PHOENIX — With his teammates in the New England Patriots’ locker room, and in his infrequent-but-always-entertaining press conferences this season, Randy Moss has never seemed to be at a loss for words.

But yesterday, when he took his place at his designated, elevated booth for Super Bowl XLII Media Day at University of Phoenix Stadium and saw more than 200 media members waiting for him — recorders, cameras and flashbulbs at the ready — the gregarious wideout with the West Virginia drawl was nearly speechless.

“They told me how hectic it’s going to be as far as all the cameras and flashes,” Moss said, referring to his Media Day-experienced teammates. “I guess I was a little stunned coming out here and seeing everybody out here, especially waiting here at my booth.”

As overwhelming as it may have been, Moss had waited his entire career to take part in the three-ring circus known as Media Day, having taken a big pay cut to play for the New England Patriots for just that chance.

And yesterday he embraced it.

“It’s an experience and I’m enjoying every second of it,” he said.

This week, this season, have been a dream come true for Moss, who was traded from a bad situation in Oakland to football Eden in New England during NFL Draft weekend nine months ago.

From his first day with the team, he made clear his intentions to fall in line and do whatever was asked of him. He was just grateful for the chance to play for the Patriots’ organization, for a coach like Bill Belichick, and with a quarterback like Tom Brady.

His friend and fellow Marshall Thundering Herd alum Troy Brown didn’t think Moss would have problems in New England.

“I don’t know what was going on in Oakland, but he was welcomed with open arms,” said Brown. “He’s a funny guy, he keeps everyone laughing, he helps the younger guys.”

“He sees things and he’s able to make adjustments on the fly,” New England receivers coach Nick Caserio said. “He’s able to visualize and carry that over to the game. He’s a very, very smart football player.”

That brilliant player had enjoyed tremendous individual success in his career, with five Pro Bowl selections, three All-Pro honors and 101 career touchdowns entering this season.

Team success had eluded him. In his rookie year with Minnesota, the Vikings were 15-1 and set a then-NFL record for points in a season before being upset by Atlanta in the NFC title game.

After seven seasons with Minnesota, he was traded to Oakland, where things got even worse as the Raiders won a total of six games in his two seasons there.

So when he learned that he was headed to New England — for the bargain-basement cost of a fourth-round draft pick — Moss was ecstatic. With the Patriots, he knew he had a chance to experience what Brown had already enjoyed three times.

“He was in awe of me being a Super Bowl champion,” Brown said. “Him being the type of competitor he is, that was his biggest dream.”

Once the Super Bowl is over, Moss becomes a free agent, but he has stated his desire to remain with the Pats for the rest of his career.

“I would love to finish my career here just for the fact that they have everything that you want in a football organization,” he said. “They handle things from the top all the way down to the bottom. The fun that we have is not on the field, it’s in the locker room or hanging out at guys’ houses and stuff like that. The team concept is not just on the field, it’s outside the locker room. For me to be able to say that I would love to (remain) a New England Patriot and finish my career here, that is something I can really believe in.”

Although he has just one catch in each of the Patriots’ first two playoff games this season, Moss hasn’t groused about his lack of statistics, content to know that his presence on the field and the attention he draws from defenses has helped the team. And he has contributed in other ways, as Caserio noted, with his blocking in the running and passing games.

Moss said he hopes to make a splash in his first Super Bowl.

“I think what we’ve done in the past week and a half to prepare: practice, weight training, eating right, things like that, I’m setting myself up to come out here and show the world what I’ve really got.

“Before I retired, I wanted a chance to play on this stage, not for all of the publicity, but this whole Super Bowl. You hear a lot about the greats making their names as Super Bowl MVPs and being able to win the big game. I wanted to be on this stage to play in the big game, the last game of the season.”

smanza@projo.com