John Madden has passed away

canderson

Mr. Brightside
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Jul 16, 2005
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Had the opportunity to meet him on the sidelines before the Thanksgiving game in 1992 when the Cowboys mailed the Giants. He was larger than life even in person, extremely gracious and nice to a 10 year old kid who was a nobody to him. Then his game hit as I was in orime video game age and played through college. I don’t follow the NFL anymore and partially so because he game and no one replaced his presence I could latch onto.

He was a titan.
 

Ale Xander

Hamilton
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Oct 31, 2013
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PFT has it now. A giant. Maybe the best ambassador the game has ever had. RIP

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2021/12/28/john-madden-football-legend-dies-at-85/
No maybes about it.
This is hitting me harder than I would've expected. Sounds like a cliche, but he really was the voice of my childhood Sundays in the 80s. RIP
He was the voice of my childhood, in the 90's (and briefly in 00's)
Probably the best color man in broadcasting history. He really knew the game and could educate the viewer about it without being condescending or sounding like a know-it-all, while also seeming like a guy you'd like to have a beer with.
No probablys about it
Love Madden; not that torn up about. 85 is a great run and he lived a hell of a life.
Him and Bowden going within 6 months is hitting me in the gut, hard.
I read a story once that he thought of it as a football learning tool so he wouldn’t agree to the release until they got all of the strategy right. So, he is literally responsible for teaching football to millions.
I fundamentally learned football strategy by playing Madden. It is not an accessible sport from strategic and rule perspectives, so having a self-directed tool that helped - in addition to watching hundreds of games - learn the game was invaluable.
Same here too



He broadcasted Super Bowls with all 4 broadcast networks; that is is another fact that shall not be forgotten.

RIP John

 

ObstructedView

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Yeah, me too. He wasn't just the voice of my childhood on Sundays, I can hear that voice and think about those Sundays watching football with my father, who passed 11 years ago last week. So many great memories I had with my father, had John Madden in the background. RIP Coach. Watching him do games and then Berman on ESPN doing Primetime after the games was my church, after we went to church.
It's funny because part of what choked me up on seeing the news was that my mom, who passed about 5 years ago, absolutely LOATHED the sound of Madden's voice. She wasn't a football fan and just didn't get the appeal, and also came to equate his voice with my dad and I being checked out for 3+ hours every week in front of the TV. It became a running joke, and she'd try to imitate him. In a weird way Madden will always remind me of my mom.
 

Phil Plantier

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Mar 7, 2002
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His fear of flying pushed him into broadcasting. Rest is history.
I thought it was interesting that the documentary changed this story a little: the panic attack that led to him swearing off flying happened after he quit the Raiders.

On another note, I always loved this quote, and thought it said a lot about what expertise is

While [John Madden] was an assistant at San Diego State he saw that Vince Lombardi was going to give a coaching clinic in Reno, Nevada. He emptied his savings account to go to the clinic.

“I went up there and Vince Lombardi spoke on one play for eight hours. One play, eight hours. I couldn’t speak on any subject for more than two minutes. I realized at that point, I didn’t know a damn thing. I’m a bluff. My knowledge was just surface.”
 

DourDoerr

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I responded to his enthusiasm. It was clear he loved the game and he was unusual because he could communicate that enthusiasm game after game, year after year. It wasn't schtick.

I didn't envy his choice of travel though. Endlessly back and forth across the country in an RV sounds like a nightmare. RIP coach.
 

jacklamabe65

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Those of you might remember how after the Pats won their first Super Bowl, it was Madden who said how happy he was they won... "as an old AFL guy." He was and I so appreciated that for those of us who loved the league and saw many many games at Fenway over the years. May he ride a luxury bus to heaven.
 
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loshjott

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Dec 30, 2004
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As a kid growing up a Pats fan in the 70s I hated John Madden like I hated Don Shula. Madden was the coach of the Ben Dreith game, after all. That hatred stuck with me for a while so it took me too long to appreciate Madden the color man, but I got there. Honestly, I never knew about his actions after the Stingley injury until reading the Chad Finn tweet that was posted upthread.

RIP
 

johnmd20

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Madden was a true NFL giant. There are not many, if any, who accomplished what he did. Hall of Fame coach, Hall of Fame broadcaster, and still famous with kids in 2021 because of the game. Most of those kids probably have no idea he was even a coach or a broadcaster.

But he is football. Rest in peace John.
 

yazbread

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Jul 22, 2005
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As a kid growing up a Pats fan in the 70s I hated John Madden like I hated Don Shula. Madden was the coach of the Ben Dreith game, after all. That hatred stuck with me for a while so it took me too long to appreciate Madden the color man, but I got there. Honestly, I never knew about his actions after the Stingley injury until reading the Chad Finn tweet that was posted upthread.

RIP
I enjoyed Madden and the Raiders (especially when Plunkett won two Super Bowls with them). But their 1976 SB win should have an asterik next to it.
 

Al Zarilla

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hi
I enjoyed Madden and the Raiders (especially when Plunkett won two Super Bowls with them). But their 1976 SB win should have an asterik next to it.
Eh, it was close. As soon as I saw Sugar Bear Hamilton hit Stabler juuussst after the ball was gone, I thought oh shit. Sure enough, roughing the passer was called. Should they have let it go, like an average foul on a drive to the basket at the end of a basketball game? Sure, but don't give the zebras a chance to call one.

I also appreciated Madden as a Giant helping tremendously to grow the sport back then, like Joe Namath. Yes, Joe. And I loved Belichick's take on Madden's wearing of his ID pass clipped to his waist with it flopping around as he navigated the sidelines. There is nobody else in the world who remotely looks like Madden. Why does he even need an ID?
 

Arroyoyo

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Dec 13, 2021
805
Bill sharing a lot of thoughts around how much he loved spending time with Madden. It sounds like they connected multiple times while he was coaching the Giants (Madden would serve as commentator their games often), and they spent a lot of time talking about old coaching styles, in-game strategies from the 30’s and 40’s. Apparently Bill even spent time on the bus with Madden.

You can tell this one hit him pretty hard.
 

bankshot1

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Feb 12, 2003
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Madden was the fun voice of football that taught many of us about the game. The guy was great. It is somewhat ironic that one of his most memorable calls was one he soon regretted, that the Pats and Brady should run out the clock and play for OT in SB 36.

RIP
 

cshea

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Nov 15, 2006
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All the Madden broadcasting clips floating around the internet today have been trememendous. What a legend. I'm too young to remember him as a coach, but grew up listening to Madden call games and obviously played the video game year after year.

This clip was pretty mind blowing to me. in 1993, as Jim McMahon (side note: what a photo they used on the graphic), gets checked out on the sideline, Madden said he doesn't believe a concussed player should return to the game.

He said that in 1993.

View: https://twitter.com/TaylorTwellman/status/1476254122538160135?s=20
 

Al Zarilla

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"Don't worry about the horse being blind, just load the wagon."

Last thing Madden said to the players before leaving the locker room. What did it really mean? Never heard it explained but they played like hell.
 

Cotillion

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Jun 11, 2019
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"Don't worry about the horse being blind, just load the wagon."

Last thing Madden said to the players before leaving the locker room. What did it really mean? Never heard it explained but they played like hell.
just a different way of saying "do YOUR job"... if your job is loading the wagon don't worry about the other part.
 

Cotillion

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Jun 11, 2019
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All the Madden broadcasting clips floating around the internet today have been trememendous. What a legend. I'm too young to remember him as a coach, but grew up listening to Madden call games and obviously played the video game year after year.

This clip was pretty mind blowing to me. in 1993, as Jim McMahon (side note: what a photo they used on the graphic), gets checked out on the sideline, Madden said he doesn't believe a concussed player should return to the game.

He said that in 1993.

View: https://twitter.com/TaylorTwellman/status/1476254122538160135?s=20
Bill in his opening remarks talked about Madden's large influence on player safety... Bill even mentioned defenseless receivers and protecting the QB explicitly...
 

Van Everyman

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Beyond the “Tom Brady just gave me goosebumps” line at the end of SB36, it’s insane to realize that was the last game of the Summerall/Madden pairing. Twenty years ago! The entire Patriots dynasty happened between Summerall’s retirement and Madden’s passing.
 

Marciano490

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Nov 4, 2007
62,312
Watching the clips - I get the same feeling I did when Remy died. Hearing that voice that was so familiar throughout my childhood - even though I hadn’t heard Remy or Madden for years - that sound brings you right back and really, really hits hard.
 

Old Fart Tree

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As has been pointed out, the guy had three different insanely successful careers. Most of us are working on one.
 

Harry Hooper

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Watching on Fox, "Straight to Hell" as the soundtrack to riding on the bus?
 

Harry Hooper

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The Clash song? That was sampled in a pop song a while back.
It was straight Clash version. Might have been meant as an allusion to Peter King's commentary that followed minutes later, but a tenuous link.
 

j-man

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Dec 19, 2012
3,646
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this is hitting me hard i never knew the man but i feit like i knew him rip coach

a side note if bill enjoyed him so much why take your name off starting with madden 06 bill b was on the first 5 madden games that they got the coach rights
 

americantrotter

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Aug 1, 2005
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this is hitting me hard i never knew the man but i feit like i knew him rip coach

a side note if bill enjoyed him so much why take your name off starting with madden 06 bill b was on the first 5 madden games that they got the coach rights
That is the exact thought that ran through my mind. Bill in life seems to be as addicted to his scruples that don’t follow what we know of him publicly as he is making game decisions that he won’t ever elaborate on.

We know he respected Madden but we’ll never know why he ducked out of the video game. We know he goes for it, but we’ll never know truly why sometimes he doesn’t.
 

j-man

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Dec 19, 2012
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That is the exact thought that ran through my mind. Bill in life seems to be as addicted to his scruples that don’t follow what we know of him publicly as he is making game decisions that he won’t ever elaborate on.

We know he respected Madden but we’ll never know why he ducked out of the video game. We know he goes for it, but we’ll never know truly why sometimes he doesn’t.
my only pet peeve is at least allow us to make a guy that looks like bill if we want
to remagellan i agree they made this show in march u wouild think they couild air this in july or aug so he couild see the inpact he made i just hope EA does not go full arcade now
 

Mystic Merlin

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He isn’t in the coaches union for reasons unclear, and the EA licensing deal is with the coaches union. I don’t think it has anything to do with Madden himself, and I doubt Madden - who sold to EA the use of his name/likeness for good in the mid-00s - cared.
 

Cotillion

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Jun 11, 2019
4,926
That is the exact thought that ran through my mind. Bill in life seems to be as addicted to his scruples that don’t follow what we know of him publicly as he is making game decisions that he won’t ever elaborate on.

We know he respected Madden but we’ll never know why he ducked out of the video game. We know he goes for it, but we’ll never know truly why sometimes he doesn’t.
I am pretty sure if they met his price Bill would be fine with being in the video game.

As people noted, he's not in the Coaches' Union. Do we know if EA ever tried negotiating with him? Did they just not want to meet his price? Shrug...
 

Harry Hooper

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I am pretty sure if they met his price Bill would be fine with being in the video game.

As people noted, he's not in the Coaches' Union. Do we know if EA ever tried negotiating with him? Did they just not want to meet his price? Shrug...
Maybe it has to do with BB not wanting to do things such as dress up in those official coach outfits the apparel companies provide.