NEW ORLEANS -- We're supposed to cover as many players as possible on Super Bowl Media Day, but I found myself wanting to listen to Randy Moss talk for 60 minutes.
Let's face it: The odds are that this is the last time we'll ever hear from Moss on such a wide scale until his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction speech. (Which should be fun.) The San Francisco 49ers receiver rarely talks to the media, but it's always a treat when he does. Here are some of the highlights aside from the headline-grabbing comments about his status as the NFL's best receiver ever and his questionable future with the 49ers.
Just imagine this all being said in Moss' slow West Virginia drawl. With MossTV off the air, this is as close as you'll get to Moss unplugged.
On finances: "I collect the game check and my family spends it."
On what Moss wants out of life: "I think it was (Michael Jackson's) sister or his brother -- one of them said, 'Michael just always wanted to be normal.' I'm not putting myself on Michael Jackson's pedestal, but I kind of understood where they were coming from. I always wanted to be able to go to the park and play a game or go shopping or go to the grocery store. I've always wanted to be normal."
On returning to football: "I think that for me to be able to take a year off; I've said it before that I really did cry, I really did. I love this game of football so much. I don't like everything that comes with it, but going out on the field between the white lines and playing football is something I've always done.
"I've been doing it since I was six years old. For me to be able to just walk away from the game, knowing that I wasn't ready, mentally or physically, it really hurt me, man. It really depressed me. It warmed me up to know that I wasn't ready to leave the game."
On the New England Patriots' Super Bowl loss: "I still think about it. I still think about the loss in '07. I can still say that I haven't seen the game. There's just something about '07, being undefeated going into a Super Bowl and losing it like that. I'll never forget that moment because it's not fun when you're sweating and you have confetti dropping down and sticking to your face knowing that you're not on the winning side of the confetti."
On whether he's ever had an imaginary girlfriend: "If I did, I never told anybody about it."
On whether he wishes he was celebrated like Ray Lewis: "That's not me. I'm not a celebrator."
On putting the Harbaugh brothers storyline in the right perspective: "I don't really think that I could talk to my brother for that week. If our mom came down to have dinner, I'd probably have to cancel that.
"I understand that it's the 49ers against the Baltimore Ravens, but I know John and Jim would like to beat one another. That's bragging rights forever. You know what I'm saying? They could be long gone, grandfathers or great grandfathers, but they still have something to hold over the other brother's head."
Whether Moss likes it or not, Sunday might be the final game of his NFL career. He will go down as one of the game's greatest players and fascinating personalities. Perhaps he still has another go-ahead, fourth-quarter Super Bowl touchdown in him.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
