On Nov. 15, 1998, the “Super Freak” officially met “100% Cheese Free.”

“Randy (Moss) caught a 61-yard touchdown, and as he crossed the goal line we made eye contact and I gave him a hand gesture to come up and he came over full speed, like a missle, into my arms,” said the 45-year-old Winnipeg native, Syd Davy, who goes by the alter ego “100% Cheese Free” during Viking games. “I held onto him with all my might for approximately three minutes and I did not want to let him go. Finally Cris Carter came over and begged me to return Randy.”

And so the relationship with Moss and Davy began. After the Vikings’ wideout leaped into the stands that day at the Metrodome against the Cincinnati Bengals, it became a game day tradition between the two that still continues five years later.

Over the years the fan and the player have perfected their interaction to the point when Davy and everyone around him knows when the 6-foot-4 receiver is about to leap to into the big arms of the CP Rail locomotive engineer.

“There was the time that I caught Randy twice in one game against the Green Bay Packers and during the first catch of the game Randy was pointing at me when he was running down the field, preparing me for his jump, which I thought was pretty cool,” said Davy, who became a Vikings fan when Bud Grant left the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to coach Minnesota in 1967. “Sometimes he waves at me during a play which drives the crowd wild, for they figure he’ll be coming up soon to celebrate with us in Valhalla (Viking Heaven).”

When Moss signals to Davy that he’s coming up into the stands “100% Cheese Free” does his part to prepare everyone around for the giant leap.

“First of all I warn all of the reporters to clear the way, he is coming up,” Davy said. “ Randy looks for me and he just comes running and jumps so high sometimes I feel I’m only trying to stop him from going through the roof. The fans all around are like an avalanche trying to touch Randy. The excitement is incredible.”

While Moss gives Davy and the fans a thrill with his presence in the stands, Davy tries to give something back to him as well.

“I try to talk to Randy and try to inspire him for it is the “Super Freak” that is actually coming up to visit “100% Cheese Free” for his hero’s welcome,” said Davy.

And so far the words of advice seem to be working for Moss, as Davy claims Moss has recorded over 100 yards in each game he has leapt into the arms of the Winnipeg native.

Moss isn’t the only Viking Davy has offered words of advice to. During an autograph session with Viking quarterback Daunte Culpepper, Davy told him that nothing generates excitement during a game like a player jumping into the stands, and suggested that he go back and tell that to the other players on the team.

“At the game the next day Daunte jumped into the stands and so did Cris Carter,” Davy recalled. “We won that game so it was obvious to me that Daunte did go back to the team and talked to them about this. I felt like I made a difference in the outcome.”

Yet Davy is very rational with his relationship with the Vikings, particularly Moss. While the two have a real connection during games they have limited contact off the field..

“I have met him (Moss) briefly once, but the friendship is between the ‘Super Freak’ and ‘100% Cheese Free’, our two alter egos,” Davy admitted. “I do not chase him off the field, nor do I have any autographs. I want to respect Randy’s privacy for he has been followed all his life for autographs for people only wanting to make a buck. I know he likes to autograph things for kids and I respect this, for I would not want to jeopardize Randy’s desire to jump and celebrate with me and all of the fans surrounding me in Valhalla, which is what I call the southeast end zone.”

So far Moss’ enthusiasm for seeking Davy out hasn’t faded, although he has tried to tease him about it before,

“There was one game against Tampa Bay that Randy caught a touchdown and he turned his back on me to play a joke on me that he was not going to come up, and I yelled at him, ’At least give me the damn ball,’ like Keyshawn Johnson says,” Davy said. “Randy spiked the ball, turned around and ran full speed at me and jumped. He almost had me fooled that time.”

There was one occasion where Davy remembers Moss didn’t jump up to him. On Nov. 19, 2001 Moss scored three touchdowns against the New York Giants, and after his third touchdown he turned to Davy and apologized, saying that he couldn’t make the jump, that his ribs were too sore.

Between having an ongoing relationship with Moss in the end zone, giving advice to Culpepper and partaking in autograph sessions, Davy has made his name and image well-known throughout not only Minnesota, but the nation as well. The image of Davy with purple face paint, a yellow mustache and long yellow braids under a Viking helmet, topped off with a chain mill collar over a “100% Cheese Free Viking World Order” muscle shirt, Purple Army pants , a Viking World Order Championship belt and matching wrist bands, has been plastered over publications and television screens everywhere. He’s been shown in Sports Illustrated, Maxim Magazine, Blitz Magazine and newspapers all over North America. A clip of Moss jumping up to him was even featured in a NFL Players Association commercial.

Even Monday Night Football’s John Madden has taken notice of Davy.

“When I caught Randy Moss in the playoff game against Dallas on Jan. 9, 2000, John Madden made the remark, ‘That Randy jumps to this guy because of his big old arms, and if you are going to jump to a guy you want to jump to a guy that’s got big old arms,” Davy said.

With a face and persona that has become so well known, Davy has had several requests for autographs from fans and has had his own trading card created for this purpose.

And of course, Davy’s presence has not gone unnoticed by the Vikings’ opponents.. Admitting that he can be a little intimidating to opponents when they are practicing in the southeast end zone, Davy takes it upon himself to tease the opposing players and point out their flaws.

He particularly likes to take jabs at the Packers.

“One time I said to Frank Winters of the Packers, ‘I heard you went to the Grand Canyon on your holidays and you fell in and got stuck.’ Even he laughed at that one,” Davy said.

During one game Davy recalled he got former Packer Head Coach Mike Holmgren so upset that he thought he was going to jump into the stands after him.

All of this attention has not gone to Davy’s head. When all is said and done, he is simply a Viking fan. Offering his loyalty to the team after Bud Grant left the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1967 to coach the Minnesota Vikings, Davy has now attended 120 games at the Dome. He went to his first game on Sept. 28, 1986, when the Vikings defeated the Green Bay Packers 42-7. It was on that day that “100% Cheese Free” was born.  Seventeen years later, Davy and his wife Susan, who he calls the Viking Princess, make the trip to Minneapolis for every Minnesota home game, and sit in their same seats in the front row of the southeast end zone that they’ve had since the 1991 season.

Davy has had offers from fans virtually everywhere in the NFL, especially Packer fans, to attend the Vikings’ away games, but he is holding off on making trips outside of Minnesota until he retires.

Until that time comes, Davy and his wife will continue to support the Vikings and make their presence known in the Metrodome’s southeast end zone.

“I feel that I have a responsibility to the team and the fans,” Davy said.. “Football is my passion and the Vikings are my team.”