[boulos]

I ran into John Madden a few years ago at A.G. Ferrari in Soma (he had a residence nearby at the St Regis). He cut in line in front of me, to get his seemingly daily sandwich. The lady behind the counter and I let it slide.

I'm glad I didn't quote the game (or worse, say "boom, tough actin tinactin"), but it was definitely interesting to have thought "Huh, what a wild life. Now he's just an old man who wants a sandwich like anyone else".

[bitexploder]

Even when you are wealthy or famous at the peak of whatever fame or wealth you may have, or at the end of it, some times you just want to be left alone and have a sandwich.

[lokar]

Still, don't cut the line

[whatshisface]

Is breaking through a human formation to reach a goal bad manners or good football?

[bitexploder]

Ehh, yeah, that’s not really cool. I wonder how many times he got away with that?

[listenallyall]

Likely zero. "boulos" was probably tapping away at something on his phone or listening to headphones and didn't respond when the employee at the deli counter yelled "Next." Or maybe, it was as simple as an 80-something year-old guy not feeling comfortable leaving his 80-something year-old wife at home alone for long.

Whatever happened, boulous is still so bitter about it that he felt it necessary to post this story on the day the man died. Says a lot more about him than about John Madden.

[PickledHotdog]

I'm not sure how you read 'bitter' into his story.

Seems like OP just had a moment of realisation that the cultural elites have similar desires to the common folk and wanted to relay that minor connection to the man

[listenallyall]

If that's what he wanted to get across, he could have just stated that both he and John Madden were both on line to get a sandwich somewhere. That actually would have been somewhat endearing. There's absolutely no reason to bring up the part about cutting in line -- let alone making that the focus of the story -- unless he wanted to portray John Madden as some kind of jerk (which, as all of today's tributes have demonstrated, is the polar opposite of what he actually was).

Yes, a person who feels that's necessary to do, on the day the man died, is mighty bitter about something.

[dylan604]

I have no idea if this applies to Mr Madden, but sometimes when you become wealthy, you expect people to cater to you and the little people don't matter. "Cutting" line to get to the front wouldn't even seem as a faux pas to them. They just expect to be served with priority.

[rootusrootus]

Occasionally I do dumb shit that probably comes off as a jerk move, but it is unintentional ... and I am neither wealthy nor old enough to claim dementia. I try to cut people slack, and even famous people can't be Mr. Nice Guy 100% of every day, even if it seems like that should be their personality.

[selectodude]

John Madden had dementia so it's entirely possible he just did the same thing every day without even knowing what he was actually doing.

[dylan604]

Again, I wasn't trying to slander Mr Madden. I was just countering the comment about wealthy people "just wanting to be left alone".

I actually met Mr Madden, and he was not an asshole at that time. So definitely not insinuating anything against him.

[chang1]

Madden definitely had a hulking, physical presence about him. I had grown up listening to his broadcasts with Pat Summerall and played Madden on various systems. Fast forward about 10+ years and I had moved to San Francisco and frequented The Grove near Yerba Beuna. I am terrible at recognizing celebrities in real life, but I immediately recognized him when he walked in. I had already ordered so I didn't notice if he cut anyone in line... one of the few times I can remember being starstruck.

[listenallyall]

I cannot just let your story sit here unchallenged on the day this great man died. First of all, John Madden lived his whole life as just a simple guy who wants a sandwich. He was as blue-collar as they come. The clothes he wore. Took a bus (sure, his own bus, but still) everywhere.

More importantly, perhaps he cut a line, I wasn't there and don't know. But literally everybody he worked with, who interacted with him for years or decades, insists he was gracious, generous, and kind. It's not right to mention your single interaction without countering with the thousands of people who loved this man.

One more anecdote. In 1978, during a preseason game, Jack Tatum of Madden's Raiders put a hit on New England's Darryl Stingley that paralyzed him for life. Madden, not New England's coach, and not Tatum, visited Stingley in the hospital that night. And the next day. And the day after that. And regularly, for weeks and months. He opened his house to Stingley and his wife. He returned from away games and immediately drove up to check on Stingley. He had no obligation, no responsibility, he just thought it was important to do.