Posted on 12/29/2021 4:36:36 PM PST by nickcarraway
The legendary broadcaster and former coach's appearance included a few stories about his players while with the NFL's Raiders. Madden was just about to rehearse the monologue when he called out to Ebersol, who was tucked away under the audience bleachers.
"I stuck my head around the corner so he could see me," Ebersol recalled. "He said, 'Come here a minute.' I came to about halfway to the stage area with a full house, whatever it is, 300-plus for dress [rehearsal]. And he said, 'I just want to tell you now I'm going to finish this dress rehearsal and then I'm going to leave. I'm not happy with how things have been going, and I'm enough of a trouper to finish it for this audience, but then I'm outta here. This is just the pits.'"
Ebersol was stunned. "I'm standing there and I'm dying," he said. "And he lets about two or three seconds go and then he gets the biggest smile on his face in the world and he said, 'You know I'm a practical joker, don't you?' The place went nuts. But in the meantime, I had just about had a heart attack."
Madden passed away Tuesday at the age of 85.
"We all know him as the Hall of Fame coach of the Oakland Raiders and broadcaster who worked for every major network, but more than anything, he was a devoted husband, father and grandfather," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in an official statement. "Nobody loved football more than Coach. He was football. He was an incredible sounding board to me and so many others. There will never be another John Madden, and we will forever be indebted to him for all he did to make football and the NFL what it is today."
Madden famously had a morbid fear of flying. If the demoncrats used the same logic for running the Federal Aviation Administration as they do with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Madden would have received a lifetime appointment as Administrator of the FAA.
There are a lot of things about the NFL today which probably made him want to puke!
Please boycott the NFL. And other such fooleries.
Thanks for that link. I watched a couple of John Madden clips this evening. One was the eulogy for Pat Summerall...beautiful, funny and heartbreaking all at the same time. I’m so sad that that era of the NFL is now completely over.
Where is Tuna? I would expect some colorful memories from him. He’s got what looks like an honorary position with Cleveland.
As good as Madden was he couldn’t singlehandedly compensate for Goodell’s dumbassery——Madden always left it all on the field. Goodell left his in the terlet——
I’ve heard of Madden and that he’s associated with some sport, but I have no idea who Ebersol is.
Dick Ebersol was President of NBC Sports.
Seriously though, someone elsewhere mentioned seeing flags at half staff for Harry Reid. I mentally assign those to Madden who was a far greater American.
LOL Funnily, I watched this on UCR about an hour ago. Madden was just loving it. And he was good, too.
Actually, I learned to speak English when I started kindergarten. Both my parents were immigrants.
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