With John Madden retiring today (likely to end up in the Raiders front office, whether he admits it or not) you're reading a lot of tributes about him overall. As if he died, or something horrific happened. No, all that occurred is that he retired as a sportscaster. Yes, he did that longer than coaching, and that's likely how he will be remembered. When someone finishes up their career, it's easy to span time decades later and remember Joe Namath as the ultimate swinger, winning games for the Jets. You never think about Namath as the ultimate swinger, with bad knees on the bench for the Rams. But if you were a fan then, it stands out just as much as the success.
When Madden was beginning his broadcasting career, football color commentators limited themselves by simply telling you what you just saw. Maybe a stat or two would be added, professional or personal: he's an all-pro, that's a good catch for a singer in the off-season, it's the 5th interception of the year for the Bear from Baylor. The play by play man was left to do the heavy lifting and, if as mildly prepared as the color commentator, left the viewers confused. At the time, Tom Brookshier of CBS and Don Meredith of ABC were similar examples of what people thought of in the position.
It's no secret I enjoy seeing videos of Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier do their thing on CBS football (in the pre-Madden days) because you can tell they're having fun and are friends. But that doesn't excuse football "insight" that might be better left unsaid. Here's an actual transcript from the 1978 NFC Divisional Playoff between the Atlanta Falcons and the Dallas Cowboys.
(The Cowboys fumble a kickoff, and players from both teams are scrambling to recover the ball)
Pat Summerall: And Atlanta will have it.
(Players are still going after the ball as it rolls back to the end zone)
PS: The Falcons recover.
(The ball now rolls into the end zone)
PS: The ball is still loose.
(The Cowboys recover the ball in the end zone which, since it was touched by an Atlanta player, is a touchback. The referees give the touchback signal.)
PS: Safety, I believe. Or is it touchback?
Tom Brookshier: They're signaling...they're signaling safety, I believe. Let's see if he gets his hands above is head, on the hat.
PS: Bruce Huther struggled back into the end zone, and it will be an Atlanta safety.
(By this point, said referee is placing the ball on the 20 yard line. Now, a replay is shown)
TB: The ball looked like something on Halloween night. Watch this ball move. That is a muff. Watch the action, as the ball is first hit by Falcons. The ball is loose, and remember that's an artificial turf just like your living room rug. And they are still struggling for it.
PS: There it goes, off to the right, and that's Huther, #57, who recovers it. The (unknown word) of the ball takes it into the end zone, the officials have ruled, and not a safety.
TB: I thought that was a touchback signal, but all the Falcons were jumping up and down.
In a similar vein, here's Don Meredith from the following season, calling a Dallas Cowboys/Cleveland Browns game.
Frank Gifford: Second down an 8. Ball close to the 23.
(Brian Sipe goes back to pass)
FG: Just underway from Cleveland.
(Sipe throws it deep to...nobody? A few players are on the ground back at the 10)
FG: Sipe throws it away as Rucker collides with Benny Barnes. No flags.
(The crowd boos)
FG: It'll be 3rd down and 8.
Howard Cosell: Rucker immediately proclaimed interference, but in point of fact...here, Don, why don't you run back the collision?
(The instant replay begins)
Don Meredith: Run back the collision. I think basically what it was...little slip back in there.
(The replay shows Rucker trying to cut but slipping into Barnes)
DM: You'll see he just slipped into him. So, obvious accident on both guys parts, no interference on the play.
HC: But claim it anyway. Remember the Swann/Barnes altercation, key play in the last Super Bowl?
(The following play, Sipe throws a touchdown pass)
FG: Going for Logan...he's open...he's got a touchdown! Dave Logan, a gifted receiver, beat Aaron Kyle in the corner, and right on target was Brian Sipe.
HC: Now this is Monday Night Football! Dave Logan, the man who with 14 seconds and no time outs remaining (the replay begins as Logan tightropes down the sideline) as we look at it again from the end zone, caught one from Sipe and set up the tying field goal against the Jets which the Browns won in overtime. This is a great overall athlete, Don.
DM: It really is.
FG: Cleveland picking up a safety blitz on the part of the Dallas Cowboys gave Sipe the time. Logan with a great move on Aaron Kyle. Cleveland's on the scoreboard.
In those examples, you had people in these spots who weren't adding the insight to what you saw. Brookshier might have been into a Margarita or just looking at the Falcons (instead of the refs who would have the right call). Meredith around this time complained that he was getting cut off by Cosell, but here Howard gives it to him and just watches the replay, and serves as a yes man. What I've put above are not isolated incidents; these are simply examples of how it used to be. Some might have wanted more, but no one knew what else there was.
Madden, once comfortable in front of the camera and in his role, changed the position almost immediately. CBS producer Terry O'Neil, in his book The Game Behind the Game, mentions how announcers and analysts were given game film to watch, and told to interview coaches about game plans. Serious questions would replace cocktail hour conversation, and the difference showed in who embraced this logic, and who ignored it. The "chalkboard" graphics pen furthered this ideal. Even his first use of it, in a 1982 playoff game, showed a difference as clear as night and day. In the play, Dwight Clark caught a pass wide open, and had a big gain. Instead of a tight shot of Clark, catching and running, here was a wide shot of the field.
From The Game Behind the Game, by Terry O'Neill:
"Madden explained that the two Giant safeties were playing deep zones, each responsible for half the field. The safety on Clark's side, Larry Flowers, had been influenced by another 49er receiver who ran a deep route, straight at him. By the time Flowers saw Clark, also working his half of the field, it was too late. Eureka! After years of hearing the inexplicable term double zone, America was now seeing it. Coach Bill Walsh's design was brilliant, and finally it was evident. This was history-making video."
And with that, John Madden exploded onto the TV football scene (he had already arrived) just as he did in Miller Lite ads. The combination of football know-how, and the funny comments of which viewers were conditioned, made for exciting viewing. You'd always heard someone say "We got a real barn burner here!" But now it was the energy that never existed in the booth. For every play that was dissected, you'd have sheer energy if there was nothing there but fine play. Take this 1980s Redskins score:
"This is goalline! This brings out everything in a man! They just get in there behind big Grimm and big Jacoby. Boom! Here comes big Riggins. Whap! He just pounds that thing into the endzone. Now that's football! That's a goalline offense!"
This fine effort was steady through the 1980s. However, the trouble was by the time John went to Fox for their NFC coverage, the energy was slowly sliding away. Viewers began to hear the same phrases over and over, with less and less of the analysis that brought him such balance. Sadly, as Pat aged and slowed down, John did as well. Viewers began to hear things like "there's a lot of hitting down there." Good plays began to elict the following thoughts from John:
Actual quote, 1998
"This guy, I mean, he's been a, he's been a starter. He's not just a back up guy, a plugger who does things, like, you know, short yardage blocking and stuff. This guy is a good runner. And he's a good open-field runner, he's a good pass receiver, he's a complete running back."
By the time Summerall "retired" and Madden moved to ABC, Al Michaels was beginning to wane in enthusiasm as well. (Michaels claims to love his job as much as ever, but watch a game and see him mail it in) Around this time, he also began to talk as if he was being questioned on what he saw. Without a play by play man to give him energy, he sunk further and further into parody. More and more turned to the simulcast on the radio as John would give out information such as this on a weekly basis:
"He would have scored a touchdown if he wasn't tackled right there."
"When the quarterback's arm is hit, the ball won't go where you want it to go."
"See, he takes the ball, cuts back there, and that's just a great run by (insert name)."
I would contribute more, but I can sense my brain (what's left of it) beginning to melt. I won't mention his love of Brett Favre...all of this is recent memory. Having become a parody of himself, he was knowingly or otherwise dispensing the kind of non-analysis that left viewers wanting more when he began at CBS. So, the circle is unbroken. A man who many still viewed as a top flight color commentator was bringing little to nothing for each game. It's sad that the John Madden that went out was either dripping with cliches, or telling you what you just saw. Yet, I hope that when people look back on his career, there is a focus on his innovation, not stammering obvious sayings. It's doubtful that the highlights will be kept to 1981-1994. Announcebot X-131 (known on Earth as "Joe Buck") will likely do a sappy montage of him during the first game of the year, as will NBC. Michaels had better look alive; his new partner actually has insightful things to say about football.
But yes, John, the football world will feel that one tomorrow.
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