{"id":8596554,"date":"2022-09-05T08:58:34","date_gmt":"2022-09-05T15:58:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com?p=8596554&preview_id=8596554"},"modified":"2022-09-05T10:06:53","modified_gmt":"2022-09-05T17:06:53","slug":"madden-back-on-the-cover-of-video-game-he-championed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/2022\/09\/05\/madden-back-on-the-cover-of-video-game-he-championed\/","title":{"rendered":"Madden back on the cover of video game he championed"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s hard to imagine any Madden EA Sports video game cover as adored as this year\u2019s version.<\/p>\n

The cover boy: John Madden, as he was for its debut in 1988.<\/p>\n

Such a tribute drew acclaim from throughout the sports world for the Pro Football Hall of Fame coach and award-winning broadcaster, who passed away last December at age 85.<\/p>\n

Thus, a void will be felt throughout the NFL world this season, and the long-running video game bearing his name honored him by putting vintage photos of him on their cover.<\/p>\n

\"OAKLAND,
OAKLAND, CA \u2013 FEBRUARY 14: A photo of John Madden is seen on the jumbo screen during the One More Monday Night in Oakland: A Celebration of John Madden memorial event at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, Feb. 14, 2022. (Jane Tyska\/Bay Area News Group) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Of course, in years past, some cringed at who would get picked for that display. Sure, they would be the NFL\u2019s hottest name, but, often, they\u2019d get hurt that ensuing season.<\/p>\n

The Madden Curse, they called it. Madden himself dismissed such a notion. After all, football is an inherently hazardous sport that can endanger anyone. Yes, the 49ers\u2019 Garrison Hearst got hurt in the 1988 season but Patrick Mahomes led the 2019 Chiefs to a Super Bowl win (against the 49ers) in their \u201cMadden\u201d cover days.<\/p>\n

In dedicating this year\u2019s cover to him, EA Sports added the appropriate words \u201cThanks, Coach,\u201d and that touch was appreciated by Washington Commanders coach Ron Rivera, who was mentored by Madden.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis legacy, as far as the game is concerned, was he simplified it for the fans,\u201d Rivera said on the Commanders\u2019 Twitter handle. \u201cHe brought it to life, that it wasn\u2019t just about X\u2019s and O\u2019s. It\u2019s was how X\u2019s and O\u2019s worked. And he added colorful languages to it, like \u2018Pow\u2019 and \u2018Bam.\u2019 It inspired a whole new style of fans.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"PHOTO
PHOTO BY RICK E. MARTIN 7\/23\/02 John Madden recieved some kidding from Al Michaels about his fear of flying during a recording session in Pleasanton. Madden has moved to ABC to team with Michaels on Monday Night Football. Madden spent most of his broadcasting career at CBS and Fox with Pat Summerall \u2014 now he\u2019s teamed on a new network with a new partner as the three-man Monday Night era comes to a close. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Madden\u2019s connection with the video game began decades ago, when Trip Hawkins asked him to help design it. Madden didn\u2019t realize how transcendent it would become, how it\u2019s linked future generations to the sport he adored.<\/p>\n

\u201cKids, they used to learn playing out in the street, playing in the park,\u201d Madden told this news organization in 2015. \u201cThey don\u2019t play in the street or park anymore. They learn on video games.\u201d<\/p>\n

Which, in a way, was fine. Madden saw \u201cMadden\u201d as an educational tool.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was the start of it,\u201d Madden recalled. \u201cWe had to get all 22 players on the screen, and that took five years. They didn\u2019t want linemen. Most games then, it was just like a passing league with quarterbacks, wide receivers and running backs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"John
John Madden, who will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on August 5th, in his office in Pleasanton, Calif. on Wednesday, July 19, 2006. (Dean Coppola\/Bay Area News Group archives) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Although he\u2019s known for having coached the Raiders to their first Super Bowl win in his decadent decade, and as ingrained as he became in American pop culture as a broadcaster and advertising pitchman, Madden was a teacher at heart.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cHe brought it to life, that it wasn\u2019t just about X\u2019s and O\u2019s. It\u2019s was how X\u2019s and O\u2019s worked. And he added colorful languages to it, like \u2018Pow\u2019 and \u2018Bam.\u2019 It inspired a whole new style of fans.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":705,"featured_media":8596555,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"subheadline":"In dedicating this year\u2019s cover to him, EA Sports added the appropriate words \u201cThanks, Coach\u201d","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[160,10111,161,51700,809,188,165,51712],"tags":[50779,319],"feature":[],"location":[8,3,2,31,4,6,114,81,102,7],"type-of-work":[50053],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"post_status":"","edit_last":0,"edit_lock":0,"highlights":"","original_byline":"","original_canonical":"","original_category":"","original_email":"","original_id":0,"original_pubdate":"","original_source":"","primary_section":"165","primary_tag":319,"print_workflow_body":{"deck_headline":"","print_title":"","print_subheadline":"","print_pub_date":"","print_slug":"","print_content":"","print_budget_line":"","print_excerpt":"","print_featured_gallery_richtext":"","print_inline_galleries_richtext":"","print_inline_images_richtext":""},"print_workflow_exported_ts":"","print_workflow_exported_username":"","print_workflow_shapes":"","print_workflow_side":{"print_section":52021,"print_status":9425,"add_export_buttons":""},"really_short_title":"","short_title":"","market_neutral_title":"","social_title":"","dfm_hub_post_id":0,"paywall_level":"premium","featured_media_content":{"content_type":"image","content":{"id":8596555,"title":"EAS_MADDEN23_GEN5_AME_KeyArt_Horz-1","filename":"EAS_MADDEN23_GEN5_AME_KeyArt_Horz-1.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/EAS_MADDEN23_GEN5_AME_KeyArt_Horz-1.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/2022\/09\/05\/madden-back-on-the-cover-of-video-game-he-championed\/eas_madden23_gen5_ame_keyart_horz-1\/","alt":"","author":"878","description":"","caption":"Electronic Arts revealed the cover of “Madden NFL 23” and it will be the late coach himself John Madden. 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