Madden a Hall of Famer on the Sidelines, In the Booth

I was just a little kid who didn’t know anything about the Oakland Raiders, the National Football League or Miller Lite Beer.

But that man on those TV ads still got my attention.

Boom! The fat guy bursts through a piece of paper that looked like the Miller Lite logo, and he starts gesticulating wildly about the product.

“Hey! Wait a minute, I’m not finished yet!”

Madden was talking about the beer, but he might as well have been describing his NFL career. Ten years of glory with the Raiders were behind him — and 30 years of broadcasting excellence lay ahead.

Madden’s election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame last weekend was long overdue. Just his coaching exploits alone should have been enough, because it’s nearly impossible to win 103 regular-season games in just 10 seasons. Madden’s Raiders never won fewer than eight games from 1969-78, and Oakland’s 1976 Super Bowl champions remain one of just five teams to win the title with one or fewer losses during the season.

But Madden’s retirement after the 1978 season was just the beginning. Since then, he has been the NFL’s top TV analyst — bringing his down-to-earth descriptions and passion for the game to the booth week in and week out.

For the generation of NFL fans who grew up after Howard Cosell left ABC, Madden has been the face of the league.

Sadly, there appears to be no heir apparent. ESPN’s Joe Theismann, Fox’s Troy Aikman and CBS’s Phil Simms may be the analyst stars at their respective networks, but none of those guys approaches Madden in charisma and delivery.

And don’t even mention Chris Berman. The ESPN studio host has become a caricature of himself, more concerned with style than substance these days.

Madden, however, just keeps on rolling along in his bus — giving every fan a reason to cheer.

If he never coached a game, John Madden would still be a Hall of Famer.