Posted on 01/30/2009 5:42:57 AM PST by Zakeet
As he prepares to serve as color analyst for the Super Bowl for the 11th time, NBC's John Madden has become the voice, if not the walking embodiment, of the National Football League. At more than $4 million a year, he's one of the world's highest-paid sportscasters.
But as exalted as his position has become, and as beloved as he is, Mr. Madden has, at times this season, struggled with the facts. In statements made during several recent NBC broadcasts, Mr. Madden, who is 72, has misjudged the number of times NFL teams execute running plays from the shotgun formation, attributed two offensive strategies to a team whose players deny using them and misstated how often the San Diego Chargers call pass plays.
[Snip]
As a broadcaster, Mr. Madden remains the standard-bearer of the old guard -- the gruff, barstool voice that harkens back to a time when a famous group of linemen were known as "the Hogs" and clumps of mud got stuck in players' facemasks (most teams now play on artificial turf). Nostalgia may be a large part of his enduring appeal: According to Scarborough Sports Marketing, 69% of all NFL fans are over the age of 35.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
The Cards play on grass (Unlike the Ravens and Bengals who play on grass no matter where they are) and The Bengals and Patriots play on artifical turf.
So that’s 15 out of 32 which is nearly half.
I have learned a lot about the game from him and he does a good job at being neutral.
I thought the Cardinals' new stadium had a mechanism to move the field in and out of the stadium and was actually natural turf.
I liked him better with Summerall.
thankx for my laugh out loud for the day
That is at the heart of his appeal. It is also what made him such a success as a coach, considering the Raiders teams he coached.
John has never been biased in favor of any one team - his bias has been for good football, especially if it is old school.
Cool guy.
I think most of the announcers have a tendency to overstate the obvious,Madden included.I liked Jerry Glanville but I think he P O’d the NFL with his tell it like it is style.
I agree with Madden that they should get rid of instant replay and just play football.
If you Emailed him about this, he would probably claim he was referring to the 21 teams that have artificial turf on either their stadium field or on one of their practice fields. At least I think it’s still 21 teams. It seems to be a moving target.
It’s the nature of the sport, even the broadcasters get heat.
One thing I would mention is that I agree with a lot of the things Madden laments about in terms of the changes in pro football over the last 25 years.
I first got a sense of this disconnect when Deion Sanders became an NFL star. As I watched Madden call games I could almost feel the discomfort he felt in having this zany character on the field who was a tremendously gifted athlete but added an element of clownishness to the game that had its downside.
I suppose. I just know the author isn’t qualified to be in the same room with John Madden.
And I also know I’m sad to see this era die come Sunday. He will be sorely missed by tens of millions of NFL fans.
Anybody, anybody, is better than this putz.
He’s been a great ambassador for the National Football League for fifty years.
Thats what irritates me about this article.
Aw geez, 69 percent of the general population is over 35, talk about a pointless fact. This is particularly true when you figure that the mean distribution includes a 0-4 category, which doesn't answer marketing questions. (I could be off a couple percentage points, but overall, the appeal of NFL football is pretty evenly distributed among age groups.)
Whenever I hear someone talking about Joe Buck announcing a game, I always flash back to the lead character in Midnight Cowboy.
LOL ‘zackly.
John Madden is great. He injects humor along with his knowledge of the game.So he ocasionally makes some mistakes. I guess that diqualifies him from ever being a sports writer.This nobody writer is trying to make a name for himself by belittling a football icon.
Please. Madden was unbearable to listen to when the Packers played with his man crush on Favre. Before that it was Aikman & Emmitt & the Cowboys. Before that it was Montana & the 49ers. Before that....
I could never enjoy NFC games with Madden. He focuses on a player or two & kisses their butts the entire freakin' game.
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