Randy Moss engaged in one of the most infamous acts of taunting in NFL playoff history when he faux-mooned the Lambeau Field faithful back in 2005. The soon-to-be Hall of Famer reminisced about the surreal scene during a recent conference call, saying he still does not understand how the act became so shrouded in controversy.
The incident occurred on Jan. 5, 2005 during the Minnesota Vikings’ unexpected 31-17 wild-card round victory over the divisional-rival Green Bay Packers. After Moss scored a touchdown to put the Vikings up big, he strolled over to the field-goal post and proceeded to fake-moon the fans.
Moss has long insisted that Packers fans would routinely moon the Vikings team buses as the team made its way to Lambeau. So in essence, Moss’ move simply was a bit of payback.
Joe Buck, who was calling the playoff game for FOX, referred to Moss’ antics as a “disgusting act,” an outburst that became almost as infamous as Moss’ faux moon. Moss not surprisingly does not see it in the same way.
“I don’t put the Lambeau Moon as far as a celebration because it was just more for the fans,” Moss said on the conference call ahead of his enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Aug. 4, via 247 Sports. “I think now that I reflect and look back, I played in that – working on ESPN, it may be a Monday or Sunday night and they’re talking about the battle of the border, I played in that.”
“… It was just the fans having their fun. I didn’t know it was going to really get that type of negative attention or of course I wouldn’t have done nothing like that. No, I’ve never done nothing like that in my career, but it’s not like I pulled my pants down or anything like that. But, like I said, if I had to do it all over, I wouldn’t change it.”
Moss without question was an enigmatic, sometimes unpredictable, personality during his playing days. The faux moon at Lambeau Field simply stands as one of his more outrageous on-field acts.
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