Bam! Happy Trails to John Madden

Happy trails to John Madden, legendary NFL coach and announcer who announced last week that he is retiring from the broadcast booth. Madden was well known for his frequent use of a telestrator as a color commentary, interjecting his analyses with onomatopoeia such as "Bam!", "Boom!" and "Wham!" He carried the EA Sports video game line, for which his Madden (insert year here) will always be the standard for football video games. He was also famous for his fear of flying, leading him to travel by means of a decked out coach bus known as the Madden Cruiser. The concept of going cross country in luxury bus (you can find photos of the interior here) seems like it would be fun - once. But I can see how, between the body odor, the traffic, the portable toilet and motion-sickness, it would get pretty old real fast.

As far as Madden. I actually stood a foot away from him at one point. It was January 2001, and in the first round of the NFL playoffs featured the Philadelphia Eagles versus the New York Giants. Madden was working the booth for that game, and for whatever reason (well, I can think of a lot of reasons), he apparently stayed in Manhattan as opposed to East Rutherford, NJ the night before the game. I was strolling on Columbus Avenue and in front of Empire Szechuan on Columbus Avenue, there stood John Madden next to me studying the menu on the window. A few other guys walked past, noticed that a celebrity was in their midst and one asked, "Hey, what do you think of the game tomorrow, John?"

After turning and giving a subtle nod, the big guy bolted away. Or as John Madden would say, "So Madden waits for the opening and 'Bam!' he hits the hole and nobody's going to catch him as he goes down the avenue."