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The NFL lost one of its greatest ambassadors and icons on Tuesday: John Madden . The former Super Bowl champion coach and fabulous game commentator died “unexpectedly” at the age of 85 years, announced the league.
John Madden was the strategist who made the Oakland Raiders an NFL powerhouse in the 70, including the conquest of a Super Bowl . After retiring from the sidelines and handing over the team’s head coach job to Tom Flores – who in turn became an immortal – Madden made his way into the game broadcast booths and there was no one better than him.
“Nobody loved the sport of American football more than Coach. He was football, “NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.
For his tremendous impact as a commentator on the games. , Madden gave his name to the popular video game “Madden NFL” which has been one of the best sellers in history since its release in 1988.
Ironically, a long-awaited documentary on the life and legacy of John Madden has just been released this Christmas Day on FOX Sports. It will be broadcast tonight and Wednesday.
Born in Daly City, California, Madden began working as the Raiders head coach in 1969 at the age of 33 years. He was in charge 10 campaigns -all winners-, with seven appearances in the AFC championship game and lifting the Vince Lombardi Trophy after the season of 1976, when Oakland beat Minnesota in the Super Bowl.
His passage to television would be revolutionary, because with his powerful voice, sharp observations and clear explanations of the game of American football, helped the NFL rise tremendously in popularity .
That led him to be the ambassador of the league to new generations and without being a star of any team thanks to the video game “Madden NFL”, whose popularity spread to Mexico and other countries.
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In total, he worked as a TV commentator for more than three decades and agreed with data from ESPN won 25 Emmy Awards for his work and covered 11 Super Bowls for four different television stations, something unprecedented.
“I am not aware of anyone who has had a more significant impact on the National Football League than John Madden, ”Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, said in a statement.