John Madden is arguably one of many biggest coaches to ever grace the NFL. It was his electrifying character, alongside together with his astute footballing mind, that helped him proceed to make an influence on the game even lengthy after his teaching days.

After stepping down as head coach of the Raiders, Madden left his mark within the NFL as a colour commentator alongside fellow sales space legend Al Michaels. The 2 labored collectively on ABC’s Monday Evening Soccer from 2002 to 2005 earlier than transferring to NBC for his or her Sunday Evening Soccer particular in 2006. They labored collectively on SNF for 3 years earlier than Madden ultimately stepped down from his position.

Whereas the 2 labored collectively on air for seven years, they barely did a lot touring collectively. Madden had a widely known aversion to flying, for which he had his well-known Madden cruiser bus to assist him journey throughout the nation.

Recalling his expertise with regard to the Madden Cruiser, Michaels, whereas showing on the Pat McAfee Present, had this to say:

“My over/beneath on the bus for about an hour. I by no means went throughout the nation. I by no means went additional down than like Boston to Windfall after we had a recreation in Foxborough. The bus was enjoyable, however there have been individuals who went throughout the nation with John. Man, I do not know the way he did it.”

However what actually took everybody abruptly was the truth that Madden’s spouse, Virginia, was truly a skilled pilot. But nonetheless, the previous Raiders HC refused to board a flight:

“I will let you know one thing superb that no one thinks about proper now. Virginia Madden, to whom he was married for 62 years, they celebrated their anniversary final weekend. Virginia, at one level, had a pilot’s license. She took flying classes. She did. She took flying classes… And John nonetheless by no means bought on a aircraft.”

Madden has left a long-lasting legacy on the NFL, be it as a coach, broadcaster, and even as the person who revolutionized video video games for us perpetually.

John Madden’s legacy as one of many largest names within the historical past of video video games

Madden’s identify is synonymous with the online game that we have now all grown to like. However how precisely did he grow to be such an enormous identify within the online game world?

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The primary ever Madden recreation was launched in 1988 after Digital Arts (EA) didn’t land Joe Montana as their cowl star.

The important thing second for the franchise’s success got here in 1990 with the second version of the sport after it was launched on Sega Genesis. In 1993, it was on Gameboy, and by 1995 on the PlayStation console as effectively.

The builders at EA additionally managed to land an official NFL license in 1993, which noticed the model being renamed to Madden NFL. Since then, the identify has caught and the online game franchise is now reported to be price a whopping $4 billion.