Posted on 04/21/2009 3:27:11 PM PDT by zaphod3000
John Madden doesn't get enough credit. He's getting plenty of love, of course, on the occasion of his retirement from football broadcasting after 30 years, but the celebration of the 73-year-old's career still underestimates his influence. Fox Sports President Ed Goren describes Mr. Madden as "the No. 1 sports analyst on television," but that doesn't go far enough. Nor do his 16 Emmy Awards tell the entire story of his extraordinary impact.
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Mr. Madden is a transformational figure in the history of entertainment. He changed the way that we watch television and the way we think about sports.
....Using complex diagrams and -- dare I say it? -- intellectual explanations, Mr. Madden gave the average fan credit for wanting to know more than just who caught the ball.
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Mr. Madden proceeded to reinvent the job of football broadcaster, beginning at a crucial time when television was surpassing radio as the dominant medium in sports broadcasting. His preparation -- attending team practices during the week before the game, studying game film, and so on -- were all new and quickly became standard. ...... SNIP
But it was Mr. Madden as cerebral coach who made his most lasting mark. What did the key block look like that sprung the runner for a touchdown run? Where was the seam in the zone defense that allowed the receiver to catch the pass? Mr. Madden was a fount of deep and complex instruction, using state-of-the-art computer graphics, scribbling circles and arrows into a freeze frame, to illustrate his lengthy explanations.
This kind of analysis had been thought too complicated for the average fan, but Mr. Madden showed that fans not only tolerated that level of depth, but actively wanted it. His example quickly spread across televised sports during the 1980s.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
I know Madden catches a lot of guff....but I wholeheartedly agree with this piece. Great coach, great broadcaster; he and Al Michaels made the game more fun to watch.
Just like in Super Bowl XXXVI where he said the Patriots should settle for overtime.
I lived in the Bay Area briefly in the mid-90s and Madden would call in every morning to the local sports radio show. He would tell the most hysterical anecdotes and I immensely enjoyed listening.
We’re going to miss him bigtime. Michaels and Madden, for all too short a time, comprised the best football broadcast team ever.
I completely agree with Madden’s decision, however. He’s going out on top, after most critics praised his outstanding work in an outstanding Super Bowl.
Sixteen Emmys? I had no idea! Now THAT’S a world-class career.
I like Madden, and he said a lot of funny stuff. “The team that scores the most points wins.” I think he picked the right time to ride off into the sunset, though. The last couple of years you could tell he was losing interest in the game. During the third quarter he’d start wandering in his talk. It was nice to see a guy get out of the “Dandy Don and Howard” mode of turning football into some kind of showcase for the commentators, where the game was secondary. Madden never tried to be bigger than the game.
I remember reading his book about football years ago. His advice to teams rebuilding was always draft offensive line men and defensive secondary players. When I see the annual rite of mediocre teams with the top draft choices falling over each other to draft the latest hot college quarterbacks, I just have to laugh!
What a guy can’t be wrong once in a while? And let’s face it, he wanted to announce the first OT SB ever.
Things we think of today as standard parts of sports coverage came from Madden, from the telestrader to the discussion of blocking schemes to the score bar letting you know what’s going on in the game even if you tune in half way through.
16 emmys is ok, but how many Super Bowls has he won?
Chuck Knoll has four.....
This is a joke. I don’t know ANYBODY (outside of the ass kissers in the media) who thought Madden was a good color commentator.
Madden was much better with Pat Sumerall.
I heartily agree. And both Madden and Michaels stuck to game description and commentary unlike another so-called sportscaster who shall remain nameless. I think the older posters on FR will also agree that Howard Cosell and Dandy Don Meredith (with Gifford the straight man) did a colorful and entertaining version of Monday Night Football. Who can forget Howards's "And he could--go--all--way!" And Dandy Don's redition of "Turn out the Lights the Party's over." at game's end.
Good points but IMO Dandy don and Howard sure were entertaining.
Madden. Coined his own word. As in Maddening to listen to.
Madden made us smarter by forcing us to switch the radio on to listen to the game with the TV sound down, and later the next day, when we turned the radio on, we caught Rush/talkradio and learned something.
Loved Madden until about 10 years ago. His call in the 2002 Super Bowl for the Patriots to run out the clock showed he should have retired.
Not having Madden with me to watch Sunday night or Monday night football is like having a fine meal without a nice wine. It sill enjoyable, but man, it could be so much more.
I'm really going to miss you coach!
Wow, you're tough man! One bad call and "YOU'RE OUTTA HERE YA BUM!!!@!!"
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