As a young kid I loved the big named teams. I was that longhaired white boy who rocked a black and red Jordan jersey before it was cool. Wore that thing everyday. I’m telling you it was like glue on me, my Mom couldn’t get it off my back. On weeknights after I finished watching Batman on WB and Clarissa Explains It All, I scooped up my mini basketball and proceeded to slam it down on my Fisher price hoop just like I was MJ. For that period of time I watched every Bulls game that came on TV with the family.
When it came to the gridiron, I fell in love with the Dallas Cowboys. America’s Team! Deion, Michael, Aikman, Emmitt, they were drawing in this young kid with their swagger. And at the time, I couldn’t even comprehend what swagger was. I just fell for the spotlight and the allure of the big franchises. Blame it on my parents, blame it on the media, but mostly blame it on my young impressionable mind. After I grew up and formed my own opinions about who I would root for in sports, I tried to approach it cautiously. This would be the team I would root for until the day I died (dramatic right?). See I lived 25 minutes away from Giant Stadium, so logically I should have ended up a Giants or Jets fan. My father is a Giants fan while most of my friends root for Gang Green. If I didn’t go that route I could have stuck with the Cowboys for the long haul. Even when they fell apart and started playing Quincy Carter at Quarterback (shout out to Quincy). But I passed. None of those teams grabbed my attention anymore. After the dust settled and I bounced from team to team, I finally ended up finding a home. See this shit happened to me while I was sitting around on a Sunday as a kid, doing what kids do. I was watching football, eating pop tarts, and waiting for something good to come up on TV when by dumb luck I flipped over to a Vikings game.
Football Jesus (Sorry Adrian Peterson)
What I witnessed on that faithful Sunday was something straight out of a video game. I knew about Randy Moss but I didn’t really KNOW about Randy Moss. I watched this freakishly tall WR run up and down the field at blazing quick speeds, burning DB’s and making incredible catches. Who was this dude? Was this shit really happening? I was blown away. I shit you not… BLOWN AWAY (cue the Currensy music). Yeah, I basically just witnessed my new favorite player and new favorite team put on a show.
The allure of Randy Moss was pure magic. During his first run in Minnesota, it was a really special thing to be a part of. Watching Moss every week was like playing Madden with your friends. You would see Daunte Culpepper drop back and launch a missile 60 yards downfield to Moss, then watch him catch that shit in stride on his way to the end zone. He was this incredibly gifted athlete who could gallop across the field, jump out of the roof and make spectacular plays. As a kid turning into a teen, how could you not become a fan of this brand of football? They say defense wins championships but offenses sell tickets. Offense packs the seats, and offense gets you written about in all of the sports magazines and blogs. Just watch this clip below and picture an impressionable kid sitting on his couch watching this.
As a newly minted Vikings fan I suffered through the NFC Championship loss to the Falcons and the even worse the NFC Championship loss to the Giants. Twice I could almost taste a Super Bowl and twice I almost got a chance to see my guy Randy Moss kill it in the worlds biggest game. Sadly though I would have to wait a few more years to see Randy end up playing in the Super Bowl.
Thanks to Randy Moss I have become a faithful Minnesota fan. With the help of NFL Sunday ticket I haven’t missed a game in years. I went through the Mike Tice boat party era, the Brad Childress-Favre era and now the Leslie Frazier-Joe Webb- Christian Ponder- please help us era. What drew me to Minnesota were Randy Moss and his character. When he was traded to Oakland, I sat back and said to myself “This is it, either follow Moss his whole career or stick with the purple and gold”. I am happy to say I have remained loyal to the Vikings.
When Moss announced his comeback on U-Stream, I was filled with joy. That young kid who became a die hard Moss fan was about to see his favorite player get after it one last time. Would he be himself? Who knows, it was still Randy Moss and the allure of his name got me ready to press “Draft” on my Fantasy Football league button. I figured maybe I would get lucky and be able to see him come back to Giant (METLIFE) stadium one last time. Have a few more beers, black out and watch Randy being Randy. Regardless of what happens this off season, I have to thank Randy Moss for giving me a team to root for and giving me a football experience like non other.
Straight Cash Homie.
