Randy Moss' Hall Of Fame Induction Has Reminded Me How Sad I Am About The 18-1 Season
I’ve read a lot of stories about how the mind handles traumatic experiences. To state it more accurately, I’ve seen a lot of TV shows and movies about it, but the point remains the same. I know we just bury this shit. Before tonight I hadn’t really thought about the 18-1 season because my mind is a great friend and blocks out shit like tough losses and embarrassing moments. But now that I’ve seen these pics and heard Randy’s words? GodDAMN is it coming rushing back and it’s ripping me apart.
I remember vividly where I was when the 2007 season ended. I was on Jackson Bluff Road in Tallahassee, wearing a red and blue flannel shirt and some jeans that didn’t fit me that well, sitting exactly in the middle of the couch with an 18 pack between by legs and my girlfriend next to me. The friend whose house I was at owned a baby goat, his name was Sammy Davis Jr Jr, and he was bopping around all over the place and he was adorable. When the Pats were winning it was the happiest day of my life, my girlfriend and I hugged while we cuddled Sammy Davis Jr Jr as if he was our first born. It was the cutest thing I’ve ever reimagined and pretended was cute rather than just remembering it as drunk idiots accosting a farm animal. But when things went awry, when Moss and that Hail Mary didn’t connect, I didn’t say anything. I didn’t say bye, I didn’t say where I was going, I just grabbed my case of beer and roamed the town like a lost soul/college kid being whiny.
It wasn’t until around 3 AM when I got home and had to apologize to a lady who didn’t even live in Tallahassee that I realized I’d arguably gone overboard. It was suuuuper dramatic to run away from problems that weren’t even really mine but sometimes you just need to stroll the city and drink beers from an 18 pack (in college you never leave your alcohol) to clear your mind. You need to make sure everyone knows this is the worst day of your astoundingly easy life.
I’d forgotten about how sad I was that night, roaming side streets in Florida’s panhandle, until now. But seeing all this, and hearing all this, goddamn do I wish we wrapped that year up. So many people on that team deserved it. Plus I would’ve preferred to not have the fight I had when I got home.
But congrats to Randy, he deserves the fuck out of it. And shoutout to Bill for smiling wider when people started to boo him. That’s my king.
