Earlier this week, the football world experienced an unfathomable loss. “Nobody loved football more than Coach,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said after the sudden death of John Madden, the great coach and commentator whose whole life centred on a love for the sport that few others could match. He was a football player. He was a fantastic sounding board for me and a lot of other people. There will never be another John Madden, and we will be eternally grateful to him for everything he did to help shape football and the NFL into what they are today.”
Football players, coaches, and fans began showering Madden with condolences almost soon after the news of his death became public. Whether they remember him as a coach, a broadcaster, or as the creator of the video game that carries his name and has since become a model for other sports games to follow, Madden’s influence on generations of football fans cannot be overstated.
CBS, Madden’s first network for which he called games, paid tribute to him on Friday. The voice over was provided by Jim Nantz, who praised Madden’s “lifelong love for the game.”
