John Madden has passed away

[01101010]

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/32953839/nfl-hall-fame-coach-broadcasting-icon-john-madden-dies-85

Man's personality alone deserves his own death thread.

[Khaldun]

Naw, stick him in minor celebrities.

[Sky]

Naw, stick him in minor celebrities.

Barely even a household name 

I came into football late, so I got to know Madden through his commentary, I loved him and Summerall. Great memories with my Bills fan buddy (who hated Madden). Kind of sad he'll likely be remembered as the name of a shitty, monopolizing, festering pile of EA garbage greed.

[01101010]

Naw, stick him in minor celebrities.

Yeah, I respectfully disagree. The man affected 3 generations of football.
1 for being an excellent coach in the 70s.
2 for being the voice of the NFL in the 80s-90s.
3 for being the name on the video game.

The man had his own probowl team in the AllMadden realm.

[lamaros]

I'm sure this thread will be hundreds of posts long.

Edit: not meaning to be disrespectful, if that came across like that.

[HaemishM]

Madden is absolutely deserving of his own thread, even if you hate the sportsball. I started watching football the season after he left coaching (1979) which was the first year he started broadcasting. There are a number of broadcasters I remember from the time - Cosell, Don Meredith, Gifford, Tarkenton, but it really was the Sumrall - Madden team that made broadcasting fun. And yes, the Madden game series has become a literal blight on the video gaming industry, but that's not his fault (like much of the evil in video games, it's EA's fault).

Dude was a legend, and from all indications, one of the few truly genuine human beings on the planet. Let's not forget, this was a dude who quit coaching football because of his fear of flying. He didn't talk about it much, but he might have been the first big name celebrity with a panic disorder.

[Sky]

Man, I forgot all about the bus!

[01101010]

Man, I forgot all about the bus!

I remember that fondly and always thought it was cool but strange that he would elect to drive everywhere. Never did connect it with having a panic disorder for flying - mainly because that stuff wasn't talked about back then. Looking at it from today's perspective, makes sense. To be honest, I remember the tour of that bus and it convinced me that was the way to go since it was basically a rolling modern RV with all the conveniences.

I am in the same sorta boat as Haemish... I started paying attention to football around that time, but became more of a fan during the early 80s when I could start making sense of the game and having my uncles and grandfather actually explain it to me. Madden made it even better since it wasn't but the technical stuff but more about explaining plays in simple terms and how the guys without the football set everything up for the guy with the ball. His commentary with a batman sitcom flair with POW and BOOM did make it easier to follow the game.

[Sky]

Yes, he was great at both breaking things down for the average viewer and also making it very entertaining.

Ironically, I mostly got into football due to vidya games, specifically Joe Montana's Sports Talk Football for the genesis. I was living in SF at the time, right around when Young was taking over from Montana. Visited home for xmas, and an old buddy (who had by then become a coke dealer, unfortunately) had a Genesis and we played the shit out of Montana STF. So I bought one with my xmas loot.

Madden's explanation of plays helped me understand the game and move beyond 'recommended plays' to actually being able to strategize against an opponent. And to this day, I'm generally more interested in the tactical wargame nature of the game than the standings (other than how they affect the strategy) or a lot of the other stuff most fans get into.

[Khaldun]

I freely concede his talent and humanity, I just don't think he's all that different in momentousness than some of the people we've plopped into the celebrity dying thread. But YMMV.