OT: John Madden passed away

[dscher]

The last game he called was Super Bowl 43. Freaking legend

As painful it is to turn that game on...I just had to rewatch it today on YT to hear John. Legend indeed. Did a great job during that game as well...

 

[BullheadCardFan]

RIP John Madden

He brought excitement to the game as a coach and announcer

I always enjoyed watching games he announced and he set the bar for others

Everyone liked John Madden

 

[BullheadCardFan]

John Madden was known to players for his kindness​

John Madden, who died on Tuesday at the age of 85, was known to yell at players and officials during his days as the Oakland Raiders’ head coach. But he also showed, in quiet moments away from the TV cameras, a decency for the players who sacrificed their bodies for the sport Madden loved so much.

George Blanda, the Hall of Famer who played 26 seasons, longer than anyone else in NFL history, said of Madden in 1979, “Of all the coaches I ever slaved for, John Madden was the kindest and the most thoughtful.”

But it was one act of kindness in particular that many recalled about Madden after his death: The care he showed for Darryl Stingley, a New England Patriots player who suffered a life-changing spinal cord injury in a preseason game against Madden’s Raiders in 1978.

When Madden learned of the severity of Stingley’s injury after the game, he went straight to the Oakland-area hospital where Stingley had been taken. When Madden arrived he was angered to learn that Patriots head coach Chuck Fairbanks was flying home with the rest of the team, as Madden felt that Fairbanks should have stayed with Stingley until Stingley’s family could arrive. A 1979 New York Times article reported that Madden got someone at the airport on the phone and barked, “You get Chuck Fairbanks off that plane.”

A Sports Illustrated profile of Madden in 1983 reported that when Stingley’s family did arrive, Madden and his wife offered to let the family stay in their home and use their car as long as Stingley was in the hospital. Madden also took time away from the Raiders’ training camp to make regular visits to Stingley. After the Raiders played the Broncos in the regular-season opener that year, they flew home from Denver and Madden went straight from the airport to the hospital to see Stingley.

Madden retired from coaching at the end of that season, and although Madden never said so, some who knew him felt the distress he felt about Stingley’s injury contributed to his decision to step away.

Stingley would never walk again, and he died in 2007 at the age of 55. In his autobiography, Stingley wrote of Madden, “I love that man.” Stingley could have been speaking for the whole football world.

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[BullheadCardFan]

Jerry Jones: “No one lived a more beautiful football life than John Madden”​

The tributes and statements will be pouring in regarding the late John Madden, a figure who towered over the game of football for more than 50 years. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who has been one of the most dominant figures in football since buying the team in 1989, has issued a statement praising the football life that John Madden lived.

“This is a loss that is as big as the legacy that John Madden created,” Jones said. “A legacy of love. Love for family, for football and for life.

“I am not aware of anyone who has made a more meaningful impact on the National Football League than John Madden, and I know of no one who loved the game more.

“When I think of a person of sports who is worthy of the term, ‘larger than life,’ I have always thought of John. And I always will.

“If you knew John, he made your life better. For me he was a trusted confidant, advisor, a teacher and above all, a very dear friend. When he walked into the room, it was a better day. When he talked, you listened, and you learned. When he laughed, everyone in the room laughed. And when he got back on the bus to leave, you always wanted more. You were always looking forward to his next visit.

“Our hearts go out to Virginia and Joe and Mike and the grandchildren. He is survived by a wonderful family and literally millions of loved ones.

“A life in football is a gift and a blessing. John lived all of his days with dignity, kindness, and a sense of personal caring for everything and everyone.

“There is no one who lived a more beautiful football life than John Madden.”

John Madden always brought people together through his love of football. His passing will have the same effect. He was football. He is football. He always will be football, and there will never be another one like him.

 

[BullheadCardFan]

John Madden, football legend, dies at 85​

John Madden, a legendary figure known to one generation as a Hall of Fame coach, another generation as the sport’s greatest announcer, and yet another generation for the video game that bears his name, has died at the age of 85.

The NFL announced Madden’s passing today.

Madden’s influence on the sport of football is impossible to overstate. He was the youngest head coach in pro football when Al Davis hired him to coach the Oakland Raiders, and he led them to a Super Bowl title while having so much success that he still has the all-time highest winning percentage among all coaches who won at least 100 games.

But as great a coach as he was, he did more for the sport after he retired from coaching. In the broadcasting booth, Madden became a sensation, not just the best broadcaster in football but one of the most popular figures in America, as famous as any movie star but as down-to-earth as any guy you’d talk about sports with at the barbershop. Everyone loved him.

And then Madden had his video game, which he didn’t just lend his name to but took an active role in developing, always insisting that it needed to be as realistic as possible. The youngest generation of football fans that can’t even remember him as a broadcaster, let alone as a coach, is still influenced by Madden’s giant presence in the sport.

Even in the final years of his life, Madden had an important role in the NFL, advising the league and advocating for rule changes that would protect players from brain injuries.

John Madden may have been the single most influential person in the history of the sport of football.

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[TheCardFan]

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[TheCardFan]

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[TRW]

Summerall/Madden-the best broadcasting team ever IMO. Best color commentator and great head coach.

R.I.P. Coach.

 

[Dback Jon]

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Wow - so the NFL has been rigged for the Cowboys for decades

 

[Dback Jon]

Summerall/Madden-the best broadcasting team ever IMO. Best color commentator and great head coach.

R.I.P. Coach.

Indeed they were

 

[Syracusecards]

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Refs have been screwing us over for decades

 

[JeffGollin]

I haven't heard anything yet that's done John justice.

Best way to capture Bigger Than Life Madden would be via a lengthy documentary featuring the big guy in action.

Madden=Madden.

RIP.

 

[TRW]

I haven't heard anything yet that's done John justice.

Best way to capture Bigger Than Life Madden would be via a lengthy documentary featuring the big guy in action.

Madden=Madden.

RIP.

I am sure that is in the works.

 

[Lorenzo]

I watched the all madden documentary today. it was good, I think it was released on Christmas Day this year.

 

[wit3card]

RIP

 

[BullheadCardFan]

Bill Belichick on John Madden: “Any time he spoke, I listened”​

Of all the many faces and voices that have influenced the NFL over the years, two stand out. Even though they are as different as they could be in their styles and personalities.

Bill Belichick and John Madden.

Belichick spent plenty of time during his Wednesday press conference reflecting on the Hall of Fame coach, the legendary broadcaster, and the video-game icon who died on Tuesday at 85.

“It’s a huge loss for the NFL and professional football,” Belichick said. “John is just a tremendous person to be around. I think we all, probably, set out to try to have a good professional career. John had about five of them. He set the standard for coaching in his era. They had the best record, best teams, championships, and all that. Raiders had a great style of play that was very, I’d say, captivating. He, certainly, did a lot for the league and the competitiveness of the league. He was a great champion for minorities and minority scouting. Some of the great players that they had with the Raiders from the smaller black colleges, he and [Al] Davis brought into the organization.

“Then he moved to broadcasting and, certainly, increased the popularity of the game, singlehandedly, by quite a bit. I don’t know how you’d ever measure that, but I think everybody that liked football enjoyed John’s commentary. A lot of people who probably didn’t even care about football found John entertaining and watched football because of him. He brought a lot of people to the game. He brought a perspective to the game that was very unique. Loved by all.

“I had a great opportunity to spend quite a bit of time with John. It seemed like he and Pat [Summerall] covered our games with the Giants every week. It was like a weekly broadcast crew. Going out to John’s bus and just spending time with him there and through the years, all the way up to Super Bowl XXXVI, all the other things that he’s done for the league. . . . I particularly enjoyed the Top 100 conversations with John. There were about five or six of us that watched some of the players from the 20s, 30s, and 40s and those eras, decades. We had a lot of great conversations about the games that we saw, the players that we saw, the way the game was played, comparisons, comments, and so forth.

“John did a lot for player safety. I know he was on several committees in the league, advisory and so forth, and studying the safety of the game, player safety. I know he’s instrumental in a lot of those changes, improvements to help player safety, specifically the defenseless receivers and protecting the quarterback, things like that. Just a very well-rounded person that had a great love of life, love of football, love of the history of football. He was always such an enjoyable person to be around and converse with unless you were standing across the field from him. That was a little different story. . . . He put it all together. Great person. Multiple great careers. Most importantly, just a great influence on the game of football and professional football. He was a good friend.”

Belichick recognizes that Madden’s influence spans decades.

“He affected multiple generations,” Belichick said. “Again, I just think it’s unique in the different ways that he was such a big part of the game, from coaching to the Madden game, to broadcasting, to being involved in rule changes for the safety of the players, increased diversity in hiring, things like that. He touched a lot of areas and all of them really, I think, start with the betterment of the game. Obviously, as a coach, you’re trying to help your team. You’re not trying to help all the other teams, but what he did with the Raiders and what he accomplished during his tenure there was remarkable. He was a Hall of Fame coach and then, all the other stuff that came on top of it . . . what a man. What a career.”

And that man was one of the very few who could captivate Belichick himself.

“I think any time he spoke, I listened,” Belichick said. “Whether that was in private conversation, group meeting, or a forum where other people spoke. For example, on a rule change or something like that or on a conference call with the Top 100, I always wanted to hear what he had to say. He always had a good perspective. . . . You could always see where he was coming from and it was always, I felt like, what was best for the game and a very unselfish view. He presented it that way and I think that’s why he was so respected, because his motivation was for the game, the fans, the entertainment, the safety, and all the things that are right about football. That’s what he stood for. . . .

“[H]e asked a lot of questions. He was always interested to hear what the point of view was. Sometimes, he agreed with it. Sometimes, he didn’t, but I know in our conversations, there was a lot of mutual respect there. I could see where he was coming from if it was maybe a little bit different from the way I was thinking and vice versa. I think that’s healthy. It’s very healthy, but he was a great listener. I would say I always enjoyed the production meetings with John because his insight into the game was very good. A lot of questions he would ask, sometimes, kind of had a lot of depth to them. Maybe it was something I hadn’t thought that much about. He noticed it and said, ‘Hey, what about this?’ or ‘What about that?’ You start thinking about it and say, ‘Well, that’s pretty observant. I might’ve even missed that.’ Maybe it was something that one of our opponents was doing, why they were doing it, or how we were doing something. Then, that stimulated another line of thought. He was great to work with and just loved football, just loved football. I think he loved every aspect of it. Coaching it, announcing it, improving it, making it a better game, making it more exciting, making it better for the fans, making it safer, making it more entertaining, and the presentation of it in an entertaining way as well. Just a wonderful man with a really great perspective that did a lot for the game.”

That’s a fitting tribute from Belichick, one of the most respected figures in the game. And Madden arguably is the most respected of all, for everything he did and the way he did it. His impact on the NFL extends from the past to the present to the future. That’s never happened with any other figure in the NFL, and it quite possibly may never happen again.

 

[phillycard]

The last game he called was Super Bowl 43. Freaking legend

They showed the game on NFL Network last night. I actually watched more than I ever have since then, just to hear him and Al call the game. RIP

 

[TheCardFan]

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[THESMEL]

Yea Madden beat the hell out my teams repeatedly, was a browns fan, and wanted him to do better against the Steelers, but knoll kind have owned him in big games, bless their hearts.
he was sure 10 years was enough for an NFL coach, and yes he ran the ball, Marcus Allen, yes he was a master at game long strategy, establishing the normal, then BOOM THE BOMB!

 

[TheCardFan]

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[THESMEL]

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Well there is already an all madden team and it is different, is why. John didn’t always celebrate the best or the popular, he would give a turkey leg to the bloodiest most taxed player, that left it all on the field. At least early in his broadcasting. He knew what a snotwabbler looked like haha.

just wasn't his style