After refusing to let Randy Moss get away with mooning NFL fans back in 2005, Joe Buck seems like less of a stickler 17 years later.
Buck’s resume as a play-by-play voice is chock full of calls that help tell the story of the NFL, but his over-the-top reaction to Moss pretending to pull his pants down is one of the few blemishes on his record.
On Jan. 9, 2005, with the Vikings in Green Bay for an NFC Wild Card Round game, Moss scored a touchdown and pretended to moon Packers fans.
Moss did not actually pull his pants down, he just pretended to do so. And if you believe Buck’s reaction to a pretend mooning was a little over-the-top.
Joe Buck joined Purple Daily this morning. He was excellent.
Here he is, talking candidly about his relationship with Minnesota Vikings fans — from the Moss mooning call to the Minneapolis Miracle.pic.twitter.com/cvELyOQtUN
— Phil Mackey 🎙 (@PhilMackey) November 27, 2023
Buck joined SKOR North’s Vikings podcast, Purple Daily this week and during the interview, he was asked about his famous call of The Minneapolis Miracle in 2018.
While reflecting on the call that ingratiated him to Vikings fans, Buck recalled being pitted against them for his harsh reaction to Moss in 2005.
“I hear that back and it kind of gives me a little bit of a jolt because I’m like, ‘Man, I can’t believe that that’s what came out of my mouth’, but I have to live with that,”
Buck admitted.
I don’t think Randy cares about it, so I guess I’ll just move on and hopefully everybody else can too.
Buck recalled former Vikings owner Red McCombs attempting to get Fox to bump their lead play-by-play voice from calling Minnesotas’ playoff game.
Fox declined McCombs’ plea without paying it much attention, but Buck admitted there was a moment where he wondered if he was going to get booted from Minnesota’s Divisional Round game.
“I don’t like that. I’m a pleaser,”
Buck told.
If calling Moss’s mooning “disgusting” was an over-the-top reaction, attempting to get Buck removed from Fox’s lead broadcast booth during the NFL Playoffs over the issue was a hilariously outrageous response.
Fans responded as follows:
First off, GB fans actually mooned the team bus. Second, he simply said "you'll get a penalty every time for that" in a casual manner when a Jets (I think it was Jets) player grabbed his junk in a gesture to the other team's fans.
— j CHERNY (@jCHERNY2) November 27, 2023
The disgusting act call. Hey, he probably knew that the Karens of the day would be writing letters into the network so it was just preemptive “damage control”. Listening to it now is absolutely hilarious. Especially Collinsworth going, “as he…shoots the moon to the fans!” 🤣
— N1CK OR3GON1AN (@NRG311) November 27, 2023
That was a fantastic interview; really gave me a new appreciation for him. Nice work guys! 👍
— King Rob the Terrible 👑 (@robkong406) November 27, 2023
Love this interview. That being said, I will never understand how #1 broadcast teams are decided. Joe Buck would be low on my list and Kevin Harlan would be much higher. Dick Vitale would not make my on-air list! in other words, I don't dislike Joe Buck, but why was he there??
— Jim Johnson (@Jrj519Johnson) November 28, 2023
Joe Buck is one of the best, never understood MN fans still holding onto that grudge decades later.
— Elliot🌲 (@engeBe_Tc) November 28, 2023
I got no problem with Joe Buck and his dad’s call at the World Series when he said and we will see you tomorrow night will always be one of the greatest of all time in Minnesota sports
— jhbart (@jhbart001) November 27, 2023
