Manny Moseley: The Swiss Cheese Effect
My 31st birthday started off with a bang bang, Niner Gang.
“Holy smokes, Emmanuel Moseley just followed me on Twitter,” I squealed. I may have broken a glass or two. But it’s totally justified, okay?
Up until last week, I had only ever interviewed 49ers alumni. Not saying that isn’t the coolest thing ever because P. Willy—you all know him as Patrick Willis—and I are basically best friends now. Same with Eric Davis.
Let me back this up a couple beeps, like a Mack truck trying to parallel park.
The past year has been wild for everyone. Niners faithful were all hit by that same truck on February 2nd (metaphorically, of course) and everything in between the Super Bowl and now feels like the morning after your best friend’s bachelorette party in Vegas.
Throughout the lockdown, I reached out to a lot of athletes. Shoot your shot, am I right? And yes, the majority of them were 49ers on the current roster. Aside from a few, like Willis and Davis. I’ll save those stories for a rainy day, though.
Now, this is embarrassing for me to admit: I’ve DM’d most of the players. But rather than send them heart emojis and ask Spider-Man Jimmy for his phone number, I took a leap of faith and asked for an interview. I was ghosted. Left on read. I walked around with a big “L” on my forehead for weeks. If you’re reading this column and you play for the team, go search your message requests on Twitter for @49ersCryssy.
And cue the humiliation.
Okay, okay. It’s hard on someone’s ego when you’re constantly rejected. I feel like I’m back at my middle school dance, pacing the perimeter of the gym while “Dilemma” by Nelly and Kelly Rowland fills the awkward silence.
If the pandemic has taught me anything, I’ve learned to not sweat the small stuff.
Oh, George Kittle doesn’t want to reply to my plea for a Zoom chat. No biggie.
By the way, that guy said “HBD” to me on July 28th, too. To quote the great Will Ferrell, “Did we just become best friends?” Yup.
Rejection sucks, but accomplishing your goal after so many nights of crying yourself to sleep feels pretty darn good. And this is where my boy Manny Moseley comes in. He followed me on Twitter—on my birthday, of all days—and of course I had to go full Kobe Bryant and just shoot.
I’m elated that I did because after thanking him for the birthday follow and wishes that ensued, I asked him for a Zoom interview.
“Hey, hey. Let’s do it maybe after camp, if that’s cool with you,” Manny replied.
I jumped out of bed and ran around my 419 square foot condo. Yelled some expletives off my balcony. Then I took a deep breath and composed myself. Totally cool with me, I thought.
We played Twitter telephone for a bit. Secretly, I was counting down the days until training camp was over. And when it finally wrapped up, I messaged Moseley to pick a date for our chat. I kid you not, I was on vacation in Aruba last Thursday—NFL Kickoff night—and my dreams of interviewing a 49er [on the current flippin’ roster] came true.
I asked which name he preferred to go by.
“You can call me Manny,” he smiled. I giggled, nervously. Is this real life?
Manny Moseley started playing football at a young age. Prior to the pigskin, he played basketball. Moseley's dad intercepted those plans, though, and suggested that Manny make the switch to the gridiron.
“I’m glad he did that,” he gushed.
Considering 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman was placed on IR today, I’m glad he did, too. And did you know, Moseley wasn’t even a CB when he first laced up?
“I didn’t play cornerback until my senior year of high school and then going into college,” he said. “That’s when I really started playing, playing corner. I played quarterback ever since I was eight-years-old.”
Quarterback. Let that sink in.
“Thought I was gonna be Jimmy G.”
Manny’s got jokes, too. Side note: I don’t think the female fans could handle two Jimmy’s, to be perfectly honest. Oof.
Moseley changed positions in college when his Tennessee coach made him stretch his arms out to see his wingspan. Those wings had DB written all over ‘em. Manny Fresh fell in love with the CB position because it was the hardest one to play on the field—aside from quarterback.
“Just being able to dissect plays and make plays knowing it’s the hardest position just gives me a thrill,” he reflected.
That thrill has translated into an undeniable passion for the sport. Moseley had a bumpy road to the National Football League. He was undrafted free agent who signed with the 49ers in 2018. After making his debut on November 1st in San Francisco’s 34-3 win over Oakland, Moseley was placed on IR after suffering a shoulder injury.
“I’m a believer. I have faith in God, so I knew he had something better for me.”
Divine timing.
During Week 5 of the 2019 season against the Browns, Manny Fresh made his triumphant return and deflected a pass in the end zone. The 49ers tossed around Baker Mayfield like a rag doll, dominating Cleveland with a final score of 31-3.
In the coming games, Moseley went on to intercept Panthers’ Kyle Allen and even (arguably) one of the GOATs, Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers.
“That really felt great,” he beamed. “That was probably my favourite interception, I would have to say.”
Fun fact: I used to play flag football. In fact, I was the Queen of Flags one season. I’ll never forget the time when I intercepted the ball against this super tall dude. He bragged about playing semi-pro (which in Canada, isn’t that big of a deal—just sayin’) and had OBJ’s attitude, both on-and-off the field.
That play will forever go down as the top highlight of my mental reel.
Interceptions are all about timing. And just like my One Shining Moment in flag football, Moseley’s timing is impeccable. Alright, we may not have seen Manny Fresh just yet. To be fair, he had to cover DeAndre Hopkins.
DeAndre flippin’ Hopkins.
Sherman and Moseley should have double-teamed Hop because damn, he’s an incredible wide receiver. Ironically, not when I draft him in Fantasy Football.
Enter divine timing.
Those two words I mentioned earlier are like the “Swiss Cheese Effect.” If you buy a pack of sliced Swiss cheese, most of the holes in each slice will never perfectly line up. It's a mess. The hole-placement is all over the map. It’s almost impossible for seven slices of Swiss cheese to stack up on top of each other, and somehow, have each hole line up to use as a peephole.
It’s like my journey to Sports Illustrated, to be honest.
So many specific things had to happen in my life to lead me here. A lot of really crappy things mixed with some pretty awesome ones, too. But here I am, posting an interview with a current 49er on SI All49ers.
My point is this: divine timing is insanely powerful.
Moseley didn’t intercept Kyler Murray when the 49ers played against the Cardinals; however, he stepped into a bigger role as corner, since he was tasked with covering Hopkins.
And now, Richard Sherman will be out for three weeks with an apparent leg injury.
Good thing Moseley looks up to Sherm more than any other 49er.
“Just seeing what he’s doing in the community is amazing," Moseley said. "He’s always in the community, helping out, giving back. On the field, he’s like a big brother to all of us.
"He’s showing us what to do through his actions on the field.”
Faithful, prepare for Next Man Up. It’s Manny's time to shine.
And he’ll do it in divine style.
