In honor of Randy Moss’s return to the Vikings, SportsGrid goes back in time to find the Top 5 Randy Moments from his first, memorable stint with the Vikes. Enjoy.
1. The Moon
Ah, yes – The Moon. Given new life by its recent use in a campaign commercial for Wisconsin’s hotly contested Senate race, The Moon remains the quintessential Moss moment for the Vikings.
Moss had just caught a touchdown pass for the Vikings in the 2005 Wild Card Playoff game against the Packers and was pretty excited to stick it to them. So he pretended to moon the crowd at Lambeau Field – much to the disgust of Fox’s Joe Buck - who apologizes to the audience as if the telecast had been interrupted by hardcore porn.
The moment was all Moss – a big touchdown and a little bit of an F-you. That pretty much summarizes Randy Moss’s first stint with the Vikings.
2. The Lateral
Who would have thought that Randy Moss would be responsible for one of the best heads-up plays in NFL history?
Near the end of the first half against the Broncos on October 19, 2003, Moss caught a Hail Mary from Daunte Culpepper and was being gang tackled inside the Denver 20-yard line as time expired. Instead of giving up on the play, Moss lateraled the ball blindly over his shoulder to Moe Williams, who walked into the end zone for a touchdown as the Broncos defense looked on helplessly from the bottom of the pile.
A great play, and one that made thousands of football fans wonder “why don’t more people try that?”
3. The Great Green Bay Freakout
On October 5, 1998, rookie Randy Moss single-handedly demolished the Packers in a 37-24 win at Lambeau Field on Monday Night Football. It wasn’t so much his statistics that set the performance apart – a 5 catches, 190 yards and two touchdowns, not including a 75 yard touchdown that was called back on a penalty – as it was his physical superiority to the Packers defense. Green Bay had no answer for his size and speed.
How great was Moss on this night? Packers GM Ron Wolf was so terrified at the prospect of facing Moss twice a year for the next decade that he picked three defensive backs with his first three draft choices in the 1999 draft. Yes, he was that good.
4. “Straight Cash, Homey”
After “The Moon” incident in Green Bay, Randy Moss essentially booked his ticket out of Minnesota during an impromptu interview with KARE-11′s Dana Thiede. Moss was fined $10,000 by the NFL for the Moon, and didn’t seem to care that much. Here’s the exchange:
Thiede: “Write the check yet, Randy?”
Moss: “When you’re rich, you don’t write checks.”
Thiede: “If you don’t write checks, how do you pay these guys?”
Moss: “Straight cash, homey.”
Thiede: “Randy, are you upset about the fine?”
Moss: “No, cause it ain’t shit. Ain’t nothing but 10 grand. What’s 10 grand to me? Next time I might shake my ass.”
It was the end of an era – Minnesota traded Moss to Oakland shortly after the season. But Moss definitely went out on his own terms, while delivering an audio clip that will last for ages.
5. The Great First Impression
Randy Moss’s greatest catch (well, besides this one) is arguably his first NFL touchdown. This score against the Buccaneers in 1998 showcases the best of Moss: grace, impeccable ball skills, awareness, and of course….speed to burn.
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