rocksteady
Pro
a discerning explanation as to why Randy gets a negative narrative, relatively speaking (compared to his peers) :
objectively they couldn't question his numbers, so they questioned his desire, determination, work-ethic and "heart" (racist, dog-whistle reasoning cast negative light on his character). let me explain...
Randy doesn't kowtow to anybody. sometimes this is misconstrued as disrespectful or threatening. he won't budge an inch.
he would not say what someone may have wanted him to say or what people expected him to say. he didn't politic. this rubbed many the wrong way.
in terms of public perception, his biggest adversary weren't his opponents on the field, but the Media off of it.
in MN, there is an old-guard of Media writers that try to influence. they try to get you to conform and adhere to the mindset of the dominant culture in MN, very passive aggressively (Randy could see-through this and would not give them the satisfaction).
when he was expected to say certain things and behave a certain way that was comforting and easy to digest accordingly to that of a certain culture, he wouldn't do it.
it was hard for him to sugar-coat a message and wear a plastic-face, because it wasn't real to him. if he couldn't express how he really felt or thought, he'd rather not say a thing and let you think what you want to think and write what you want to write.
he has a mercurial personality and a distrust of those in authority (people trying to limit him in any capacity, especially when it comes to what he thinks, feels or the manner in which he does things).
if a media member wanted him to speak the obligatory cliché ridden answer, he wouldn't. not because he didn't feel a particular way about it, but because they were expecting him to say a particular thing (such a thing he took as a demand to which he was unwilling to abide).
there is a nuance and distinction there that people miss. he will say and do what he wants if or when he wants, not say or do what you expect. he's his own man.
when asked if Cris Carter helped him to play at a certain level, he wouldn't say what you wanted to hear - he'll tell you that he [Randy] will play when he wants to play (meaning he doesn't reach a certain level because of Carter - he reaches levels because of his own doing and of his own accord).
if his words are taken a certain way in which it was not intended, that's not his problem. if it were, then he would be giving way to how 'you' think. if he conforms his answer to what you wanted to hear, then he has given you authority over his own thoughts.
he would only do something if he wanted to do something, nothing more, nothing less. people had a major problem with a young, black male from the south with this mentality.
i'll repeat:
objectively they couldn't question his numbers, so they questioned his desire, determination, work-ethic and "heart" (racist, dog-whistle reasoning cast negative light on his character).
when asked if he smoked weed, he wouldn't even in this instance say, no. he'd say, yeah, once in a blue-moon - the NFL knows what i do or don't do.
if asked how he liked the food at a certain restaurant that his teammate Matt Birk (his nemesis on the team) made a tradition to dine at, he would say, i wouldn't feed my dog the food. you don't like the answer? he knows you won't like the answer.
there was some truth to the explanation Brad Childress gave upon his decision to trade Moss:
Randy was a "programmatic non-fit".
he didn't align, adhere or get in with the "program", he never did. i think that's the point.
all imho, of course.
Peace!
objectively they couldn't question his numbers, so they questioned his desire, determination, work-ethic and "heart" (racist, dog-whistle reasoning cast negative light on his character). let me explain...
Randy doesn't kowtow to anybody. sometimes this is misconstrued as disrespectful or threatening. he won't budge an inch.
he would not say what someone may have wanted him to say or what people expected him to say. he didn't politic. this rubbed many the wrong way.
in terms of public perception, his biggest adversary weren't his opponents on the field, but the Media off of it.
in MN, there is an old-guard of Media writers that try to influence. they try to get you to conform and adhere to the mindset of the dominant culture in MN, very passive aggressively (Randy could see-through this and would not give them the satisfaction).
when he was expected to say certain things and behave a certain way that was comforting and easy to digest accordingly to that of a certain culture, he wouldn't do it.
it was hard for him to sugar-coat a message and wear a plastic-face, because it wasn't real to him. if he couldn't express how he really felt or thought, he'd rather not say a thing and let you think what you want to think and write what you want to write.
he has a mercurial personality and a distrust of those in authority (people trying to limit him in any capacity, especially when it comes to what he thinks, feels or the manner in which he does things).
if a media member wanted him to speak the obligatory cliché ridden answer, he wouldn't. not because he didn't feel a particular way about it, but because they were expecting him to say a particular thing (such a thing he took as a demand to which he was unwilling to abide).
there is a nuance and distinction there that people miss. he will say and do what he wants if or when he wants, not say or do what you expect. he's his own man.
when asked if Cris Carter helped him to play at a certain level, he wouldn't say what you wanted to hear - he'll tell you that he [Randy] will play when he wants to play (meaning he doesn't reach a certain level because of Carter - he reaches levels because of his own doing and of his own accord).
if his words are taken a certain way in which it was not intended, that's not his problem. if it were, then he would be giving way to how 'you' think. if he conforms his answer to what you wanted to hear, then he has given you authority over his own thoughts.
he would only do something if he wanted to do something, nothing more, nothing less. people had a major problem with a young, black male from the south with this mentality.
i'll repeat:
objectively they couldn't question his numbers, so they questioned his desire, determination, work-ethic and "heart" (racist, dog-whistle reasoning cast negative light on his character).
when asked if he smoked weed, he wouldn't even in this instance say, no. he'd say, yeah, once in a blue-moon - the NFL knows what i do or don't do.
if asked how he liked the food at a certain restaurant that his teammate Matt Birk (his nemesis on the team) made a tradition to dine at, he would say, i wouldn't feed my dog the food. you don't like the answer? he knows you won't like the answer.
there was some truth to the explanation Brad Childress gave upon his decision to trade Moss:
Randy was a "programmatic non-fit".
he didn't align, adhere or get in with the "program", he never did. i think that's the point.
all imho, of course.
Peace!
Name another 40 year old that was doing what he was doing. Gannon was a career backup that had 3 or 4 good seasons. In Oakland . 
)
