John Madden was remembered for his greatness as a coach, a broadcaster, a friend and a family man at a public memorial service on Monday.
Madden, who died on December 28 at the age of 85, was honored at the Oakland Coliseum, where he roamed the sidelines for his years as the Hall of Fame coach of the Raiders.
“When John passed, I said I want to have a gathering at the Coliseum,” Madden’s wife, Virginia, said, via the San Francisco Chronicle. “I know he’s up there and I know he’s smiling down on all his players that are here and all of you people, the fans that supported him for so many years. John believed in the town of Oakland. He believed in the Coliseum. Most of all, he believed in the Raiders. I believe in the Raiders — the Oakland Raiders.”
Al Michaels, who called more than 100 NFL games with Madden, praised him for his teamwork.
“John Madden made everyone around him better,” Michaels said. “He was a larger-than-life character. He was the one and only.”
Current coaches Ron Rivera and Andy Reid and former coach Steve Mariucci were among the many from the coaching profession who spoke about Madden. Brett Favre spoke of how special it was to play in games that Madden called.
“I feel like my career was supposed to be narrated by John Madden,” Favre said, via the Associated Press. “I loved John. I sensed the great relationship we had. . . . He was a larger-than-life figure if you didn’t know him and even larger than life if you did know him.”
