Excerpts from: Purple People The Crazy Culture and Customs of Minnesota Vikings Fans, the Best Fans in the NFL

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Syd Davy lives in Winnipeg, Canada, but has driven down to every Minnesota Vikings home game since he bought season tickets in 1986.  In 1998 he achieved a national level of fame when he became the man who caught Randy Moss after the Superfreak scored a touchdown.  Unlike the Lambeau Leap where players just jump to a mass of nobodies, Moss singled out Davy as the only man to catch him.  Through that celebration, the two formed a bond that lasted even after Moss was traded to the Raiders after the 2004 season.  Here, in this excerpt from "Fanatical--100% Cheese Free Fan, a.k.a. Syd Davy" we learn not only how the Moss-Davy celebration started, but also the REAL reason why Randy left the Vikes. 

If you ever watched a Randy Moss touchdown, chances are you spotted Syd. It all started on November 15, 1998, when Moss caught a 61-yard touchdown pass. While sprinting down the sideline, he made eye contact with Davy. Davy sits in the front row of the north end zone. You can’t miss him. He paints his face purple accentuated by gold eyebrows and mustache. He wears plastic helga horns with gold ponytails coming down over each ear. Chain mail covers his shoulders and part of his chest. And, oh yeah, he’s huge. I mean really big. Defensive lineman kind of big. His arms are like tree trunks and his chest the size of a Subaru.

While sprinting down the sidelines, Moss pointed to him and leaped into Syd’s arms. "I gave him a big hug," recalls Syd. "I didn’t want to let him go. Finally Cris Carter had to come over and say, ‘you got to give him back now.’" During the game, John Madden replayed the touchdown celebration, commenting on how Randy was smart. "Randy jumps to this guy," said Madden, telestrating the festivities, "because of his big old arms, and if you are going to jump to a guy, you want to jump to a guy with big old arms." Randy with Syd made front page news in the Twin Cities, under the headline: "A Roaring Fan Gathers the Moss."

Every time Syd caught Randy his picture appeared in the Winnipeg newspaper. Big Syd caught Randy again, and again, and again; but it never got old. He may well be the most recognizable Vikings fan—his picture appeared in Maxim and Sports Illustrated, his image graced Monday Night Football’s opening credits for several seasons, every time he caught Randy, he appeared on national television, and you can even see him as part of Randy Moss’s touchdown celebration on the John Madden and NFL Fever video games.

Big Syd’s been sitting in the front row since 1991, where his muscles draw even more attention than his mouth. Syd gets to games early, so he can heckle the opposition when they warm up. "I heckle them so bad I chase them out of the end zone," he says with a smile. He is proud that in 2003, "the Bears tried to get me gone. I was bugging them, calling them fat slobs. Their coach comes right up to me and shouts, ‘you shut your fat mouth!’ and I said, ‘What? You’re even fatter than they are!’" Some of their offensive linemen got laughing so hard they moved out of the end zone to about the fifteen yard line. The thing is, he’s in just as good, if not better, shape than the players, and almost as large, so they can’t really ridicule him back.

His mouth and muscles made 100% Cheese Free get recognized by Vikings players, including Moss, in the 1998 season. Before the games, Moss would be among the players who gave Syd a quick thumbs-up. Still, Moss never planned, or gave any indication of jumping into Syd’s arms that fateful November afternoon against Cincinnati. Moss made eye contact with Syd and Moss jumped into the engineer’s arms.

Syd’s partner in the stands, and on his road trips, is his partner in life, wife Susan, who he calls "The Viking Princess", and she has her own memory from the first catch. Susan, who wears a golden tiara over purple hair, was right next to Syd when Randy jumped. When Randy needed to get down he accidentally, as Syd still laughs about, "pushed off on my wife’s breast. He was so apologetic, so nice. He kept saying how he was so sorry, but she just laughed. She thought it was great."

The Catch became an instant phenomenon. Randy put the picture of him in Syd’s arms on his 1998 Rookie of the Year award. By the end of that season, on-field reporters and cameramen knew to get out of that small corner of the endzone when Moss might score. They always stood nearby, however, waiting to capture the moment on film.

Despite the celebration, Davy never tried capitalizing on his relationship with Moss. "The friendship is with Super Freak and Cheese Free, our two alter egos," says Davy.

For years, the two alter egos never met other than brief interludes, until the Vikings organization, at Randy’s request, invited Syd Davy to lead the team in pre-practice warm ups at Winter Park in November of 2004. Syd’s friend, Steve Bayles (another well-built Vikings fan with tree trunks for arms), came along. With both men in full costume, they got ushered into the locker room where a naked Randy Moss jumped up in excitement to see his friend. "He seemed so happy to see me. I was really touched," says Syd. After a moment of talking, and getting dressed, Randy invited Daunte over to meet the two fans. Then came Mike Tice to see who the two interlopers were. Randy introduced Syd as, "the guy who catches me," but that drew unknowing looks from QB and coach. Randy rolled his eyes. "Come on," he moaned, "don’t you guys notice the guy who catches me after all my touchdowns?" Both men said they knew Randy jumped, but thought he just jumped to any random fan. "No, man, this is the only guy," Randy said.

Syd says of the encounter, "Mike and Daunte didn’t seem to know, but once Randy told them they thought it was really cool. Randy was just the nicest guy ever."

That friendship lasted into early 2005 when the Vikings traded Randy Moss to the Oakland Raiders for a first round pick, Napoleon Harris and a bag of magic beans. 

Now, readers take note!!  The following information appeared nowhere else. Not in any newspaper, magazine or even television interview. The following is an exclusive only to this author and this book, coming direct from a primary source, or at worst, one removed from the most primary source there could be.

This, Vikings fans, is the REAL reason Randy Moss and the Minnesota Vikings parted ways. It had nothing to do with walking off the field with seconds ticking down on the Vikings loss to Washington in the 2004 season finale. It had nothing to do with Randy badmouthing corporate sponsors or press, or even saying "I play when I want to play." It had nothing to do with stupid, publicity-hungry Minneapolis traffic cops who jump on his car hood to create a sensation. It has nothing to do with all of the trumped up charges NFL fans have been told and told again by the press to not like Randy Moss.

The following information came direct from Syd Davy at the 2005 Vikings Draft Day Party. Although still disappointed from losing his favorite Viking, Syd was stoic, understanding the cutthroat nature of the football business. Syd possessed some unique information that was not offered to any other media source, but he told me because we are both fans.

The day after the trade became public, Syd received a phone call at his home in Winnipeg. It was Moss’s agent, and he said: "Randy wants to talk to you. Would that be okay?" Syd, of course, agreed, so the call was set up. Randy phoned Syd personally. "I want you to know the real reason I’m not with the Vikings," Randy said. He said everything being reported on television and newspapers was a load of bunk. "There’s only one reason I’m not with the Vikings any more, and one reason only. I want at least one person to know the truth." 

Well....Randy told Syd and Syd told me.  To learn the real reason, and much more about the franchise and fans, read all of Purple People.