John Madden died
Michael > December 29th, 2021, 04:12 PM
He was 84 years old. I know he had retired from broadcasting, but I didn't think he would be gone so soon. And they just aired a documentary about him on Sunday.
I was one of the (American) football kids who grew up watching his team (the Oakland Raiders) play throughout the 1970s. And after he stopped coaching I watched him work as an announcer for football games for decades.
It's hard for me to remember a year when I didn't see John Madden on TV. I'd have to go back very far in my memories to think of a time when he wasn't there.
For all the great or significant political figures of my lifetime, none have been as present as John Madden. He wasn't just an entertainer, or a guy who put out a video game. He was an analyst. His ability to take apart plays on the fly and explain the strategies teams were using against each other was unparalleled.
Had Madden not gone into football (he played pro football before becoming a coach), he could well have been a great analyst for the business world or even in a spy agency. He had an intuitive ability to dissect complicated situations very quickly.
I won't be surprised to learn over time that many people, like me, admired John Madden for his intelligence and his analytic skills as much as for his wisdom, his endearing personality, and his long career as an entertainer and presenter - not to mention as one of the most legendary coaches in the game of American football.
To his friends and family, my heart goes out to you for your loss. But we all lost someone important.
I think in 100 years, John Madden will still be remembered as a culturally influential American. And that's what history is all about.