R.I.P. John Madden (1 Viewer)

[Dizzy]

Loved him as a coach and analyst. Never exposed to the video game, but I'm sure its awesome. Everything he touched was awesome. RIP.

 

[BassNBrew]

Watched him coach.  He doesn’t get enough credit for that.  RIP 

Highest winning percentage of any coach.  Never had a losing season.

 

[Joe Bryant]

Sorry bit long, but no better time to share this story.

Background: Born in ’67, Dad a Raider fan and thus was I. Born, raised & still live in Bills country but loved the Raider image & revere ‘70s Raiders to this day (under 2:00 to go & need a score I'm picking Stabler all day)

Summer of 1989, I went to St Thomas U in Miami for a Masters (look at me! In sports management & needless to say, no career in sports). Was a very small school where Dolphins held their training camp at the time (coincidentally I had just finished 4 years at SUNY Fredonia (south of Buffalo) where Bills used to hold their camp.)

After 1st class at St Thomas I headed to practice field with another guy in the program (Phins fan from Massachusetts). Just a single field, no security so we walked on and tried to be inconspicuous by fence to watch practice.

End of practice we watched team come off field & Don Shula walks up to us, shakes our hands & says “Nice to see you guys. Thanks for coming out” (Two points here: 1. We thought for sure we were busted, 2. As a Raiders & Bills fan I hated Shula…then he goes and does that!? Such respect for the man.).

Madden had pulled into parking lot by locker room in the Madden Cruiser which was still very much a novelty. He was there to do preseason game & arrived couple days early. Players gravitated to him like a Hollywood star & guys already in locker room came out. They were like kids asking if they could check out the Cruiser.

Friend & I were in the whole scene & just mixed in with players to walk on the bus. Every player came up to greet Madden & tour the bus. And he was more than happy to invite every sweaty player (still in uniform) on the bus.

I walked off bus, opened my notebook & asked for his autograph while I struggled to mumble something about appreciation of him & Snake.

As you can tell from the above, he connected with everyone & truly loved football & being around the players.

That's awesome. Thanks for sharing. And that fits with all the other things I'd heard and read about him.

 

[BobbyLayne]

That's awesome. Thanks for sharing. And that fits with all the other things I'd heard and read about him.

Madden understood what it is to be an ambassador of the game. Same perspective that Arnold Palmer had, or Gordie Howe.

That two or five minutes to talk to someone is not that great of a price to pay. Sure, they had to do it thousands of times, every year of their public life, for decades. But to the person on the other side of the conversation, it meant everything. Great ambassadors who want to grow their sport know that's the responsibility they carry, and they consider it a privilege to be entrusted with that.

Not really an athletic competition but same kind of deal...I heard Daniel Negreanu talk about this at the WSOP earlier this year. He was going to a meet n greet for whatever poker site he is repping now, and he talked about how "I have to be on when I go to these things. Like, if I can't be on, then I need to just stay home. It doesn't matter how many times I do this or how many times fans want to take selfies - that's a big moment for them. If I want to help grow the game. then that stuff just comes with the territory."

Those kind of people, who are so giving of themselves, who devote their whole life to not just their own success but championing their league/game, they're so rare. I'm so glad people like that exist.

 

[Harry Frogfish]

Madden understood what it is to be an ambassador of the game. Same perspective that Arnold Palmer had, or Gordie Howe.

I heard Daniel Negreanu...

I get what you're saying and glad you got to talk to Daniel your brother but no, not even in the same stratosphere.

 

[BobbyLayne]

I get what you're saying and glad you got to talk to Daniel your brother but no, not even in the same stratosphere.

Oh, of course not. I am not implying Daniel's on equal ground. Just using his explain because I think it is similar to the role the Madden had in his sport - for that one aspect, ambassadorship.

 

[Silver & Black]

He was the best and my hero growing up.  His passion for all things football was genuine and I loved his entire what you see is what you get approach to life.  I never enjoyed watching anything more than any game he called.  I lived for his telestrator diagrams.  The world is a lesser place without him.

RIP coach.

 

[wlwiles]

Went down a Youtube rabbit hole watching Frank Caliendo's impressions of Madden last night.  Of course it's over-exaggerated stuff meant to be funny but if you close your eyes and just listen the voice matches perfectly.  I had flashbacks of sitting in the living room as a kid watching him draw on the telestrator and talk about Brett Favre again.  I missed the documentary on Christmas but can't wait to catch it on replay tonight.  

 

[Bracie Smathers]

NFL Research@NFLResearch

In his career as an NFL head coach, John Madden led the

@Raiders to a record of 103-32-7 (.759 win pct).

That is the highest winning percentage in the history of the NFL by anyone to coach for a decade or more.

Rest in peace to a legend.

 

[pinequick]

It is kind of funny to think about...

"You want to play MLB The Show?"

"You want to play NBA 2k?"

"You want to play MADDEN?"... not "You want to play NFL 22?"