Randy Moss shed tears of joy when he got the news that he was headed to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
But that was just one of many reactions expressed across the Twin Cities this weekend as the former Vikings wide receiver was honored with a place in Canton, Ohio.
Moss' former teammate Cris Carter, a 2013 Hall of Fame inductee, chatted with Vikings.com on Saturday night at NFL Honors before Moss had received word that he was in.
Carter said he was pulling hard for his friend and now fellow Hall of Famer.
"From the first time Randy called me on the phone on the day of the draft, what he was saying he was going to do to the NFL and what he ended up doing … the person he became, he'll be a lifelong friend for me," Carter said. "I'm in the Hall and know what it means … I'd love to see him have it."
Moss and Carter will now be the third pair of wide receiver teammates to both be in the Hall of Fame. They will join Pittsburgh's Lynn Swann and James Stallworth and San Francisco's Jerry Rice and Terrell Owens, who is part of the five-man 2018 class with Moss.
Moss, Rice and former Seahawks wide receiver Steve Largent are the only three wide receivers in NFL history to be first-ballot Hall of Famers.
Carter said he stayed away from bothering Moss too much on Saturday as the hours counted down to announcement time.
"There's nothing like the wait," Carter said. "There's no experience that's going to get you ready for it."
Moss played seven-plus of his 14 seasons in Minnesota and made an undeniable impact on the NFL.
He ranks second all-time with 156 receiving touchdowns, third with 15,292 receiving yards and is 15th in league history with 982 receptions.
Moss, who was **inducted into the Vikings Ring of Honor** in September, produced the majority of those gaudy statistics with the Vikings.
He ranks second behind Carter in all major statistical categories with 587 career catches for 9,316 yards and 92 touchdowns.
Moss burst onto the scene as the 21st overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft as he helped the Vikings go 15-1, for the most regular-season wins in franchise history.
The West Virginia native used a blend of athleticism and skills the league had never seen before as he finished with 69 catches for 1,313 yards and a rookie-record 17 touchdown catches.
Matt Birk, a sixth-round pick in 1998,saw firsthand how Moss consistently gave opposing defenses nightmares.
"First-ballot Hall of Famer, that's extra special and I think Randy is in that category, without question," Birk said. "Just from Day One, the way he literally took the league by storm and dominated for a long, long time."
Former Vikings guard Randall McDaniel, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009, was also on the 1998 team.
McDaniel said he was thrilled for his former teammate.
"I'm glad he's in … that's a good thing for the Vikings," McDaniel said. "What a thrill for Randy to have that honor.
"Watching him in practice in Mankato and the first few catches he made and what he did, it was just a matter of time," McDaniel added.
