but still had 13 touchdowns (an average of a touchdown a game, which was something he also averaged the year prior (and nearly five times over his career). His 2008 season in New England will live forever in the annals of NFL history, as he showed that even with less speed than he had had in Minnesota, what he’d have been able to do had he come into the league like his only real competition for the “Best WR in the history of the NFL” title in Jerry Rice. Rice had Joe Montana and Steve Young throwing him the ball for his first decade plus in the league, Moss had QB’s like Randall Cunningham, Jeff George, Daunte Culpepper, Gus Frerrotte, Todd Bouman, Spurgeon Wynn, etc. That’s why Moss is not only the most talented receiver of all-time, but also the best. Rice was great, there’s no doubt about it and his longevity was something that Moss didn’t have. However, Randy Moss actually changed the way defenses played the game (where as it can be said that Rice changed how teams played offense, as he was part of the first West Coast Offenses out in … The West Coast). If you really want to get into the X’s and O’s there, check out this great piece on ESPN.
So, it’s really great to see Moss entering the Hall of Fame as a first balloter. Moss deserved this validation and he deserved to be one of the few wide receivers to make it during his first year of eligibility. It’s funny to see the guy that was considered to be the most anti-Media in the locker room be part of that media now, to be part of the NFL machine now. If you needed any other proof that Moss got a bad rap as a Viking, especially, when he found out that he’d made it he was actually speechless. That’s how much this stuff means to him and that’s why he was so great, sure, he wore his emotions on his sleeve but that’s not a bad thing when you’re playing a position that demands just that to be great. Now the only thing that’s left to ponder is whether or not he’ll wear sunglasses to the Hall of Fame induction ceremony. My money is on that he won’t… And it’s straight cash, homie.