Pull Up The Madden Cruiser One Final Time...

by Matt Brannen

An era of the NFL ended today when Hall of Fame coach and larger-than-life figure John Madden announced his retirement from broadcasting. Most well known in recent years for the most popular video game franchise of all time, the 70-plus year old Madden steps away from a game that has made him a household name amongst non-football fans and riches beyond his wildest dreams. While Madden seemed to lose a couple of miles per hour off his analyst "fastball" over the last few seasons, he still should be recognized as someone that helped revolutionize how football is broadcast on TV.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AgsMPIUTBrAf0VaG__TMFOU5nYcB?slug=ap-maddenretires&prov=ap&type=lgns

Few 21st Century NFL fans probably do not realize how successful Madden was as coach of the Oakland Raiders in the 1970s. Not only did Madden win the Super Bowl in 1977, he finished his head coaching career with the envious record of never having a losing season. Madden's accountability based, yet laid-back coaching style allowed owner Al Davis to bring in other team's talented cast-offs with little distraction. Plus, during his tenure with the emerging "Just Win, Baby" franchise, the Raiders became the most feared team in the entire league during a time when Dallas and Pittsburgh also sported legendary squads. John Madden stood toe-to-toe with Hall of Fame coaches like Tom Landry, Don Shula, and Chuck Noll, holding his own with some of the best ever in the business.

After stepping away from the sidelines after the 1978 season, Madden took what appeared to be a fairly low-profile NFL announcing job with CBS. He was paired with a young broadcaster named Bob Costas at the time. While that team didn't last long, CBS recognized that Madden was a budding TV personality and paired him with future long-time partner Pat Summerall in the early 1980s. It was an announcing team that would go down in the annals of TV sports broadcasting history and elevated Madden to "rock star" status. Madden's knowledge of the game was unquestioned, however it was his, to be kind, neighbor down the street appearance and "every man" explanation of football that exploded him into the sports broadcasting stratosphere. The "telestrator" (or ability of the analyst to write on the screen to diagram plays) is a technological feature and catch phrases like "Bam!" that became popularized during the height of Madden's career.

While Madden had terrific careers as a football coach and announcer, it has been his role as a commercial pitch-man that has clearly made him so well known in this country. From his bursting on the scene withe classic late 1970s/early 1980s Miller Lite ads (For anyone under the age of 25, go to a video website and type in "John Madden, Miller Lite"), Madden became the long-time spokesman for such various business entities as Ace Hardware, Tinactin foot spray, Outback Steakhouse, and Sirius Satellite Radio. Of course, no conversation on Madden's pop culture position would be complete with the NFL video game that carries his name. The game has become such a part of every die-hard 15 to 45 year old NFL fan that a TV reality show (called "Madden Nation") was created about the game on ESPN a couple of years ago (The premise of the show is to follow contestants around the country that participate in Madden video game tournaments). In fact, some even claim that a "jinx" exists for those players that are placed on the cover of the video game each year. Because of all this, Madden is even more well known for his off-field endeavors than what he actually did on the field of play.

In a week where we lost legendary Philadelphia Phillies and NFL Films announcer Harry Kalas, it is certainly understandable for Madden to want to enjoy his golden years with his family. While I have used this forum in the past to jostle the legend for his unconditional admiration for Brett Favre, I am the first to admit that Madden has added significantly to the profile of announcers and has more impact on how sports are broadcast than he, himself, may even realize. Here's hoping that the big man has as much fun off the air in retirement as he seemed to have on the air with all of us over the years.