NFL Hall of Famer John Madden died Tuesday at age 85. Madden was many things to many different people, depending upon when you started watching or being interested in football and your age. If you are of one generation, you remember Madden as the famed coach of the Oakland Raiders. Another generation might know him for commercials and his legendary broadcast of NFL games, the first broadcaster to appear for all four major networks. The younger generation knows him as the coach on the cover of the most anticipated sports game each year, the newest installment in EA Sports’ “Madden” franchise. However you remember Madden, he is a legend of not only the sport but of pop culture. As a head coach, Madden never had a losing season in the NFL, guiding the Raiders to seven conference championship games and a win in Super Bowl XI. When he was hired at age 32, Madden was the youngest head coach in league history. To this day, Madden holds the mark for most wins by a coach in Raiders’ history. As a broadcaster, the world got to know and love John Madden. When Madden was paired with Pat Summerall at CBS in 1981, it was instant magic. In 1994, when Madden left CBS, he was paid $2 million by Fox, the most for a broadcaster at that time. Madden was again paired with Summerall. Late in his career, Madden left Fox to go to ABC, starting another legendary combo with Al Michaels for three years until NBC brought back Sunday Night Football. Before missing a game in 2008, Madden called 476 consecutive games. Madden’s last game call was Super Bowl XLIII, the epic 2009 clash between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals. In 1988, Madden gave his voice, personality, and likeness to EA Sports with its “Madden” series of video games that helped to revolutionize video games and how people played them. The video game series is credited with helping millions of people learn the game of football and has crossed over into the mainstream. Most NFL players play the game, and households all over the country settle debates by playing the game, with a new version eagerly anticipated every year. John Madden was the first voice I can remember hearing associated with football. His call of the Green Bay Packers game the day after Packers quarterback Brett Favre’s dad passed away still gives me chills. I begged for the newest version of “Madden” each Christmas. As I got older, the game helped me learn about the game and understand defensive schemes and assignments, offensive play calling and how to read defenses from the offensive point of view, and the business of football via the game’s franchise mode which lets you take financial control of a team. Almost every football fan has some memory of John Madden, an NFL legend.
NFL Hall of Famer John Madden died Tuesday at age 85. Madden was many things to many different people, depending upon when you started watching or being interested in football and your age.
