Brent Musburger, fellow broadcasters share unforgettable stories about John Madden's career and legacy

Dec 29, 2021 at 01:02 PM

Rachel Gossen

Digital Managing Editor

While the 103 games and one Super Bowl John Madden won as the Raiders' head coach cemented his legacy on the gridiron, the 16 Emmy Awards he added to his trophy case through his work as a sportscaster from 1979 to 2009 helped make him a household name and undeniable giant of the game.

Most importantly, though, he garnered a plethora of lifetime fans and friends along the way.

Those who worked with the icon of the game in the later part of his career as a color commentator remember a man who made everyone feel at ease while also breaking down the sport in a way no one else could.

"He knew all the X's and O's and intricacies, but he brought them in to the heart of the every man," current Raiders play-by-play voice Brent Musburger said. "I will tell you that no analyst in the history of the NFL has thought as much about the 'Average Joe' as John Madden did, and he explained the game. There's never been an analyst who's been able to do that in the history of football."

Musburger worked for CBS when John Madden was brought in for a pregame segment during Super Bowl XIV held at the Rose Bowl in California and got to see the beginning of what would become a storied career on television.

"When it was over, the executives at CBS came to me and said, 'Brent, we've got to hire John. That was unbelievable. That was unbelievable the insight he gave to that team, and he spoke to the people in the audience and he was so relaxed,' and I said, 'Go for it.'"

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Another legendary broadcaster Vin Scully, who spent a brief time working with Madden, said that whenever they called games together, he felt like all eyes were on them to hear the latest insight from the former head coach.

"When I worked with John Madden, it was as if he was summoning everybody," Scully said on NFL Network. "I had the feeling that the whole world was going to tune in to hear John."

As Madden's career on the air took off, he notably would travel across the country to games he was working on a customized bus that became known as the "Madden Cruiser." For broadcaster Andrea Kremer, jumping on the bus as part of the Sunday Night Football crew with Madden and Al Michaels was like something she'd never experienced in her 20+ year career before then.

"Being on the bus with John, it was like being on tour with a rock group," Kremer told NFL Network. "That's what it was like. When you walked into a hotel, because Madden was so much larger than life, it was literally what the sports version of the Beatles was like."

Like the Beatles impact on music, you cannot talk about football without discussing the impact Madden had to the game from the field to the booth to a franchise of video games. His legacy expands across generations, and that's part of the "multi-dimensional" personality that Musburger described Madden as.

"John Madden was one of the most personable people that I have ever, ever been around, whether it was coaching, in broadcasting … When it comes to coaching and then in broadcasting, I am such a fan of John Madden," Musburger said.

"John was a people guy, and he should be remembered that way."

Hear more of Brent Musburger's memories of Madden here.