After decades of entertaining NFL football fans with his well placed bams, booms, and enthusiasm, John Madden is finally stepping down. For years now Madden has manned the booth and headlined the biggest NFL games on television. His style was not always the most popular, but Madden always knew his football and called games with passion. That passion is the single biggest thing I will miss the most about John Madden. It was always obvious that he loved the game of NFL football as much as I did.
Madden was not only a Hall of Fame announcer. He also was a great on the gridiron and along the sidelines as coach of the Oakland Raiders. Madden spent years with some of the greatest players to ever grace an NFL sideline and you could tell that he treasured every moment. The little details of the game were where Madden made his mark in the announcing booth. Nobody could break down blocking schemes like old Madden.
The one knock on Madden has always been that he seemed to play favorites a bit more than most announcers. His clear affection for certain players are legendary in NFL circles. Brett Favre and the retirement drama of last season is a prime example. Madden was not one to keep his opinion to himself though that is what I love about him.
During the last few seasons, Madden had been having some issues with stating the obvious. He always has been known for this, but the last couple of seasons it was really obvious. Whether this played a part in Madden finally retiring or not is unknown, but surely the travel and work load played a part. Madden mentioned that his anniversary is coming up and that he wanted to spend more time with his family as reasons for his retirement.
Madden is also famous for having been the face of the best selling sports game of all time with his Madden NFL football franchise. This game has annually been one of the most popular games on the market, and no announcement has been made about this yet. One would think that the game will continue in spite of the retirement.
Cris Collinsworth is slated to take Madden’s spot in the booth as he moves from the studio. Collinsworth has been deserving of this move for some time now, and it will be nice to see him finally get some respect as an announcer on television. Collinsworth was a former wide receiver with the Bengals for many years and is known as a tell it like it is kind of guy.
Madden will be missed and certainly leaves one heck of a legacy for those to come. Nobody has given more love and passion to the game of football, and his one of kind style and voice will always echo in the hearts of NFL fans everywhere.
