My goodness Randy. How could you beat me to it? I thought we had an understanding? I guess you just have more flair and better timing than I do.
I can’t believe I did it and no one saw it or said anything.
It was at the one game we talked about doing it at.
It wasn’t going to be easy to do that one thing we talked about. It was going to be even harder to fake doing the one thing we talked about doing instead of actuallydoing that one thing. But there I was. Standing in that one spot, near that one guy, in front of those other fans, next to that one player.
I waited for cameras. Then I did it. I faked doing the thing we talked about faking doing instead of doing it for real.
It was amazing.
No one cared.
Which is exactly what should happen with this latest “Randy Moss Controversy”.
The last 2 days coverage of Randy Moss endzone celebration are going to go down in sports management and journalism school history. The media and people who made an issue about this are going to be embarassed for the rest of their lives with questions from their kids, their grandkids, their friends and their future peers.
We are about to enter an era where kids can do a search on google, icerocket.com, yahoo and other search engines and get all the video they want of TV broadcasts. Put in a topic. Boom. All the video you could ever want. Put in a name. There it is. Video and transcripts to go with it.
How much fun is it going to be to be sitting in a Sports Management or Journalims class starting next year when the Prof discusses “dealing with controversy” or “dealing with players in the spotlight”, or any derivation of the topic.
I can hear it now. “Ok class, I want you to pick a player that you think did or might have created some controversy in the past. Do a search and provide me video of the player and the controversial event.Then provide clips of how the media covered the event and we will discuss it.”
You know EVERY kid is going to pick Randy Moss.
“I picked Randy Moss for my presentation. This is when he faked mooning thefans in Green Bay after scoring a touchdown.” “These are all the media commentators talking about how faking mooning is terrible for theNFL and how RandyMoss is a disgrace”
The kids in the class go wild, laughing hysterically.
“Why in the world would people care if someone fakes mooning?” “IfI stand up right now and fakeda mooning, would I get in trouble?” “Didn’t they have anything better to talk about?”
Much of the media thinks Randy Moss should be embarrased. They have no idea that they are about to be “posterized”.
While Randy Moss will be able to laugh about the response and soon forget about it, those in the media will find their future peers snickering at them. “Hey, you’re the guy/lady that got all bent out of shape when Randy Moss faked mooning the crowd. It was a joke, right? You were kidding?about it. Right? Please tell me you weren’t serious…You were. Really?…that’s interesting. And you are supposed to be one of the better journalists of your time? Good for you. Must have been interesting times.”
We do live in interesting times. We are the first generation to memorialize everything that we do on video. We are entering the first generation that will able to search through all of that video and find what ever they want.
Future generations will thank us for the entertainment we are offering them.
One thing that I have said about Randy Moss is that the key is to know when to pay attention, and when to tune him out. The touchdown obviously should be paid attention to, and that celebration was best tuned out, and the unfortunate thing is that the media here in Minnesota chose to pay attention. And I wrote about it myself: http://www.rzwmedia.com/pundit/archives/2005/01/crying_over_spi.html
Comment by Rob Wood -
We have become a disrespectful society, justifying out athletes and leaders misbehaviour as if it was expected and healthy. Randy Moss was out of place in his nasty example to my children. It only takes a small echo to get an avalanche to fall, and this type of inciting action could escallate into a major avalanche of a brawl to dwarf the recent NBA embarrassing fiasco.
Responsibility means not focusing on yourself, it is a selfless posture in life – Randy Moss and too many other athletes are about themselves, and do not see the big picture or understand the impact their lives have on young people. It seems it has become about the idea that personal fame and fortune gives one the right to act disrespectfully. I disagree, fame and fortune requires, demands, that one act in an even higher dimension of respectability and thoughtfulness. If anything, the press has been to light on Randy Moss, and the fine he recieved from the NFL is more than justified.
Comment by Richard -
whats pathetic is that people get fined less for purposely smashing a quarterbacks head.
but randy fakes moon a crowd and everyone is angry. oh, but its ok for tons of greenbay fans to moon the visiting bus as they leave the stadium. sure, tell us public drunken nudity is ok, but a fake of a bare-bottom is not. america is pathetic. sometimes i cant believe i actually live in the land of the free. its more like the land of the “we wish we as free and fun as europe.”
Comment by roger -
Mark – get a grip. My grand kids will not be asking nor will my kids past last week – they don’t care. Media may be overhiped, but my kids will react just like they do the rest of the overhipe – who cares.
Comment by David -
Yeah, the Randy Moss celebration and the coverage will live on forever, just like the TO housewife nonsense. Give me a BREAK. Marc, you’re IN sports, surely YOU of all people would notice that the sports media’s attention span is essentially nonexistant. Every three days we have the Best/Worst Moment IN ALL SPORTS HISTORY. No one will remember this in a year, let alone twenty. And I find it pretty hard to believe that anyone will be blamed for blowing it out of proportion, because who gives a damn? Are you really going to be harboring animosity against Joe Buck your whole life over this silliness? Quite frankly, I care as little about the backlash as I do about the actual non-moooning.
Comment by Jake Haselswerdt -
With his attitude…as some point in his life Randy Moss is going to need that $10,000…and I can’t wait to see what he will do to earn it back….
Comment by frank -
Well said, Mark. What Moss did would not have gotten you a trip to the principles’ office in most schools in America. He faked/mimed doing something. It wasn’t disgusting or in poor taste – it was funny. I was rooting for the Packers and I don’t particularly like Moss, but I can admit that it was clever and funny. I’m convinced that the only reason Moss got fined is because Joe Buck’s reaction was so over-the-top that it sparked off a chain of media reactions that the league felt it had to respond to. If you want to fine Moss for actions during the game, fine him for yelling something along the lines of “look at the m-f-in’ scoreboard” directly at fans in the first quarter. That was broadcast and you could clearly tell what he was yelling. I would think that directing comments at a specific fan or group of fans would be something that the league is more sensitive to due to the incident in the Pistons-Pacer game. And yelling what he did WOULD get you sent to the principle’s office in just about every school in America.
Comment by Chris -
Is it any surprise that a jerk, headcase, idiot, athlete is acting like a jerk, headcase, idiot? The worst thing that could be done is to make a federal case out of it. Moss did it to get attention. So he got it. So he gets in his SUV and laughs all the way to the bank. And Mark Schlereth on ESPN should get a clue. Randy could care less if people have to scrape together the money to see his sorry self. All he wants is the paycheck and that’s what he’s getting. Nothing will happen to him. Nothing. He’ll probably get a multimillion dollar contract extension. As long has he can sco’ fiddy two das all dat really mattas homey.
Comment by byrdman -
I hope you’re right and that this will prove embarrassing for the media. I have never enjoyed Joe Buck’s personality or play-by-play and my mouth literally fell open when he started railing against Randy Moss, ranting about how “disgusting” it was of him to fake the moon and how “sorry” he was we had to witness that. I would love for Fox to bring in a more appealing play-by-play guy before next year’s baseball playoffs.
Comment by Erikman -
One last comment from myself in this thread. I live in Wisconsin, watched the game. Missed the incident. No one I’ve talked to thinks much _of_ the incident, that is no Packer fans that I’m aware of are distressed over, or are making a big deal about it.
It’s all media driven. But we knew that didn’t we.
Comment by Brian Dunbar -
In response to Steve S.
You’re right my kids do know the difference between Cartoon and reality. They also know the difference between right and wrong. If they so chose to tease their opposing team in a pop-warner / little league game by faking a moon or dancing a little in the end zone then so what. To me there is nothing wrong with it. Now were they to flip some one the bird or curse at someone, they’d be in a world of hurt. They know that, and therefore would never do so. Too me sportsmanship is playing by the rules, using team work to get the job done, graciousness in defeat. Celebrating a great play and rubbing it in a little…hell, that’s just good ‘ol fun.
Comment by Joe -
“Totally agree. Evem more i am from europe and nobody would even notice what Moss did. Janets breast, that would just be fun. A streaker would get free beer after the game.”
He’d get more than that, at least that game. He’d get frostbit. Chilbains. Shrinkage. It was c-o-l-d. I wasn’t there but I was only twenty miles away, watching the sorry mess.
~brian
Comment by Brian Dunbar -
I am a 16 year old Vikings fan. People are making WAY TO BIG A DEAL about Randy Moss. So he pretended to moon the crowd big deal. It’s ok for the Packer fans to moon the oposing teams bus but its not okay for a football player who by the way was getting taunted alot by the fans to pretend to moon the crowd. Give me a break. I am a younger kid and it wasn’t distugsting to me it was funny. For some reason people love to talk about Randy Moss…can’t they find something better to talk about?! It was just like when they made a big deal about him walking out 2 seconds before they game they really need to find someone else to pick on because I am sick of people ganging up on Randy!
Comment by Brittany -
Good way to plug icerocket.com, hey I just did it again. How is the free throw thing coming along? We’re using it in Detroit now!
Comment by Alex Pachan -
Regarding the whole sportsmanship issue : It seems like people in the media like to complain about what a bad role model Randy is. Here’s the thing, he almost always gives the TD ball to a kid in the stands or a guy in a wheelchair. But a lot of people don’t know about it, because they never show it. He does a fake moon (which was so bad that the same people who replayed the Janet thing over and over again couldn’t show it), and they talk about it for days. He does things for kids and the homeless that don’t appear to be mandatory (his VIP guest at training camp for several years has been a little girl with leukemia), but “reporters” carp on that weirdo “cop” who’d been reprimanded for jumping on cars in the past.
Sure, there are things about Moss that people don’t like, but it seems silly to accuse the guy of being a bad role model, when his image is completely media created to begin with (not to say that they’re nesc. competely wrong). Bret Favre is the NFL poster boy, but he’s not exactly squeeky clean, either. But he’s a good role model because people only know about his good aspects. Which is fine, because he seems like, for the most part, a good guy.
Comment by Oliver Han -
I can see two views of the Randy Moss “act”
I can see how some might think it was tasteless. Let’s be honest, a multi-millionair star football player catches a touchdown to basically sink their divisional rivals in the playoffs on the road and doing a dance that pretends to pull his pants down is stupid. But I don’t think stupid as in Moss “shouldn’t” have done it, stupid meaning that was a worthless dance, come up with something more, like T.O.
Here is the bottom line people, it wasn’t a matter of respect or unsportsmanship. If you really knew what GB fans do after beating a team at home, this wouldn’t have so many arguments. Talk about classless, many GB fans mooning the vikings team buss when they leave. Atleast Moss had the dignity to not actually moon the fans.
For those who sit there and critisize Moss for his actions probably have never played in a big game before and don’t understand the emotion and frustrations of the sport. As a former college lineman myself, I’ve played in many big games, and the intensity is just outrageous.
I guess until I see Randy Moss hold up a sign that says something vulger or actually pulls his pants down to moon the crowd, I’ll give praise to his athletic ability every damn day. As a Denver native, this much attention wasn’t given to “The Snake” when he tossed up a “Plummer” to a fan in the crowd. Was it right? No, but I totally understand his frustrations. That was without a doubt an extremely obsense gesture, yet his fine wasn’t as bad, or the media coverage that bad. Guess Randy just gets more and more coverage because of his history.
People, it’s sports. If you want to cry about Moss’ dance, then why not pitch an arguement over the steriod scandal in baseball. That has more validity then Moss pretending to pull down his pants.
Comment by Steven -
Damn Mark I know you would represent for Moss! They took thhis crap way out of poportion I mean come on Plummer can flip off the Denver faithful and Moss get smacked twice as much for a dance. Give me a break!
Comment by Jesse -
I agree with the comments about Randy, but I think that the media should be far more embarassed with the “outrage” about the Janet Jackson episode at last years super bowl. That was pure hypocracy. People need to grow up.
Comment by Sel -
Touche’ to Randy! As a native of Green Bay, I applaud the creative gesture in retailation to the dozen unemployed snowmobile salesman that routinely moon the Vikings team bus. I wonder what 102,000 moons will look like next time the Vikes visit G.B? LOL.
Comment by T.P. -
You got it Mark. From the moment that was mere seconds after the event and Joe Buck began exclaiming is disgust as Collinsworth and Aikman tried to actually discuss the play, it has become a hilarious media circus. Randy will be Randy. Media idiots will be media idiots. I’ve always liked Buck a lot until now, too. Sad.
Comment by Scott Griffith -
To Joe, who doesn’t see the difference between Randy Moss live and a cartoon — your kids do. Wait until they moon the crowd at their first Pop Warner football game and see how funny and harmless you think it is then. Respect and sportsmanship; I guess it is too much to expect them at sporting events any more.
Comment by Steve S. -
I think this whole thing is blown way out of proportion. The fine he is going to get is concidered sexually suggestive or offensive. Hello did anybody see the opening of monday night football with T.O. tell me that wasn’t sexually segestive and the NFL had to know about that ahead of time. The real problem is how even the NFL treats players differently. Aplayer like Payton was raised to be an NFL quarterback where Randy was from the streets amd in troble with the law. People are saying Randy has to have respect for the game says who? Obviously he has respect from his boss or he wouldn’t have gotten a 7yr. 75 million dollar contract. I liked Matt Birks comment about Brett Favre that said “Brett is Brett and Randy is Randy” If brett whould have done it they would anve praised him.
Comment by brian steburg -
You know, I’m a parent of two young boys, ages 4 and 9. They both saw the celebration and quite frankly I don’t give a damn. We all giggled and continued to watch the game. The fact is, it was harmless, and my kids see much worse on the Cartoon Network channel. It is my responsibility too teach them not to emulate everything they see on TV or in there video games. I don’t use TV to teach my kids there values, it’s there for their entertainment, nothing more. People need to wake up and take the sticks out of their ass. It’s not something to get worked up about. Sports are not what they were 10-20 years ago, and they won’t be what they are today in another 10 years. Who would want it to be? Wouldn’t that be a bit boring?
Oh and for those that say, “would you want your kids to act that way?”. My response would be…Don’t really care! It was harmless and done in jest. Lighten up people!
Comment by Joe -
Bah. I disagree with the majority here. There is are things called respect and teamwork andsportsmanship, and not only Moss’s celebration, but all excessive celebrations take away from those fundamentals.
I didn’t find the particular celebration offensive per se, and I’m not offended easily at all (i liked the “wardrobe malfunction), but I would much rather see a great TD, and then watch the guy hand the ball to the ref and shake hands with his teammates, who were the guys that helped make the score happen in the first place.
Comment by crowbar317 -
I live near Green Bay (I’m a Vikings fan though) and saw the thing about Packer fans mooning the losing team on CNN from Tony Dungie. It was pretty funny to hear that.
Side note: my dad was at the game sitting at the 10 yard line of the end zone that Randy mooned. Dad got home from the game and told me that throughout the entire game, all of the Packer fans around him were swearing at the Vikings AND the Packers when they screwed up. Pretty nasty cursing, and there were a number of young children around hearing all of this. Seems weird to start of with a moment of silence for Reggie White and then switch to cursing your head off for the entire game…and then get mad because of Randy’s supposed unsportsmanlike like conduct while nothing gets said about the behavior of the Packer fans.
P.S. I’d love to see Randy do an almost fake moon against the Eagles…but when he bends over he should just tie his shoes and smile.
Comment by MorrowLess -
Just a footnote to the Randy Moonoss at Lambeau(sp) I have yet to hear from ANYONE in the media, not that I’ve been watching any because they think news they catch is a team-coverage break in to your regularly scheduled program to tell you this, but, there is a tradition in packerland that I didn’t know about until this moss incident but packer fans have mooned (actually mooned) losing teams as they leave town….How is it that an unprofane gesture like pretending to moon is a dastardly deed. I’m not into journalism and probably have no business giving MY opionion…I probably didn’t even write this very-well…so why ain’t my comments worth of the 5 o’clock news????? hehehe
Comment by Brad -
I am going to have to agree with you.
Did someone put the ‘fake moon’ on the list of obscene gestures while I wasn’t looking?
It’s not like giving someone the finger.
Now we need to put the mimes of the world away or talk about how they are bad people for doing the ‘trapped in a box’ routine.
/see you at the game tonight – GO MAVS!
//Mark – dare you to moon the opposing team
Comment by Shumpy -
You missed the point, Mark. No one is shaking in horror that their kids should see what Randy did. The point is that Moss performed a crude, crass act that showed his typical lack of class and very poor sportsmanship. Is that the way you would want your child to behave?
Yes, the media over-reacted but please don’t condone that type of behavior. Young kids do watch and do emulate.
Comment by Steve S. -
That is funny, Paul (comment #21). Watching soccer is on most people’s “things not to do” list. It’s sandwiched in between watching paint dry and watching grass grow.
Comment by Doug -
I caught that “fakie moon” celebration and really disregarded it as something stupid. Put it on my “things not to do” list… and “ways not to celebrate a victory” list. Makes me appreciate soccer teams all the more… the way they typically celebrate is something that I can connect with.
Maybe I should be more offended at how Moss mimed the action rather than dropping trow and giving them the complete moonshine.
Comment by Paul Goode -
joe buck is the same guy who tried to defend alex rodriguez slapping the ball in the world series, and didn’t say anything about yankee fans throwing balls onto the field, but this is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay worse apparently. please
and why was joe buck even doing a football game? fox really has no one else? are they trying to make him into a bob costas?
Comment by joe -
Lets look at the larger facts.
Like it or not, Pro Atheletes are role models.
That’s why kids buy their jersey’s, want to be like Mike, and create demand for the games tickets, and watch on TV to create demand for TV contracts.
Let’s also get real here, parents are paying for this, $100 buck and up jerseys and the cost of going to a game, to give as you say Mark, an experience.
What does every parent want for their kids, for them to be successful. How do kids learn, by modeling. Being an entertainer athlete who makes millions, being an ass makes you a highly paid Bart Simpson whose noteriety is based on the novelty of being rude. Do you think any parent (the wallet) wants their kid to behave like Randy Moss. Mark do you want your child when they graduate from College to turn around and fake moon the audience. Would you accept your employees routinely turning around and fake mooning you going into the office? As you say, who is really pouring the water here, the parents, who want a better society for their kids. If they are not role models, stop selling their jerseys, stop going to hospitals, stop going to schools with the athetes. Either that, or maybe its time for Coach Carter, who locked his players out of practice to start running the NFL, or the NBA.
“An intelligent man, answeres even a fool intellegently” so Moss mooning fans, who mooned his bus, shows his intelligence.
When you are given my kids for an afternoon NFL, you have a responsibility to the parent, keep on being less responsible at it, and there will be a point were you will lose the customer.
Comment by ross -
Griswald (post 13) has it right. The media is, in part, OK maybe in large part, a business. In this business, the competition for “eyeballs” is increasing. Distribution channels for media are growing exponentially. More and more cable channels. Blogs popping up at a rate that is almost alarming. And a news flash to all: the growth of interesting content is NOT keeping pace with the growth of distribution. So, the quality content (let’s assume NFL is quality and I think it is) goes for more and more of a premium. That means the parties who distribute it need to garner more viewers. That means that it behooves those that don’t carry the premium content to “piggyback” it by “analyzing” it. It’s obvious where I’m going here. If I were to guess, and OK this is a wild guess, I would say Rupert Murdoch would like to see the following: in next week’s game Randy Moss actually drops his drawers, the Vikings win AND the NFL doesn’t suspend Moss. Exponentially increasing ratings! A great way for Fox to get huge ratings and for DirecTV to get more takers of the NFL Season Ticket product. Oh yeah, that’s right, Newscorp has a big stake in DirecTV also. This isn’t a conspiracy theory. It’s just business at work. And in a world of lots of distribution and maybe not enough quality content, expect this to occur with greater frequency. Mark, thanks as always for providing this great forum. And thanks to all the posters who have lots of interesting ideas.
Comment by JoeC -
The funny thing is all the people that have been railing on Moss this week couldn’t even begin to guess the name of the little girl with leukemia that Moss has befriended and become the life force of.
If any of you care to see who Randy Moss really is beneath his independently-stubborn-to-a-fault exterior, Google the name Kassi Spier.
Until I’ve done something like that with my life, I am in absolutely no position to criticize Moss about his life.
Comment by Will -
yea – gee whiz… randy moss is just what every kid should grow up to be…
by the way, that would be the same randy moss who on national tv was seen standing on the sidelines engaging fans in the stands cupping his ear and then saying as all of america read his lips, “look at the scoreboard, mother f***er – look at the scoreboard, mother f***er!!!”
yes randy, you are the be all end all of role models for our future leaders of tomorrow…
you know the funny thing is you could still earn your millions if you didn’t get arrested for drugs (i know – they weren’t yours…) you didn’t assault a police officer (i know – you slipped…) or pretended to show your bony little ass to parents and their kids… unfortunately for most people with any amount of intelligence – you are simply a talented athlete who doubles as a punk who thinks he is above the law… WHAT a surprise…
Comment by tommyb -
How this was even news in the first place is beyond me. I can understand to a point why he is being fined, because if they let this go, they will continue to push the envelope to do more and more idiotic things. Where would it stop?
I think his hairstyle should be getting more press than his fake moon.
Comment by Irish John -
I’d like to add to the heap of agreement. And I’d like to point out that this game was being broadcast on Fox, not PBS or Nickelodeon. This is the same network that shows Bart Simpson mooning people, has shows called Who’s Your Daddy and Married by Americaand shows all sorts of lurid stuff in commercials. (4 hour erection anybody?) But somehow Joe Buck was deeply offended and disgusted that this got shown on national TV. If he really feels that strongly, he should have resigned from Fox long ago.
Comment by MattR -
i think it’s not the media as much as it’s capitalism. the problem with the media is that it’s a business. it’s in it to make money just like every business is, and so it will dramatize or stir up whatever they have to in order to get ratings or sell papers. that’s why everyone outside of los angeles had to hear about the laci peterson case, whereas hardly anyone could tell the difference between a sunni and a shiite. i guess if you’re a captialist, you have to take the lumps that come along with it, too.
Comment by griswald -
Mark,
I commend you! I don’t see any other big names in sports, aside from the actual players, coming out and speaking about the hypocrisy of the media and broadcasters in general. These “acts” of indecency are so horrible that they feel compelled to run the story over and over to make sure as many people see it as possible. If these assholes were truly concerned about the wrong message being sent, then just throw the video away and make sure no one ever sees it. Stop having shows like The Bachelor, Temptation Island, Desperate Housewives, etc.. It’ll never happen so why not give up the charade of altruism and decency and embrace all forms of outrageous TV, not just the stuff they come up with behind closed doors.
Comment by Joe -
I think everyone NOT in the media agrees with you.
Some people think it was funny, some thought it was inappropriate. They all think the media is overblowing it.
Comment by Brian Behrend -
This is sort of related. I was reading a magazine the other day and there under the most memorable events of 2004 was a quote. “Does anyone even remember who won the superbowl?”
Comment by Kathy -
I think Moss probably should be fined because that was a pretty crass thing to do on national TV, but….this crap about athletes being role models should both be thrown out the window.
Football especially is a nasty sport played by tough guys who aren’t your average guys off the street. Unless the street you’re talking about is in the roughest section of any major city in America.
The bottom line is winning and if you don’t peform and help your team win, you’re gone. You get cut with no severance. It’s not necessarily a sport for nice guys who seek to be ‘role models’. Moss could be the classiest guy in the world and but if he can’t catch passes against world class athletes who are trying to take his head off, he’s out of a job and no one cares. In fact, they’d be happy that he’s gone.
In pro sports it’s all about winning, putting fannies in the seats and generating revenue. If that’s too harsh, then go watch high school or pop warner.
If a guy like Moss does something stupid, then penalize him and move on. But stop this role model stuff. If you want role models, look at the cops out their doing battle with the scum of society on a daily basis. Those are role models. Or look at people who work 2 or 3 jobs to make enough money to give their kids a better life. Those are the real role models.
Not these guys who have the gift of great athletic ability who are making tons of money because too many people in this country so badly need to be entertained.
Comment by Scotbo -
Totally agree. Evem more i am from europe and nobody would even notice what Moss did. Janets breast, that would just be fun. A streaker would get free beer after the game.
This moralizing everything, searching beneath every rock for a scandal is just silly.
That guy with the fake deep voice on espn Prime Time was moralizing about the incident and acting as if Randy had stolen from his blind mother and he was a very dissappointed father. What utter bullshit.
I wish you as a country get well soon.
Comment by Peter -
Although my fellow Vikings fan Scott H. is seeing Moss through purple-colored glasses, he is right about the overblown incidents. Moss brings it on himself, but the media is almost incredulous when it’s suggested that they blow things out of proportion.
The way Joe Buck acted on air as a disgrace. Having to watch his tired “Slam-a-lama-Ding-Dong” self-promoting commercials is as much of a disgrace as Moss having fun with the Lambeau “untouchable” crowd. (By the way, does anyone even know what those Joe Buck commercials promote anymore? Some sort of Beer?)
Then to see the way the Fox pre-game show acts, a group that routinely directs immature, sexual comments towards Jillian Barberie and had Frank Caliendo refer to them as “four queens” before kickoff,
it just boggles the mind.
Possibly the most insipid comment I’ve noticed so far purportedly came from Daryl “Moose” Johnston, who claimed the mooning was worse than Moss leaving the field with two seconds remaining in the Washington game.
They didn’t notice Brett Favre’s four interceptions at all, did they? They didn’t notice Brett’s flippant behavior after his Todd Pinkston moment when he tossed a ball four yards past the line of scrimmage rather than absorb a hit from two defenders. (Which resulted in a shanked field goal, I might add, but I’m sure 15 yards didn’t make a difference there, did it?)
It’s just sad how biased these professionals come across. They keep claiming that Moss doesn’t get it, when it’s them who don’t get it. Moss will always be Moss, and you can’t change him. All you can do is heap attention on him.
They really don’t get it.
Comment by Matt -
I am from MN and am a die hard Vikings fan, and we are use to everything that happens in MN sports being blown out of proportion. Whether it be Randy Moss squirting an official with a water bottle, hitting a meter maid with his car on accident, leaving a game early because he thought it was over, stating he would play when he wanted to, or a fake moon to the crowd in GB which gave him crap all game long. Same thing happens with the T-Wolves when Spreewell said I need to feed my family, or when Hudson asked for a trade, everything in MN sports gets blown way out of proportion.
Instead of the local news media which I do not watch because of their use of selective reality, starting off with a story that matters like Tsunami relief, they immediately have a 5 minute opening segment on how horrible of a thing Randy did. I watched 2 or 3 channels yesterday in the MN media market and only one broadcaster out of all of them said it was funny and is being blown out of proportion, and everyone else that I watched made it out to be the worst thing anyone has ever seen.
I am also sick of the argument of people saying that they sit in front of their Television with their kids planning on watching a football game and now can’t tell their kids what happened. First of all a 4 year old is not going to pick up on it, and anyone that did, already knows what he was faking, and just tell them it’s not right if you disagree with it. Lastly, do you guys realize the game was on FOX, and they are saying it was uncalled for and obscene, and yet they air the shows they do, I thought that was funny.
P.S. The whole thing was because the GB fans moon the Vikings bus when it departs for the airport.
Comment by Scott H. -
Tony Dungy said yesterday there is a tradition by Packers fans to moon the losing team as they leave the stadium. The Vikings lost earlier in the year at Lambeau field, they probably got mooned. Moss decided to get revenge by doing a pretty minor thing, he didn’t actually moon the fans, he faked it. This controversy is ridiculous, If it wasn’t Randy Moss this would have all blown over by now. I didn’t see the video until after I heard all the hype. So when I watched it I was expecting some big rude gesture that lasted for 30 seconds or more but I was disappointed to see the whole thing tool all of a few seconds. That’s what all the hype is about?
Yawn.
Comment by dunkfu -
Mark, 100%. As a 21 year old sports fan, to see what the media is doing to this is just horrible; and to think that the NFL is actually planning on fining Moss for this is even worse. It is a disgrace and a hypocracy on behalf of the Green Bay Packers fans, as Dan Shanoff writes in the Daily Quicky today on ESPN that the Packers fans traditionally (and ACTUALLY) moon the visiting team’s bus as they leave.
While some people might think sportsmanship is fading away, they should probably check out some pickup basketball games at the local YMCA, or go to some of the leagues. I help my cousin out with his Pop Warner football league, and sure – there is one loudmouth asshole father or mother, but generally they are quieted down by some other parents with backbone. A few of the kids didn’t even celebrate a bit in the endzone; they imitated Barry Sanders, flipping or even handing the ball to the ref – and this is in Baltimore, home of the Ravens, with all of the dancing, celebrations, and attitude that comes with the Ravens.
“Why aren’t the athletes, those that represent the finest conditioning and skills in their respective sports, held to a higher standard?”
Because they are human, just like the rest of us. They may be sports heroes to us now, but through education and parenting, your parents and family should be your role models. I grew up really following Cal Ripken Jr. closely, as his entire MLB career had been played out in my lifespan; he isn’t my role model for how to lead my life – my grandfather is.
Comment by John Henry -
D’oh. Paragraph 6:
“Neither the Minnesota Vikings…” should be “Neither the Baltimore Ravens…”.
That’ll teach me to make edits halfway through a comment. 🙂
Comment by Senor Pez -
I think that there is too much desire for everything to be a controversy. Randy Johnson arrives in NY and he tells a camera man that he does not want his phot taken, and this is a controversy. All Sports Center Talks about is about Moss. What a big deal! He faked it. I have mooned many people in college (oh how I missed those days!) We used to think that was funny. Dont you remember Grease when those three greasers mooned the tv show. It is funny! Moss only faked, he was trying to get you out of the game and apparently he did. Forget the fine and the incident. I am more concern about other events, like the final score.
Comment by Mario -
“We live in interesting times.” That’s very similar to a Chinese curse, is it not?
I’ll put it out right up front to start: I’m a Packers fan. But I don’t really care that Randy Moss “mooned” the crowd… heck, the way the home team was playing, that should have been the least of their concerns. But having Joe “clueless” Buck and Chris “Talk-all-the-time” Collinsworth immediately explode on the air about it was absolutely ludicrous.
But win or lose, right or wrong, there is a thing in the world called sportsmanship, and it seems to rapidly be fading away from the sports at all levels in America. It’s a rampant epidemic that doesn’t show any signs of stopping, either. We’ve got running backs who criticize their coach’s playcalling when they lose the rushing title by a yard. We’ve got basketball players who strong-arm management into trades because they want the spotlight to themselves. We’ve got baseball players who lie through their teeth about cheating with steroids.
The worst part of it all, however, is that these people should be role models. Every kid who plays reciever in Pop Warner looks up to see what Randy Moss is doing week in and week out. Every point guard in biddy ball hangs on Kobe Bryant’s actions. And every outfielder in legion ball wants to match Barry Bonds’ runaway success. And parents aren’t helping the problem, as they continue to push and drive their children to fulfil their vicarious dreams of athletic success, verbally attacking (and physically, sometimes, too…) referees, coaches, and other parents alike. These are the cues that our young people take, and these are the formative experiences that they will see.
The other issue at hand is that children learn at a young age that atheletes are afforded a special status in our society? If I’m caught tonight snorting $10000 worth of coke, I’m heading to jail, for a LONG time. If an NFL player is caught tonight snorting $10000 worth of coke, he gets put in a kid-gloves “substance abuse” program. Names like Randy Moss and Jamal Lewis are synonimous with the special legal treatment afforded to athletes? Hit a traffic cop with your Lexus? No problem as long as you’re a talented wide reciever? Set up a drug distribution ring? No problem as long as you were last year’s NFL rushing champion?
Why aren’t the athletes, those that represent the finest conditioning and skills in their respective sports, held to a higher standard? It all comes down to money. Neither the Minnesota Vikings nor the NFL would stomach the lost revenue as a result of Jamal Lewis being sent to jail for the rest of his life. Nor would the LA Lakers dare to risk losing Kobe Bryant’s jersey and ticket sales in an effort to grow a spine and stand up to what amounts to a spoiled brat. And the San Francisco Giants want their name in the record books as the team that the all-time home run hitter played for, tainted or not.
It’s a complicated situation, and one that isn’t helped by either the media exposure or the perpetual archival nature of the Internet. In the “good ‘ol days” (even though they were frequently not good), only things that were of vital importance to the whole of the public mind were preserved. Now, even if this Randy Moss incident dies down to nothingness (as it should), it’ll still be able to be accessed by folks for years.
As such, we’ve got to look to the parents, again, which is a dreadful proposition. In an age where more and more children are raised by television and the Internet, there is even more need for parents to provide moral compasses to guide those children. To explain that, while the Moss-Moon was funny it’s probably not good sportsmanship.
We certainly do live in interesting times.
Comment by Senor Pez -
I agree 100%. As a male between the ages of 18-36, basically the whole audience that the NFL reaches and the big money maker in advertising I saw no problem with what Randy Moss did. I thought it was idiotic that every announcer was discussing what a tragedy this was. Does anyone even realize that he didn’t actually moon anyone. He pretended to drop his pants and then wiggled his ass a little. I thought it was hysterical personally. He didn’t pull out a cell phone, nor a sharpie and he didn’t raise a middle finger to the crowd. Anyway even if he had dropped his pants, regular broadcasts on TV and cable now allow for naked butts to be shown on TV. This was not a random breast being thrown out there during the superbowl but I digress. Let me get back to the point, he never actually did anything. Now I understand that the league is worried about money and advertising but honestly I think it is run by older people who can not relate to this generation. I don’t think anyone truly can take exception to something like this happening even if it is on national TV. And to those bible belt people who think it send the wrong message, get a grip, we see scenes of death and dismemberment on TV every night on the news. A little ass never hurt anybody and a fake showing of one does even less.
Comment by Kris K. -
As a web usability analyst and blogologist, I find myself analyzing everything, except my wife’s odd habits and remarks.
Wife and I were having dinner at Chilli’s and a TV was right above our heads. We saw the replay, our attention caught by commentary like “that was disgusting, absolutely awful” or whatever was said. “Disgusting” is a word I’m sure we heard.
We are rather conservative in some ways, hate porn and gratuitous violence and displays of vulgarity. But when we saw that it was merely a fake mooning, we laughed and began to hate and despise the sports announcers who were ridiculously condemning it.
Football players can fake moon all they want, as far as we’re concerned.
Bloggers, unite against Anti Fake-Moon Sports Announcers!!!
Comment by Steven Streight aka Vaspers the Grate -
It’s not necessarily a sport for nice guys who seek to be ‘role models’. Moss could be the classiest guy in the world and but if he can’t catch passes against world class athletes who are trying to take his head off, he’s out of a job and no one cares. In fact, they’d be happy that he’s gone.
Comment by runescape money -
That means the parties who distribute it need to garner more viewers. That means that it behooves those that don’t carry the premium content to “piggyback” it by “analyzing” it. It’s obvious where I’m going here. If I were to guess, and OK this is a wild guess
Comment by wow powerleveling -
The whole mooning thing was a joke…
Why didn’t Joe Buck and the other two stooges Troy Aikmann and Cris Collinsworth commment on Moss’ first TD celebration?
Dose anyone else remember it?
After scoring his first TD, he ran over to a young man in a wheel chair, handed him the football and patted him on the head…
Where were the comments then?
No contorversary?
I rest my case…
Comment by Richard Witham -
Hey I am just saying to hello to Randy If by chance he stumbles across this site.This is your cousin and I was just wondering how you were doing and everything. I saw your mother Maxine a couple of months ago she came to my Grandmothers funeral Mary Woods and my Mother’s Irma Woods husbands funeral. Hey did you know that grandma went to alabama with Uncle Sonny, just letting you know. and hey tell your mom I said thank you for giving me my other aunties phone number.
Comment by Ameenah Palmer -
I feel like a void, but maybe tomorrow. Nothing seems worth doing. I’ve just been sitting around waiting for something to happen. Eh.
http://www.phonebell.net/
Comment by cheap phone card -
Randy Moss will go down as the greatest receiver ever and I hope he moons the crowd with every away-game TD this season just to piss the media off. I guess it’s not okay for a black athlete to fake moon someone but it’s okay to declare war on a country that didn’t attack us. Maybe the media should do their jobs and ask tough questions to people in power instead of worrying about Randy Moss.
Comment by randy moss -
ridiculus
Comment by moonerboy -
Hey I noticed in the end game celebration in houston that you got a little obscene gesture of your own in. It was live on my tive, no blurr out or anything. How much do you think the fine will be? i think 50k for what looks like a 4th obscene gesture offense.
Comment by Dennis -
Who cares if Moss fake-mooned the crowd. The green bay fans do it to moss after every game, the real thing, when he is getting on the bus. he is an outstanding receiver, and bet the packers in lambeau field, in a playoff game. let him have a little fun. the things on t.v. and going on the world is far, far, far worse than a fake moon. what about all the violence, killings, drugs, sex, rapes, murders, etc. out there that this world is subjected to every day. if that’s the worst thing that happens in one day, then we can start to criticize it. i would be a lot happier if that was the worst thing i had to look forward to. Moss, great game, and way to have a little fun with it. P.s. nice hair.
Comment by Danny -