Why Randy Moss surprised a Pelican Rapids student at graduation
Randy Moss at Tyrone Carter's Elite Football Camp in May 2014.
Randy Moss had dozens of memorable highlights during his Minnesota Vikings career, but his surprise visit to the high school graduation of a longtime friend and fan is a memory that will last a lifetime.
A story published by the Associated Press during the 2003 Vikings training camp in Mankato, Minn. described how 7-year-old Kassi Spier went to lunch with No. 84 Moss nearly every day, with "her tiny hand tucked inside his." But it was 3 years earlier, in September 2000, that their bond was strengthened by a visit to Mayo Clinic in Rochester.
Spier, then a 4-year-old, had been diagnosed with leukemia. Moss didn't want to leave her side.
The leukemia diagnosis was the first of many life obstacles for little Kassi. In 2004, her dad died in a car accident. In 2013, she was back in the hospital, diagnosed with a brain tumor.
A strong, determined Kassi Spier managed to continue school, and she graduated Friday night. The person who handed over her diploma: Randy Moss.
Straight class, homey.