Madden To Miss The Next Sunday Nighter
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
It's pretty amazing to think that John Madden hasn't missed the call of a game in 476 chances, but that's exactly the case. Unfortunately that streak will be ending this Sunday as NBC analyst will take his first night off in almost 30 years. According to the Washington Post, Madden really wants to spend time with family and trying to pull off another cross country trip (his third in a row) was just too much.
It wasn't exactly Madden's idea to take a deep breath and a day off this weekend, but when NBC Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol first broached the possibility with him last spring, Madden said he'd have to think about it. Ten days ago, he spoke with Ebersol again and told him it might not be a bad idea.If Madden were to do this game, he would have had to have rode a bus from L.A. to Jacksonville, from Jax back to San Diego, and then from San Diego to Tampa Bay. I don't even think a group of four college kids on a road trip could have pulled that off. He will be replaced by Cris Collinsworth that night, and like the Post said, hopefully this won't end up a Wally Pipp situation and end up being John Madden's last game. NBC says they are committed to the entirety of Madden's six year contract, but we'll see.
"I wasn't reluctant as much as I was 'let's wait and see how it goes,'" Madden said in a telephone interview Monday. "Last year we had a couple of tough (trips). I still enjoy the travel, but you'd like to be home once in a while. I've got five grandchildren. It's a quality of life issue. The 49ers and the Raiders not being good also has hurt, because you never get a home game. Even when L.A. had a team, I'd get to be home. When you see the grand kids, it's like they've grown two feet. So I'd like to check in once awhile, and this is a good chance to do that."
"Look, I think that John is not only the best game analyst in the history of sports, he remains the best analyst on television," Ebersol said. "I just think it's smart thinking to do it this way."
Madden's Broadcasting Streak To End At 476 Games (Washington Post)
14 Comments:
Because it's so tough to ride in a luxury cruiser (ride, not drive) and watch Direct TV for a couple of days.
He has the following week off because NBC doesn't have a game.
If working 16 weeks a year is too tough for the old man, he should just quit.
What a piece of shit. I hope he enjoys his $5 million salary.
Over/Under on Costas/Michaels/Collinsworth/et.al. comparing Madden's streak to Favre's streak: 7
Exactly, Alan, he doesn't drive! I guarantee that if Favre or Brady were playing Tampa, he's be there already.
Who Gives A Shit as long as the announcers do a good Job who they are it dosen't matter who they are
Madden has really slipped lately. And I say this as the perennial Only Madden Fan In The Room Guy.
They should have hired Caliendo to do the game.
That's "have ridden," not "have rode." Just trying to look out for you -
Considering Madden's love for Farve should we not look at this like a Dan Majikowski/Brett Farve situation?
To w_rabb: why the fuck even visit a blog about bad announcing then?
I agree with Alan... you relax on a luxury bus all week and then call one football game per week for 17 weeks. That's not a difficult job, even for someone his age.
I'd be fine with health reasons or family events/emergencies being the excuse, but that trip should not be very taxing.
And besides, the guy does not really deserve respect, nor even sympathy for his irrational fear of flying. It's actual statistically safer to fly than drive when the trip is more than a couple hundred miles!!
@ Jay: I agree, if only John Madden knew that. Sadly, if we did tell him, all he would do is somehow turn the conversation a conversation about The Greatness that is Brett Favre.
To jay: The reason that Madden has a fear of flying is because he's actually claustrophobic, not aviophobic. Here's a url address to an interview where he actually states the reason he doesn't fly.
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/auto/car-guide-2004/madden1.asp
@ Chris, thanks for the article. It looked familiar; I might have read it before.
But I don't think that article explicitly states that he's ONLY claustrophobic, and it's not like there's a doctor's diagnosis in there. There are plenty of planes that have much bigger interiors than buses -- I don't think closed spaces is his problem, no matter what he says.
Hypothetically, if there were a plane-sized and plane-shaped train that went at 600mph along the ground, would Madden ride it? I think he absolutely would. He's afraid of being 30,000 ft up.
Madden's voice this year sounds weak and I have thought that he may not be 100% healthy. Has anyone else noticed this?
-Zenith