As the pigskin begins to make its way up and down the 2022 season fields, one can’t help but harken back to the days of John Madden in the Monday Night Football booth. And while there is no shortage of big personalities in today’s game (not to mention we still have plenty of Madden on gaming consoles everywhere) it’s just not the same.
Some people just have it. And that “it” is jus the one thing that they do better than anyone else. For Barry Bonds, it was hitting baseballs. For Jordan it was simply holding a basketball. For Madden, it was talking football. When these people and athletes were in their elements and doing whatever it was to make them among the greatest of all time, you stopped what you were doing and paid attention.
Anyway, what better way to ring in fall than to look back at some of John Madden’s funniest quotes, saying and moments. Are some of them silly? Of course. Is that OK? Of course! I mean, have you ever read a Yogi Berra quote? Something can be equally ridiculous and amazing at the same time.
1. “Here’s a guy who can use his arms and legs at the same time.”
I mean, he’s not wrong. On one hand, when you’re in a booth talking about the same game and players for hours, there are only so many things you can say, right? Plus, I’ll go ahead and guess he was talking about a running back, perhaps? One who could obviously run but also stiff arm, etc.? A lot of different possibilities here. Quote source.
2. “Coaches have to watch for what they don’t want to see and listen to what they don’t want to hear.”
This is certainly in the category of being a Yogiism, in that it sounds so ridiculous and incorrect, but when you think about it, is true, and even wise beyond the surface. Same goes for a teacher, parent, and any other authority figure. You absolutely don’t want to hear certain things—back talk, “I can’t,” etc. but at the same time, you have to listen for them to ensure they’re not being said. Quote source.
3. “If this team doesn’t put points on the board I don’t see how they can win.”
I can say Madden is definitely not the only person to say something like this, and it happens a lot, actually. Even within context of a conversation it might sound silly, but here and now and out of context, it sounds even worse! But, one way to think about it is that it could have easily been a conversation about a good team, perhaps a strong defensive team, but one that struggled offensively. Source.
So, for even as good as they are, they just can’t win if they can’t figure out how to have success with the offense, and, put points on the board.
4. “The defense should be expecting a run or a pass here.”
Yeah, I don’t really have an explanation for this one! Quote source.
5. “Here’s a guy who when he runs, he moves faster.”
Not sure I can defend this one, but here goes. Some people are just slow. They eat slow, maybe talk a a bit slower. They might appear lazy, but it’s just the way their bodies work. But, when they need to, they can turn it on and move a bit faster.
So, maybe whoever Madden was describing here was someone who appeared to be someone like that, maybe even a quarterback who had a certain rhythm they stuck to while in the pocket, but once they broke free, could really “move faster.” Quote source.
6. If you see a defense team with dirt and mud on their backs they’ve had a bad day.
That can go for any of us, right? But for a defense, specifically, it obviously means they had a full day of getting run over by the opposing offense…to the point of getting put on their back a ton. Quote source.
7. In Oakland, Al Davis was a genius. We had Ron Wolff there, too, and he was a genius. There was no room for me to be a genius.
A true nod to “too many cooks in the kitchen.” What makes this one funny though, is that it can be looked at as an “easy out.” You know those situations where someone volunteers for something, and then the rest of the people say things like “oh, well I was going to answer that question but Sam beat me to it.” Kind of like that. Madden was probably poking fun at the fact that, tongue in cheek, he’s a “genius” but the roles were already filled! Quote source.
