As you have gathered, this post shall be about the retirement of Randy Moss.
I fell in love with Moss when he burst onto the scene in 1998 with the Vikings. As a Vikings fan who was in third grade at the time, nothing was more exciting than watching Moss streak by a defensive back (who a defensive coordinator was foolish enough to not give any safety help to) and catch a ball from Randall Cunningham on his way to the endzone. The NFL had never scene an athlete with that combination of speed, size and athleticism and he had a chip on his shoulder the size of Texas.
The Vikings drafter Moss with the 22nd overall pick in the 1998 NFL draft, Moss was the best receiver and athlete in the draft but some "character issues" saw him slip from Top-10 talent to the bottom of the first round. For his entire rookie he was the most exciting player in the league, scoring 17 touchdowns en route to the Rookie of the Year award and giving the Vikings their best season in franchise history with a 15-1 record, he even caught a touchdown pass in the NFC Championship Game. For the rest of his career in Minnesota, Moss was a fan favorite (including this fan) and one of the top receivers in the NFL.
Randy Moss was also a unique personality. Like many receivers, he wanted the ball all the time and was unhappy when he didn't get it. This personality trait, along with some questionable off the field choices (including hitting a Minneapolis traffic cop with his car) led to his departure from Minnesota via a trade to the Oakland Raiders. Moss spent two years in Oakland, where he had his least productive years of his professional career before being dealt to the New England Patriots after more complaining about the franchise.
In New England, Moss showed the spark that allowed fans to fall in love with him when he first burst onto the NFL scene. He proved nearly impossible to cover and caught an NFL record 27 touchdown passes in 2007. Moss was productive with the Patriots before being traded back to the Vikings during the 2010 season. The Vikings released him later in the year and Moss finished the season as a Tennessee Titan.
Moss announced his retirement today, to me his legacy is simple. He was one of the best athletes the NFL has ever seen. I've heard a lot of comparisons to Jerry Rice today in light of the news of Moss's retirement, to me its a bit unfair. Moss forever changed the way defenses prepared for receivers of his caliber. He was the best deep threat the game has ever seen, and in my opinion will ever see. Despite his character issues, to me Moss is a first ballot hall of famer on numbers alone. He may not have ever won the NFL's Man of the Year award but it was his bad boy attitude and desire to win that made him one of the greatest players ever to set foot in the NFL. If this retirement is for real (which I highly doubt due to the fact that plenty of teams could use his skills, and if the right team asks he'll come back) then I thank him for his years in the league, he was amazing to watch.
