John Madden (1936-2021).

This quote was used as the title of his primer about football, written in 1986. I own a copy somewhere, and it’s a wonderful read whether you know nothing about football, or everything.

John Madden was football. No one else shaped the NFL like him, which is especially fascinating considering he never played a down of professional football.

You can tell someone’s football era depending on how they know John Madden. For those older than me, he was THE coach of the Raiders. For my era, he was THE Voice of the NFL broadcasts. If Madden was on your game, it was a big event.

At the end of my era, the Madden NFL video games were released, and even after his retirement and death his legacy lives on. One of the first big names to lend himself to video games, his endorsement immediately validated a new way of consuming football. Players and fans of the future will know “Madden”, without ever having experienced him as a coach or broadcaster.

Perhaps most importantly, he’s remembered forever as a coach, an educator about football, and forever a fan of my favorite game.