Randall Cunningham, Gary Anderson, Robert Smith, Cris Carter, John Randle, Randy Moss… just a few names from the memorable 1998 Vikings squad. Minnesotans fondly remember that remarkable NFL season as the breakthrough period in Minnesota sports history.
This being the 10-year anniversary, I took the time to sit down and reminisce with a few of the key members of the 1998 squad.
Randall Cunninham: I give all glory to God. And my offensive line! Listen, I’m a lucky man. I mean, look at my NFL journey. I had some great years in Philly, but I just didn’t have the supporting cast. Things got so bad, by 1996, I was out of the league, installing marble countertops in Vegas. Finally the Vikings called looking for a backup. When Brad Johnson got injured, I had the opportunity to play QB for one of the greatest teams in NFL history. What a year! To retire after back-to-back titles in 98/99 and 99/00 — now that was sweet. I’m sure John Elway would have loved to ride off into the sunset the way I did, but we just had the better team in Super Bowl XXXIII. It was a team effort, and our defense did a great job shutting down Terrell Davis. We forced Elway to beat us, and he came up just short.
Gary Anderson: I must admit, mate, I was pretty nervous lining up for that big kick against Atlanta. I just said to myself, “Gary, you’ve been perfect this season. How will the fans remember you if you blow this one? This is the most important kick of your life.” After I gave myself that lil’ pep talk, I just booted it right through the uprights. Felt great. Didn’t have any tough kicks in the Super Bowl and finished my career with a perfect season. Brilliant!
Robert Smith: I was pretty banged up after that Atlanta game, so to be honest with you, the second and third titles were a little sweeter for me. But Leroy Hoard did a great job running the ball in Miami against Broncos. Not to take anything away from Leroy, but with Cris, Randy, and Jake Reed running routes, no defense was equipped to stop our passing game.
Cris Carter: It was great to cement my status in Minnesota sports lore as a champion. Heck, the street they named after me intersects with Puckett Place! I feel like that ’98 squad helped cultivate a winning attitude in Minny. Had we not brought home that Super Bowl trophy, who knows? Maybe KG and the Wolves wouldn’t be defending another title right now. Maybe Johan and Torii wouldn’t have spurned the big contracts to play for the Twins in a winning city. We’ll never know. I’m just glad Gary made that kick against the Falcons!
John Randle: Super Bowl MVP, I still can’t believe it. I just put my war paint on and got to work. Remember that commercial with me chasing around the chicken wearing the Favre jersey? It was like that, only the chicken wore #7. I kept my motor running and ended up with six sacks, but the whole “D” played great that day. Tough way for Elway to go out, but I gotta give props to my boys Robert Griffith and Big Head Orlando Thomas in the secondary. Linebackers Eddie McDaniel and Dwayne Rudd made some key plays. Those fellas were all over the field.
Randy Moss: I’ve been in a Vikes uni ten years already? Damn. My rookie year was straight cash, homey! That first taste… I can’t explain it. It was the beginning of something beautiful. Sure, we had a couple tough years afterward. You’ll never believe this, but I heard talk that Red McCombs was thinking of trading me to the Raiders. The Raiders! You believe that? You can’t break up Daunte and me; we’re a unit! Split us up, and I bet Daunte would try to carry the entire load and probably just get himself hurt. But then we drafted AP, and now we’re right back on top of the mountain. We got a legit shot at repeating this year…
IRVING, TX 11/26/98
* cross-posted at sports-uncut.com
