Thoughts on the Passing of John Madden
I had some thoughts on the passing of John Madden. He was an
American icon who made football more fun, a rare announcer that added to the
game, at least until his act became more predictable. I’ve waited until now
because my thoughts are more of a fantasy featuring John Madden; and though the
fantasy is rooted in reality, it is strictly fictional.
I’ll start by acknowledging that as a fan of the Minnesota
Vikings, I have complex thoughts about John Madden. Everyone my age remembers
Super Bowl XI, where Madden’s Oakland Raiders handed my Minnesota Vikings their
fourth Super Bowl loss in an eight-year period. It was devastating for me as a
young fan, and worsened by the fact that for the forty some years afterward,
the Vikings have usually put competitive teams on the field but have never
reached the Super Bowl again.
Madden quit coaching and began broadcasting shortly
afterward and joined the broadcast booth, where his love for the game was
infectious. Madden was delighted by many things, but there was probably nothing
he enjoyed more about football than watching Brett Favre play quarterback.
Again, as a Vikings fan, I have strong feelings about Favre,
whose Hall of Fame career was primarily forged as quarterback for the Green Bay
Packers, the Vikings divisional rival. Put simply, I hate Brett Favre. This
caused me some mixed feelings in 2009, when Favre joined the Vikings.
The 2009 season was magical. Favre joined a good team and
elevated them to a 12-4 record and a crushing playoff defeat of the Dallas
Cowboys. All that stood between the Vikings and their fifth Super Bowl appearance
was a good New Orleans Saints team in the NFC championship.
That game became known as “Bountygate”, due to the
ridiculous post-Watergate practice of adding the suffix “gate” to any scandal
description. New Orleans head coach Sean Payton offered cash bonuses to his
team to injure key Vikings players, especially the old and injury prone Favre.
The game was a ridiculous cheap shot fest. If you watch a
replay of some of the shots Favre took, including helmet on helmet contact and
late hits, you would be shocked, compared to the safety conscious treatment
quarterbacks receive today. Yet still the Vikings were in a position to win
late. Unfortunately, the hobbled and addled Favre made a mistake late, and the
Saints won in overtime.
Two weeks later they won the Super Bowl. And this is where
my fantasy comes in. The Saints cheated, and it paid off. Could there be an
alternate reality where my aggrieved Vikings received justice? This is my scenario?
I still never liked Brett Favre. If he couldn’t lead the
Vikings to a Super Bowl victory, he might as well be dead. What if the Saints
killed him on the playing field? Reality wasn’t that far off. If that had
happened, Favre would have had a funeral. They could have held it on the 50-yard
line at the Metrodome. And John Madden would certainly have delivered the
eulogy.
Madden would have been masterful, mixing in stories about
how Favre loved the game and played it the right way with biblical verses and
plenty of the word “BAM!” He would have explained that Favre was a Christ-like
figure, giving his life to make our Sundays better. And he would have pleaded for
justice for Favre.
Late in his speech, Madden would break down in tears, and
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell would rise. He would approach the podium and set
several items on Favre’s casket: a gold jacked and a bronze bust of Favre. His
Hall of Fame induction would be fast tracked. But Goodell wouldn’t be finished.
The Vince Lombardi trophy would be awarder to the Minnesota Vikings, thanks to
the sacrifice of Brett Favre and the eloquence of John Madden.
posted by Nihilist in Golf Pants at 12/31/2021 05:26:00 PM
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