[silisili]

Right on. I remember him strictly as an announcer. He rarely had anything super important or overly technical to say, but we loved listening to him nonetheless, probably for that reason...like a football grandpa. Reminds me a lot of Harry Caray, and I'll forever miss listening to both.

[topkai22]

I’ve always wondered if Madden’s legacy as an announcer was tarnished a bit by the video games. It was magical having him dynamically announce the game you are playing, but the sophistication was limited, especially in XBox/PS2 era. I remember his voice saying generic silly things about the games I played as much as I remember the real games he announced.

IRRC, he also said he focused on explaining the game to someone who wasn’t a fan yet. It sometimes drove lifetime enthusiasts nuts, but I appreciated that he saw his role as making a complex game accessible.

[silisili]

See, I don't think the video games hurt much as much as tried to represent the real him. I could see that idea that he only wanted to explain to nonfans. His announcing was always very basic and nontechnical, to the point of being overly obvious. But I appreciate him no less for that - he was addicting to listen to, and that's what matters most IMO.

[listenallyall]

Hall of Fame coach with the #1 highest winning percentage in league history, rarely had anything important to say. Unbelievable. You'd probably come out of a personal lecture by Albert Einstein saying, all he talked about was that ancient E = mc2 stuff that we covered way back in high school.

[silisili]

Did you actually ever listen to his broadcasting, or did you just read wikipedia and decide to make a hateful comment?

While you're wikipedia'ing, check out the Packers current coach.

[listenallyall]

Dude, nothing I said was "hateful." If you choose to publicly insult successful, highly-regarded, widely-loved people, don't be surprised when others point out that you sound stupid and are likely in the wrong.

[silisili]

So in other words, you've never heard him broadcast. Thanks.

[listenallyall]

No idea what gives you that impression. Why would I be defending a random person I simply read a Wikipedia article about? Of course I heard him broadcast football games. Hundreds of times, from the mid-80's on. I have a pile of videotapes of games he did with Pat Summerall (who was also amazing in the booth). I was lucky enough to have a personal conversation with him once.

He increased my knowledge and understanding of football immensely, and I'm certainly not alone. His contemporary broadcasters, like Cosell & Meredith, had no idea how to break down a nickel defense or the ability to point out the key block that opened a hole for Walter Payton or gave Troy Aikman an extra second in the pocket to find a receiver deep. John Madden did that consistently for two decades, with a passion and exuberance that was unmatched. He was able to clearly explain why Lawrence Taylor and Reggie White were so effective at causing chaos defensively -- but also, in the rare cases when they were neutralized, how o-lineman did so and what blocking schemes were frustrating them. He brought attention to players, especially lineman, who were generally ignored, and explained the concepts of blitzing and stunting and pulling and various defensive fronts to the masses, both why they worked and also how opposing coaches strategized around them.

If you weren't able to absorb any of his concepts and wisdom, if it wasn't "important" to you, well, that's your problem, but publicly posting so doesn't take away from Madden's greatness.