MINNEAPOLIS -- You can say what you want about Randy Moss -- plenty of people have -- but one thing is for sure, Moss brought more fun and excitement into the stale, sterile Metrodome than any other Viking ever has.

It began in training camp during the summer of 1998, the Vikings were coming off another lackluster 9-7 season and there was no reason to think this new season would be any different. That is, until a skinny rookie wearing No. 18 began to stir up a frenzied wave of enthusiasm unlike any other phenomenon Minnesota sports fans had seen before.

During the preseason you could tell there was something extraordinary about this No. 18: he seemed to be moving at a different speed than everyone else, he could effortlessly adjust to the most poorly thrown pass. He made everything look easy.

When interviewed, this seemingly shy rookie always had his head down and talked in a country twang which conveyed a certain innocence. Sure, we had heard about some of the questionable things he had done in the past, but we were looking toward the future -- and the future looked bright.

When the Vikings released wannabe wideout Tony Bland prior to the regular season, his No. 84 was assigned to No. 18. Instantly, every Viking fan from age eight to eighty wanted a No. 84 jersey. If you worked in a sports apparel store during the fall and winter of 1998 (as I did), you know exactly what I mean. You couldn’t keep No. 84 jerseys in stock. Dozens of dejected patrons walked out of your store every day.

We all know about the 1998 Vikings and Moss’ now legendary exploits -- the coming-out party on a rainy Monday night in Lambeau, the 3 TD performance on Thanksgiving Day in Dallas -- the team finished 15-1 and a Super Bowl birth seemed like a formality. Of course, it wasn’t meant to be -- the Vikes blew it, but they still had Moss.

Over the next six seasons, Moss excited, delighted, and frustrated Viking fans. He made countless highlight reel catches and became the first receiver in NFL history to average more than 100 yards and a touchdown per game in 2003 (1,632 yards, 17 TD), but he also squirted a referee with a water bottle, said "I play when I want to play," drove a half a block with a traffic officer on the hood of his car, and walked off the field with two seconds to play in last year’s final regular season game.

In the end Moss’ antics drove him out of town. Instead of focusing on the negative however, this Viking fan will always remember the unabashed excitement he breathed into a lifeless franchise and, even through the lean years of 2001 and 2002, you still had to watch the Vikings just to see what No. 84 might do next.

When a Vikings quarterback, whether it was Randall Cunningham, Jeff George or Daunte Culpepper, cocked back to unleash a bomb to the "Super Freak," there was simply no more exhilarating moment in sports. Now, the Randy Moss circus is headed to Oakland and, for better or worse, the Vikings will never be the same.