Twenty-six years ago today, the Minnesota Vikings changed the path of their franchise and the NFL as a whole when they drafted Randy Moss.
Twenty-six years ago, the Minnesota Vikings changed the path of their franchise and the NFL as a whole. The 1998 NFL draft is often remembered as an example of why going quarterback isn’t always a sure thing at the top of the draft. The top pick, Peyton Manning, went on to become one of the greatest QBs of all time. The next selection, Ryan Leaf, went on to be one of the biggest busts of all time.
Also taken in that first round was one of the greatest wide receivers of all time, Randy Moss, who fell all the way to the No. 21 selection.
26 years ago, the Vikings drafted wide receiver Randy Moss. The rest is history. ✍️@randymoss | @vikings
After finishing his college career at Marshall, Moss would move from his home state of West Virginia to the Land of 10,000 Lakes. The country boy at heart would quickly feel at home both on and off the field. His impact would be felt on the team and throughout the league in a wide variety of ways.
From his Thanksgiving Day breakout performance to making history years later by setting the single-season receiving touchdown record, success followed Moss.
It would follow him all the way to Canton, Ohio, where he is forever enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Joe Buck admits that he would redo the infamous “Disgusting Act” call from Minnesota’s 2005 wild card game against the Packers
On the most recent episode of “This is Football,” host Kevin Clark asked former Fox Sports and current Monday Night Football announcer Joe Buck which call in his career would he like to have back.
Buck didn’t hesitate. “The Randy Moss call, for sure…”
The incident Buck is referring to is the mooning touchdown celebration from Moss on January 9, 2005, during a wild card game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers.
After a 284-yard and three-touchdown day from Daunte Culpepper was capped off with a 34-yard Moss touchdown at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the then-seventh-year receiver decided that this wound deserved a little more salt.
Moss centered himself next to the goalpost and decided, in front of all the fans at Lambeau Field, to mimic pulling his pants down and mooning the crowd as the Vikings coasted to a 31-17 victory.
Moss would be fined $10,000 for the fine, but the real blowback came in the moment, as Buck let it be known how distasteful of an act that was for the Green Bay faithful.
“That is a disgusting act by Randy Moss! And it’s unfortunate that we had that on our air live! That is disgusting by Randy Moss!”
Fast forward almost 20 years later and Buck admits that he couldn’t understand where that call even came from.
“The more time goes on, the more I think, man, I can’t believe that came out of my mouth…that was too far, and it was not calculated, you never know what you’re going to see when you go into a stadium…”
Now, as time has passed and the situation behind the incident has become clearer, Buck understands that Moss had no ill will towards the fans of Green Bay.
“The irony of it is we were at Fox together for a brief while, we’re at ESPN together, my wife, Michelle, does the pre-game show…of all the people on that pre-game show, the nicest human being to my wife was Randy…knowing more of the backstory after the fact, about the fans and whatever and what they did to the team bus…that was one that I would probably pull back a little bit on.”
Buck is referring to the Green Bay tradition of their fans mooning the team bus as they leave the stadium. His apology seemed to be sincere and everyone makes mistakes, especially during moments filled with as much emotion as a wild-card game between two hated rivals like the Packers and Vikings.
However, without Buck’s call, without the added vitriol that his statement added, we may not have the $10,000 fine that followed. With that, we would be without another legendary Randy-ism.
When Moss was asked about writing the check for the fine, Moss iterated that players like Moss don’t write checks for a measly $10K.
Julian Edelman recalled Randy Moss sliding him money, when he was still a rookie trying to make the team
Former New England Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss was able to lend a helping hand to Julian Edelman, back when he was still earning his stripes as a rookie.
Edelman had to buy lunches for the entire receiver group to fulfill the ongoing rookie tradition. Moss knew the rookie was struggling financially, and he stepped up to help.
“Randy was a guy, yeah he gave you tough love, but when people weren’t watching and when we were by ourself, Randy would always love me up. Because he knew I was battling mentally through the struggles of trying to make this crazy team,” said Edelman. “As the rookie receiver of the room, I’d have to go and buy the lunches, and he knew I didn’t have much money. And he’d always slide me a couple hundred bucks.
“Randy was kind of like that older brother for me that always looked out, but in front of everyone, he had to let them know, ‘I’m not giving him no treatment.’ But that was part of the game for entering the Patriots that year. So I’m very thankful for having Randy and Tom [Brady].”
Edelman had an impactful season as a rookie in 2009. He tallied 37 catches for 359 yards and a touchdown, setting the stage for what would be a productive career.
Moss ended up becoming one of the Patriots’ most prolific offensive weapons in his short time in New England. However, stories like the one Edelman shared is proof of the impact that Moss made off the field as well.
Randy Moss, Toby Gerhart, and Steve Hutchinson were among the 22 players announced Monday to the 2024 College Football Hall of Fame class.
The National Football Foundation has announced their class for the 2024 College Football Hall of Fame, and the list includes three former Minnesota Vikings among the new enshrinees: Randy Moss, Steve Hutchinson and Toby Gerhart.
Those three will join 19 others to fill out the 2024 class of 24, who will officially be inducted on December 10th in a ceremony in Las Vegas. Moss, Hutchinson, and Gerhart are joined in the class by the likes of Justin Blackmon, Warrick Dunn, Larry Fitzgerald, and many more.
Moss, who started his college career at Florida State before transferring to Marshall, put up over 3500 yards and 54 touchdowns receiving, with another touchdown rushing in his two seasons before being taken in the first round by Minnesota in the 1998 NFL draft.
Toby Gerhart amassed over 3500 yards on the ground and scored 44 touchdowns in his four seasons with the Stanford Cardinal before being taken in the second round of the 2010 NFL draft, and Steve Hutchinson won a National Championship with the Michigan Wolverines before a 6-year stint with the Vikings from 2006-2011.
Justin Jefferson became only the fifth WR to notch 1,000 yards in each of his first 4 years
It came in a loss, but Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson showed in Week 18 why he’s one of the best receivers in the league when healthy. Jefferson finished Sunday’s game vs. the Detroit Lions with 12 receptions for 192 yards and a touchdown. The 192 yards put Jefferson over the 1,000-yard mark for the fourth time in his young career.
Despite missing seven games this season, the star receiver was still able to surpass the 1,000-yard mark, becoming only the third wide receiver in NFL history to eclipse the 1,000-yard threshold in 10 or fewer games. Along with that feat, Jefferson found himself in some excellent company with his fourth straight 1,000-yard season.
Jefferson became only the fifth receiver in NFL history to start his career with four straight 1,000-yard seasons, joining the New Orleans Saints’ Michael Thomas, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Mike Evans, the Cincinnati Bengals’ A.J. Green and Vikings legend Randy Moss.
It’s remarkable what Jefferson has been able to accomplish, and he’s only just starting to come into his prime. The sky is the limit. How high can his stats reach with the Vikings? Only time will tell, but he’s well on his way to becoming an all-time great.
The coolest moment in the Vikings’ history at Lambeau Field was Moss showing the crowd the moon
Welcome to the 25 SKOL’s of Christmas!
In a similar vein to how Freeform has done the 25 days of Christmas, we will look back at different moments in Vikings history to bring a little extra joy to you this holiday season.
It’s that simple. The holidays can be a trying time for some people and we want to put a smile on people’s faces by reminiscing about some truly joyous times in Vikings’ history.
On the twenty-third SKOL of Christmas, the Vikings gave to me: Randy Moss mooning Lambeau Field.
Joe Buck’s words will forever live in the minds of Vikings fans after that fateful touchdown celebration.
“That was a disgusting act by Randy Moss.”
To understand the rationale behind the moon, you have to know about the why.
In the 2004 season, Daunte Culpepper had a magical MVP-caliber season. With 39 touchdowns and a then NFL record 5,124 yards. In their first two games against the Green Bay Packers, they lost 34-31 in both contests. They got another shot in the 3-6 wild card matchup.
The game started off really well, as the Vikings had a 14-0 lead within the first five minutes. It went back and forth and the Packers were down just seven at 24-17 early in the fourth quarter.
That’s when Culpepper found Moss wide open on a go route from 34 yards out and Moss displayed his “fake” moon for all the world.
January 9, 2005: @RandyMoss catches a TD in an NFC Wild Card Matchup in Green Bay and tops it off with a moon shot celebration that Joe Buck from finds extremely offensive. The Vikings won 31-17.
— This Day In Sports Clips (@TDISportsClips) January 9, 2021
This came just one week after he left the field early against the Washington Commanders when the Vikings were about to attempt an onside kick. That had a sour taste in the mouths of many when talking about Moss, which led to a lot of vitriol.
The reason he ended up doing it was because of how the fans greet the Vikings’ team bus whenever they arrive at Lambeau Field: they moon them.
Moss was just getting a level of retribution on the fans that had heckled him for his entire career. It was relatively harmless that was overblown because of course it was.
I will say that for Vikings’ fans, it was one of the coolest moments in team history. I have a picture of it hanging in my basement.
Moss took the Cowboys passing on him very personally
Welcome to the 25 SKOL’s of Christmas!
In a similar vein to how Freeform has done the 25 days of Christmas, we will look back at different moments in Vikings history to bring a little extra joy to you this holiday season.
It’s that simple. The holidays can be a trying time for some people and we want to put a smile on people’s faces by reminiscing about some truly joyous times in Vikings’ history.
On the ninteenth SKOL of Christmas, the Vikings gave to me: Randy Moss sticking it to the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving.
The Vikings went into Thanksgiving Day with only one loss and their rookie wide receiver played with a massive vengeance.
Prior to the NFL draft, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told Moss that he was going to draft him when his pick came around. Unfortunately for the Cowboys, he went back on his word and selected pass rusher Greg Ellis instead.
When that happened, Moss took it personally and he circled that fateful Thanksgiving Day on his calendar. He wanted nothing more than to stick it to the team that misled him.
The Vikings ended up being the ones that benefitted from that mistake and Moss showed them why on Thanksgiving afternoon.
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It didn’t take long for Moss to make an impact, and while it was easier because Deion Sanders was out for the game, I don’t think that mattered because Moss was on a mission. He only caught three passes for 163 yards but they all went for touchdowns, including two in the first quarter.
The performance is still one of the best that the NFL has ever seen on Thanksgiving Day and it earned him a turkey leg from the great John Madden.
He was good two years later when the Vikings returned to Dallas on Thanksgiving where they won once again, but nothing will ever top that 1998 game.
After a year off from football, the former Eagles star Cunningham became the catalyst for the 1998 season
Welcome to the 25 SKOL’s of Christmas!
In a similar vein to how Freeform has done the 25 days of Christmas, we will look back at different moments in Vikings history to bring a little extra joy to you this holiday season.
It’s that simple. The holidays can be a trying time for some people and we want to put a smile on people’s faces by reminiscing about some truly joyous times in Vikings’ history.
On the sixteenth SKOL of Christmas, the Vikings gave to me: the resurgence of Randall Cunningham.
Flashback – Lions vs Vikings 1998. Gary Anderson hits 5 FGs and the Vikings take the ball away 4 times (0 turnovers for MIN) in a 29-6 laugher as the Vikings start to show a record-breaking offense under Randall Cunningham in Game 3 of 1998. pic.twitter.com/QieBoMHJxP
In today’s NFL, it’s not nearly as important to have a quality backup quarterback as it was in the 1990s and earlier. The game didn’t protect quarterbacks like it does now and it was commonplace for a quarterback to miss multiple games per season.
The Vikings had this happen quite a bit, especially once Brad Johnson took over as starting quarterback. Johnson had a knack for getting injured and he did so in both 1997 and 1998. The 1997 injury took him out for the rest of the year and that brought in former Philadelphia Eagles great Randall Cunningham.
After being replaced by Rodney Peete, Cunningham retired believing he was disrespected by the fanbase and organization. He spent 1996 away from football but was lured out of retirement by Dennis Green, who convinced him to come out of retirement. He ended up leading the Vikings to a massive 16-point comeback in the wild-card round against the New York Giants. That win ended up saving Dennis Green’s job and led into the events of the next year.
The big resurgence was in 1998 when Johnson got injured again. He broke his leg against the St. Louis Rams in week two and Cunningham came in and had a tremendous season. He completed 60.9% of his passes for 3,704 yards, 34 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He was so good that he ended up getting both MVP and Offensive Player of the Year votes along with Comeback Player of the Year votes.
He also started the 1999 season as the starter but was pulled during the sixth game as he started 2-4 and Jeff George took over.
We all know the magic of 1998 with Randy Moss and the miracle playoff run, but that doesn’t happen without Cunningham ready to step in and take control of this team.
Moe Williams is one of the most unheralded Vikings of all-time and his shining moment came when Randy Moss lateraled him the football.
Welcome to the 25 SKOL’s of Christmas!
In a similar vein to how Freeform has done the 25 days of Christmas, we will look back at different moments in Vikings history to bring a little extra joy to you this holiday season.
It’s that simple. The holidays can be a trying time for some people and we want to put a smile on people’s faces by reminiscing about some truly joyous times in Vikings’ history.
On the thirteenth SKOL of Christmas, the Vikings gave to me: Randy Moss lateraling to Moe Williams for a touchdown.
The legendary radio voice of the Minnesota Vikings Paul Allen dropped a line after this fateful play that resonated with me for nearly two decades.
“The improvisation of Randyu Moss would win him an academy award.”
The game itself was a battle between two of the better teams heading into week six. The Vikings sat at 5-0 and the Denver Broncos at 4-1. With seconds left in the first half, the game was tied at seven and Daunte Culpepper looked to try and get the Vikings one more score before the half. In doing so, he scrambled out to the right and got leveled right after he threw the ball.
The ball came up about 10 yards short and Randy Moss caught it. Out of instinct, he lateraled it because he saw a purple jersey out of his peripheral and Moe Williams waltzed into the end zone.
The play put the Vikings up by seven and it ended up being the difference in the game, as the Vikings improved to 6-0 by beating the Denver Broncos 28-20.
The play was voted the 68th best play in NFL history by NFL Network during their 100th anniversary celebration and it’s easy to see why.
Randy Moss was a dominant force and proved it for the first time on Monday Night Football
Welcome to the 25 SKOL’s of Christmas!
In a similar vein to how Freeform has done the 25 days of Christmas, we will look back at different moments in Vikings history to bring a little extra joy to you this holiday season.
It’s that simple. The holidays can be a trying time for some people and we want to put a smile on people’s faces by reminiscing about some truly joyous times in Vikings’ history.
On the eleventh SKOL of Christmas, the Vikings gave to me: Randy Moss torching Green Bay on his first Monday Night Football.
The 1998 season was a special one. The Vikings finished 15-1 and were a missed field goal away from making the Super Bowl. That is another story, but the debut of Moss on Monday Night Football was the catalyst to making the season feel special.
Both teams went into the game at 4-0 and the NFC Central rivals were on pace for a collision course to determine who was going to be the clubhouse leaders in 1998. The Packers were coming off of two-consecutive Super Bowl appearances and the Vikings had won their first playoff game in the decade the prior season.
The game was innocuous at the start, as it started 3-3. The Vikings turned it on in the second quarter and led the game 24-10 at halftime. The first touchdown was what really set him apart. He went up and caught the ball over Tyrone Williams, then did a “disrespectful” step over to get the touchdown.
Later on in the game, Moss did his classic jump ball routine ESPN now has a segment where they break down how players “Got Mossed” and he scored a touchdown to go up 37-10. His performance then and later in the season had the Packers draft an entire secondary to stop him.
Randy Moss had quite the rookie season and the performance put him on the map nationwide. The rest is history.
