John Madden

The Football Hall of Fame's Senior Committee just picked two finalists for induction consideration: former Raiders coach John Madden> and former Dallas offensive tackle Rayfield Wright. They will join a pool of fifteen others for possible induction. Three to six will make it. This is the closest Madden's come and he's got the stats to back him:

Coached Raiders from 1969-1978
A 112-39-7 record
.739 winning percentage-2nd among coaches with at least 100 victories (behind only Vince Lombardi)
Won Super Bowl in 1977
Coached greats like Ken Stabler, Dave Casper, Willie Brown, and Fred Biletnikoff

This alone seems enough, in my book, to guarantee him a lasting place in the hall of football legends. That's not even mentioning his 14 Emmy awards for commentating games and his phenomenal football video games that are played by lovers and haters of football alike.

Now, I hadn't been born during his coaching tenure. So, I missed out on this charismatic man's life on the sidelines. But, for me John Madden will always be that sportscaster who uttered phrases as eloquent and picturesque as if he were painting a masterpiece with those words. I can still remember hearing his voice during one particular game. The score and the teams playing slip my mind now, but his commentary still lives inside me, part of the atmosphere of that game. It was a movie-perfect game where the rain falls and the players are soaked-hands, helmets, and jerseys. Mud has replaced grass. And there's determination in every players stride, muddy water erupting from every fresh footprint. A game where all that mattered was sticking a hard hit, finding the gap, and emerging from the mud victorious. During this, John Madden looked down on this perfect example of the essence of football, saw a player with a sun shield connected to his helmet, the raindrops running down in streams, and said, "How do you get so much wet in a thing?"
How indeed.
Best of luck to you, John Madden.