04/20/24
January 25, 2002
Pat Summerall's retiring. : This breaks up my favorite NFL broadcasting team. (Although Pat's gotten increasingly loopy over the last couple of seasons.) Who should replace him? Or is it time for Madden to retire, too?
posted by kirkaracha to football at 03:02 PM - 15 comments
There is some nostalgia with the two men, but they were beginning to breakdown a bit in Harry Carey style. Here's an interesting article by Phil Mushnick of the NY Post that reveals the deceitful presentation of stats during the televised game of the Packers and the Rams (by Madden and Summerall and the FOX crew). Mushnick rails against the misinformation of NFL broadcasting.
posted by jacknose at 03:58 PM on January 25, 2002
they were beginning to breakdown a bit in Harry Carey My thoughts exactly. I miss Harry. I wonder if summerall is a 'bud' man?
posted by justgary at 04:16 PM on January 25, 2002
After sitting through 2 years of these two past-their-prime greats calling Stephen Davis - "Steve" Davis and getting the simplest obvious calls ridiculously wrong - it's time to put them out to pasture.
posted by owillis at 06:01 PM on January 25, 2002
they were a great announcing team for a long time, but there isn't a doubt summerall and madden have been sliding. i've been frustrated by them for a couple of seasons now, too. the last straw was the 49ers/packers playoff game. the packers had missed an early extra point, and somewhat late in the 3rd quarter, they scored a touchdown to increase their lead from 9-7 to 15-7. inexplicably, to me, the packers choose to go for two, when the xp would have given them a two possession lead. the packers miss the two-pointer, and lead only by 8. no mention is made of the decision. instead we get the usual schtick. so what happens? well naturally, san fran scores a touchdown and a two-pointer to tie the game early in the 4th. still no mention of the original packers decision. they'd rather talk about circling fans with the yellow pen, or some such crap. what a joke.
posted by lescour at 11:42 PM on January 25, 2002
They're freakish and ugly, and Madden sounds like he's hallucinating half the time. But I think Madden's great. He just spends time in an alternate dimension periodically. I remember a Niners game where they showed Seal Rock off the coast coming in from one of the commercials. Madden had been talking about how the officials' flags were filled with popcorn...weirdness ensued: Pat: "What do you think those seals would do if you threw a flag out on that rock." Madden: "I think they'd eat it."
posted by kafkaesque at 01:20 PM on January 29, 2002
lescour, I'm in total agreement on that one, but my beef is that Madden is such an anti-Packer that it seems to colour all of his commentary. If anyone can prove me wrong on that assumption, please do so, cos noone else I've talked to about it can offer any rebuttal. Madden is just excrutiating to have to listen to, with little knowledge of what's happening on the field and no real effort to get into the action of the game whatsoever. I was glad Summerall was there to try to offset that a bit, but it's time for some new blood. Anyone have any issues with Joe Buck who did announcing for the World Series? I liked the cut of his jib.
posted by evixir at 04:37 PM on January 29, 2002
Dudes, when Madden came up with "cankles" (the area between the ankle and the calf) I lost it. Rolled on the floor for 5 minutes, laughing. I'm gonna miss that duet, believe me.
posted by Wulfgar! at 04:47 PM on January 29, 2002
I've never been a big fan of either of them, but I wouldn't mind seeing Madden stick around for a few more years, but I don't know how could possibly work with him.
posted by corpse at 04:48 PM on January 29, 2002
evixir, he has been known to wax poetic about the wonders of Favre on occasion.
posted by kafkaesque at 06:53 PM on January 29, 2002
evixir: i can't even prove you right on madden being anti-packer. how does he seem so? i dislike jack buck as an announcer. he's quite boring. speaking of whoring out football to a younger demographic: i'm tired of fox trying to make everything seem so WICKED COOL and SUPER CYBER. what's with these robot football players? i'm annoyed. (overall, i think nat'l tv announcers tend to suck due to their neutrality, but i do like the MNF crew.)
posted by moz at 01:27 AM on January 30, 2002
ugh, idiot. joe buck, i meant to say.
posted by moz at 01:29 AM on January 30, 2002
If you think Madden is anti-Packer, just watch them do a Dallas game. Even when Dallas stinks the two of 'em work themselves up into a frenzy over their love of Jerrah's team.
posted by owillis at 02:13 AM on January 30, 2002
Even when Dallas stinks the two of 'em work themselves up into a frenzy over their love of Jerrah's team. Doesn't everyone?
posted by justgary at 05:41 AM on January 31, 2002
fox is now contemplating having summerall be the exclusive television voice for the dallas cowboys. please no. make it stop.
posted by lescour at 06:34 PM on January 31, 2002
I just have so many memories as a child of sitting down in front of the couch listening to madden and summerall that I hate to see him go. I remember when they were at cbs and called every cowboy game. Those were the days =) Still, he has gotten 'loopy' over the years, and while I can handle it for now, if he got much worse it might get pretty sad. That said, I think madden has been on tape replay for years now