I’ve been both fascinated and gratified by the incredible performance of Randy Moss, the wide receiver who was traded to the New England Patriots this past April.
In the words of Tom Brady:
“I think everything that has been written and said about him is the complete opposite of what we’ve experienced,” Brady said. “He’s a great teammate, a great player. He’s very coachable. He’s selfless. He’s a great worker. He leads by example. He’s got a bunch of great qualities.”
Moss is and has been a high-achieving athlete throughout his career:
State Athlete of the Year in high school
Set several NCAA Division I-AA records in college
Won the Fred Bilentnikoff Award as the leading wide receiver
NFL Rookie of the Year
He became demoralized and earned a reputation as a trouble-maker when he was traded to the talented but abominably mismanaged Oakland Raiders. His cowardly loser of a coach, one Tom Walsh*, who was fired for his team’s incomprehensibly lousy performance(2-14), attempted his own pathetic shot at redemption by bad-mouthing Moss to the press.
As they say, that was then, and this is now.
From Fox Sports following the Patriots’ defeat of current Superbowl Champs, the Indianapolis Colts:
Moss is the main reason why the Patriots remain undefeated at 9-0. He caught nine passes for 140 yards, making his final reception on New England’s game-winning scoring drive. Moss scored the first Patriots touchdown, out-muscling the much smaller Jennings on a 4-yard reception that left Colts coach Tony Dungy smiling in resignation on the sideline. There also was a fabulous one-handed Moss catch on a third-quarter drive capped by a field goal.
“We didn’t have an answer for Randy Moss,” (Tony) Dungy said.
Randy Moss is my hero. And the Walshes of the world can go to hell.
*Walsh got his job with the Raiders courtesy of the good-old-boy buddy system: he was hired by his pal and fellow non-performer, Art Shell. He and Shell had been fired from the Raiders in 1994 and, incredibly, both were rehired in 2006. Between 1994 and 2006, Walsh had been running a B&B in Swan Valley, Idaho, and briefly served as the town’s Mayor (population 213).