11/05/24
April 16, 2009
John Madden retires from broadcasting:
posted by fadetoblack5 to football at 11:05 AM - 27 comments
Match made in football heaven. Now they can be together.
posted by BoKnows at 11:14 AM on April 16, 2009
What's with the Favre knocks? Madden's career is so much bigger than whatever he said about Favre. He's been at the top of sports broadcasting for 28 years -- going all the way back to his pairing with Pat Summerall at CBS in 1981, he's been part of his network's No. 1 broadcast team. That's an astounding run.
Though Madden in recent years wasn't as good as he was in his '80s and '90s heyday, he was still one of the best working, and his videogame franchise is still going strong.
I'm disappointed that he's calling it quits, though I certainly understand the move.
posted by rcade at 11:21 AM on April 16, 2009
I'm disappointed too. I always enjoyed any broadcast he was involved with. His knowledge of the game was, sometimes, even hard for him to relay.
The Favre knocks, as I see it, are just innocent fun. And as has been said "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery".
posted by BoKnows at 11:29 AM on April 16, 2009
The shows were never the same after Summerall retired.
posted by billsaysthis at 11:47 AM on April 16, 2009
I second that emotion.
posted by yzelda4045 at 11:55 AM on April 16, 2009
I thought Summerrall hung around too long. In his last few years in the booth he often got players and plays wrong, sometimes in amusing ways.
posted by rcade at 12:27 PM on April 16, 2009
16 Emmys, best winning pct. all-time among NFL coaches, Hall Of Famer, the list goes on and on. A remarkable career, and a likeable guy. Man, his Raider teams were nasty.
Boom!
posted by mjkredliner at 01:23 PM on April 16, 2009
I thought Summerrall hung around too long.
Which may have had no little influence on Madden's decision. The worst thing that happened to Monday Night Football was Madden leaving and the Three Stooges taking over (my apologies to the real Larry, Moe, and Curly who were infinitely more brilliant than Dumb, Dumber, and Dumbest).
posted by irunfromclones at 01:30 PM on April 16, 2009
Dateline: Hollywood CA
Frank Caliendo announces that he too is retiring.
posted by THX-1138 at 02:03 PM on April 16, 2009
I always thought Madden got out of coaching too soon. But that's another story. He knew best, I guess. (He was working for Al Davis, I have to remember). If he was working in today's coaching environment, he would have moved to another team for some picks and cash.
When he started calling games, I never thought he was going to head to icon status like he did, but he provided what people wanted and enjoyed hearing.
The main thing I didn't like about him was the fixation he had about certain teams at certain times. The Giants, the Cowboys...
With beanpole Collinsworth joining Michaels in the booth now, the whole football 'n food angle is out the window. I don't think Madden believed you could have five 300 pound men lined up next to each other on the field without at least mentioning a side of beef now and then.
If Cris and Al get to call a Thanksgiving Day game together, there will be no more postgame Nate Newtons dripping sweat on fifty pound turkey legs.
If Michaels ends up hanging around too long, now that would not be fun to see or hear.
posted by beaverboard at 02:07 PM on April 16, 2009
As a Steeler fan, i will never forget his 10 minute rant(with telestrator) about how the 3 river in the city meet and where they flow too. It was funny as hell. He basically said all three rivers started at one point (the fountain at point state park) and went from there in 3 different directions. He used the word confluence 20 times in 2 minutes and just had no clue. Pittsburghers have mocked him since then.
I was never a madden fan so i will not miss him in the least. (sorry madden lovers)the only thing i liked about him was making fun of him.
THX you beat me to it. With no madden or george bush, Caliendo's career is over
posted by Debo270 at 02:20 PM on April 16, 2009
I think Madden has been off his game for a while, and hope he enjoys his retirement.
Oh, and as a Steelers' fan, I'll be glad to hear him STFU about the Immaculate Reception. IT WAS A CATCH AND TD, John, GTF over it.
posted by scully at 02:38 PM on April 16, 2009
So, they're replacing Madden, a guy who seemed to love everything to do with anything related to football, with Cris Collinsworth, a bitter ass of a man who seems to relish in complaining about and insulting everything he covers?
Smooth move.
posted by fabulon7 at 03:11 PM on April 16, 2009
If Michaels ends up hanging around too long, now that would not be fun to see or hear.
Republican Night Football. Ugh.
terrapin's right: I think he's been off his game at least since the switch to Sundays, and perhaps a little before that. Still, you have to give the man props, especially since there'll be discussion in the retrospectives not just about the impact of his broadcasting style, but also that of the games franchise.
posted by etagloh at 03:22 PM on April 16, 2009
He may have been off his game, but his was a better game than any of the knucklehead ex-pros (Troy Aikman excluded) doing color on Sundays. Everyone focuses on him being loud and saying things that are obvious, but he was a heck of a teacher if you listened. The real problem is the need to replace anyone and everyone original with another clone out of the Connecticut School of Broadcasting.
Or maybe it's just me and everyone else can tell the difference between Kevin Harlan, Marv Albert's kids, etc. by voice alone.
posted by yerfatma at 04:00 PM on April 16, 2009
my homer comment was tongue-in-cheek. I think being a former coach he brought a more interesting perspective than many ex-players. I didn't care for his loud style, which I find annoying. Over the last few years he has made mistakes --saying a defense was in nickle, when it was dime; identifying wrong players, etc--which is what I meant by off his game. I wish he had stayed in coaching longer and less time in the booth, but no one can deny he knows the game inside and out.
posted by scully at 05:16 PM on April 16, 2009
Madden is rather like that old cardigan your kid gave you for Father's Day many years ago. It is comfortable, really fits well, and keeps you warm, but you've worn it so much it is starting to fall apart. I really think he hung around a year or two too long, but then I'm sure he got some rather obscene amount of money to continue when the Monday night games were shuffled around to Sunday and ABC lost them.
Collinsworth is a poor replacement for Madden. To me he has an annoying attitude, never lets facts get in the way of whatever his opinion happens to be, and knows far less about the game than Madden. I think I'll be watching football on Sunday night with the sound turned off.
posted by Howard_T at 07:05 PM on April 16, 2009
yerfatma, sorry to disagree with you, but Troy Aikman drives me nuts with the extra "what" he throws into every sentence. ("He's not catching as many passes as what he did last year.")
posted by outonleave at 09:05 PM on April 16, 2009
Madden deserves his respect as a broadcaster, and hopefully he can stay out of the spotlight and enjoy a normal retirement (though, as with many these days, I doubt this will be the case). As for Pat Summerall, I'll always remember him when he partnered with Tom Brookshire. That was back in the day when, as a kid, I really loved the game of football (compared to today when I only "really like" the game of football).
posted by dyams at 09:40 PM on April 16, 2009
As a guy in his 20s, for me, Pat Summerall and Jon Madden will always be the sound of the big game on Sunday. If they were calling it, that was the game that you needed to be watching. His retirement also kind of means the end of an era for football announcing-I think he's the last guy of his generation of players/coaches to be in the booth.
posted by Bonkers at 04:17 AM on April 17, 2009
He may have been off his game, but his was a better game than any of the knucklehead ex-pros (Troy Aikman excluded) doing color on Sundays
Very true indeed. Aikman is by far one of the better ex-pros to make the smooth transition to being a color commentator. He, along with former Cowboys fullback, Daryl "Moose" Johnston have surprisingly been some of the better choices on calling the games on Sundays..sorry the same can not be said about Chris Collingsworth. The fucking guy just irks me.
posted by BornIcon at 08:53 AM on April 17, 2009
Also, BI I completely agree on Moose being the one other recent retiree that does a good job. Siragusa could be good if he'd drop the fat guy shtick, but of course he never will. It must be fun to make your living off of something that will make you dead.
posted by yerfatma at 10:25 AM on April 17, 2009
Siragusa could be good if he'd drop the fat guy shtick, but of course he never will. It must be fun to make your living off of something that will make you dead.
I absolutely agree with on Siragusa, fatty. Goose plays up to his fat guy image to the fullest extent. He does a decent job on the sidelines but I'm not sure if he would be up to par as a suit calling a game.
I wouldn't want to be the guy that would have to measure Goose for a suit. Just the thought alone made my skin crawl..What would Tucker Max do?
posted by BornIcon at 11:55 AM on April 17, 2009
Will really miss him ...
Still enjoyed his commentary even though it no longer inspired me to sit through a Lions - Bengals game as it once did.
Troy Aikman is obviously knowledgeable about the game, but he's boring as hell and is best suited as a 3rd commentator. Collinsworth is annoying, Michaels has lost his touch ...
Time for some new blood.
posted by cixelsyd at 06:06 PM on April 17, 2009
Is this where I start the petition to bring back Dennis Miller?
What's up with the way the old columns show up, and why aren't the comments there?
posted by wfrazerjr at 07:04 AM on April 19, 2009
Old columns didn't have comments -- they were posted separately on the front page.
posted by rcade at 11:06 AM on April 19, 2009
Apparently the NFL isn't worth broadcasting without Brett Favre around anymore.