On Coach Madden’s Unbeatable Enthusiasm & Humility

Is there anyone who did not LOVE to hear John Madden excitedly talk football? Xs & Os, player skills or shortcomings, team psychology, stadium buzz … it didn’t matter. Dead at age 85, the NFL Hall of Fame Coach’s unmitigated enthusiasm in everything he touched not only revolutionized the way we view the sport, but may have made him its most beloved … as emotional accolades of Madden’s impact on people as well as the game during his long journey poured in.

The WSJ may have put it best: “He personified football and looked the part … a wide-shouldered hulk from Northern California via Minnesota, a former offensive lineman with meaty forearms, a sweep of reddish-brown hair and an eagle’s sharp brow. If Madden had been born as a piece of gridiron equipment, he’d have been a blocking sled. Chances are he’d have loved that [characterization] too. Enthusiasm was what made Madden legendary ... he talked about football like it was the greatest sport on earth, which he genuinely believed it was. He played it, coached it, taught it, and then, in a soaring midlife act, he evangelized on its behalf, every Sunday, as perhaps the greatest TV analyst to ever do it.”

In fact, almost everything Coach Madden touched turned to gold. Heck, he was 32 when he was tapped to lead the Raiders, won a Super Bowl with a bunch of rebellious misfits and never suffered a losing season as a “player’s coach” before “retiring” from coaching players at 42, only to go on to second, third & fourth careers as a broadcaster, commercial pitch man & video game guru. Through it all, Coach Madden somehow maintained one trait that’s so rare then or now & probably helps explain best his ability to “connect” with all of us: Humility.

Davd Soul