Randy Moss has been an enigma known for his athletic brilliance on the field and troubles off it. #RandUniversity pic.twitter.com/CxELCGMgLT
— 30 for 30 (@30for30) November 11, 2014
“My whole goal is to come in and do whatever I can to wreck this whole league.”
Those were the confident words, to the tune of a West Virginia dialect, spoken by Randy Moss shortly after he was selected by the Vikings in the 1998 NFL Draft. Moss used his “freak” athlete status to terrorize hopeless defensive backs in the NFL for 16 years.
His numbers are iconic.
- 156 receiving touchdowns – 2nd all time
- 15,292 receiving yards – 3rd all time
- 982 receptions – 10th all time
- “Straight cash, homey” – best quote of all time
Needless to say, but said anyway by Grantland’s Andrew Sharp, “There Will Never Be Another Randy Moss.”
“There may have been better players than Moss, but nobody ever made football look easier. He could run through defenses designed to break him in half, and run 10 yards past coverage designed to keep him from going over the top. He was faster than anyone in the league, but he never looked like he was going full speed. He could catch anything, outjump anyone, and when he was pissed, he played better.”
Sharp went down the Moss memory lane because, well, what better time to do so than the day ESPN’s award-winning documentary series unveils a film about Moss?
“30 for 30: Rand University” airs tonight at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
Rand west virginia we r on a national stage in a few hrs! I'm proud of my roots an very blessed to say "God is great!"#randwvstandup
— Randy Moss (@RandyMoss) November 11, 2014
But this documentary isn’t about Moss the football player; it’s about Moss the person.
“This is a story about pain and struggle and redemption,” Marquis Daisy, the filmmaker of the documentary, told the Charleston Daily Mail. “If you want Randy Moss the athlete you can go to YouTube for that. If you want Randy Moss the person, that’s what this is.”
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NFC North writer Ben Goessling has a preview of what the Moss documentary is about.
“The film spends plenty of time looking at Moss’ hometown of Rand, West Virginia, and why he made it out of an environment that has seen many other athletes fall by the wayside. Moss’ career often pivoted on his personal troubles, and his assertion at Super Bowl XLVII that he was better than Jerry Rice fell flat in part because there was a feeling Moss left something on the table. It’s why he’s still so fascinating — more than nine years after the Vikings traded him to Oakland and four years after his ill-fated return to Minnesota — and a look at the forces that shaped him promises to be fascinating.”
As you prepare to watch the Moss documentary, do yourself a favor and search “Randy Moss” on Twitter to see all of the awesome stuff you’ll get. Here are a few examples.
cold world pic.twitter.com/Hx8w2AtLOy #randuniversity
— bomani (@bomani_jones) November 11, 2014
https://twitter.com/TheSportPics/status/532203827735560193
Not sure which is better: Cartoon @RandyMoss or cartoon @DeionSanders. Great story, tho https://t.co/1rZRyQYbZL
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 11, 2014
