CANTON, Ohio – Randy Moss, who made the first of a lifetime of great catches as a 6-year-old SuperFreak in Rand, W.Va., completed his 200-mile, first-ballot journey due north on I-77 from his poor, often troubled youth to the game's grandest stage at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Before starting Saturday night's 16-minute, 52-second enshrinement speech — third-shortest among seven given — Moss stood with his oldest son and presenter, Thaddeus, as the veil was removed from Moss' bronze bust. Moss pumped his right fist a few times, then kissed the top of his braids-wearing likeness.
He started off by "giving all honor to God and Jesus Christ." He looked into the crowd and thanked his mother, Maxine, who worked two and three jobs to support her three children as a single parent.
And it wasn't long before Moss embraced the tiny West Virginia town that shaped him. Fans from Moss' roots cheered as their beloved Moss' voice raised while addressing them.
"I'm bringing this gold jacket back! Tomorrow! At the town center, 4:30!" Moss yelled as 22,205 looked on inside Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. "All y'all West Virginians want to see this gold jacket? Meet me at the town center tomorrow at 4:30! … This is ours!"
Moss also called himself an inspiration.
"I already know the question in your head: What am I made of?" Moss said. "I am a living testimony, a walking testimony, not just to the football fans, but to the whole world.
"I knew God put me here to teach and to lead others down the right path. But first I had to learn from my own mistakes. I had to mature, and with all that, I had to stay right with God."