Whether you like him or not, comedian Frank Caliendo does a pretty good impression of John Madden. He has sketches where he rambles in Madden's voice for as much as 25 seconds straight without ever speaking an audible word - and still, it sounds like something that would actually come out of the aged commentator's mouth.
What gets folks about Caliendo's sketches featuring Madden is that they seem so real. He sounds just like him, and, with all due respect to the Hall of Fame coach, often makes about as much sense. For anyone who has ever listened to a game Madden has commentated, we all know that he has been known to say things like, All they have to do is get the ball up the field and score more points than the other team. If they can do that, they'll win the game.""
Seriously, if I had a nickel for every time I have heard someone say, ""I can't stand John Madden,"" I'd be watching all of my football games on a 62"" plasma screen TV.
What boggles my mind is how often television producers will find some guy who made a name for himself in the NFL and think that by throwing a suit on him and plunking him in a commentator seat, he'll be the latest and greatest football expert to ever grace their set. Take Madden, for example. There is no question he is one of the most distinguished coaches in professional football, leading the Oakland Raiders to eight playoff appearances in his 10 year tenure, seven AFC West division titles, a victory in Super Bowl XI, and never once suffered a losing season. His .759 regular season winning percentage is the best of any head coach in NFL history.
But is he a distinguished commentator? Well, that's debatable. Anyone with an ounce of football sense often gets irritated by how many times he throws out phrases that are purely common sense and not worth stating. And the number of ""errs,"" ""ahhs"" and ""mmms"" he uses in between thoughts would be enough to drive even Bobby Boucher up the wall.
To be fair, Madden isn't the only one who makes countless football fans mute their TV's on Sunday afternoons. FOX NFL's Tony Siragusa makes a remarkably poor sideline commentator, cutting his co-commentators Kenny Albert and Daryl Johnston off often for useless bits of trivia and obvious observations. To boot, if I had even a penny for the number of times he mixed up the names of the players on the field, I'd have a nice surround-sound system to go with that plasma screen TV. Face it, Siragusa played a major role in helping the Ravens win the Super Bowl in 2001, but he is a big reason why TVs remain silent during football games he comments on.
This is not to say every NFL star who goes into show business is a bust.
Johnston, Siragusa's booth-commentating counterpart, is a three-time Super Bowl winning fullback from the early '90s Dallas Cowboys who does a solid job color commentating his games. He never stutters, rarely states the obvious, has a great understanding of the game and is genuinely pleasant to listen to.
The same could generally be said for recently retired New York Giant Michael Strahan. He doesn't sit in a booth and cover games, but thus far in his television career, he has provided valuable insight on his Sunday morning pregame show and even adds a bit of tasteful humor to the program. In the past, while he was still playing for the Giants, I have seen FOX NFL Sunday run segments where Strahan brought a camera with him on various exploits. I used to think that was somewhat foolish for a player to be so wrapped up in extra-curriculars when he had games to prepare for, but it turns out that the guy really has a knack for TV.
The point is that TV networks really ought to do a better job evaluating whether the former football stars they pursue are worth putting in the booth. I would be willing to bet that whenever Brett Favre or Tom Brady or Peyton Manning retires, producers will be chomping at the bit trying to get these former NFL MVPs on their sets if any of them show the slightest interest in media work. But just because they were astounding athletes on the field does not mean they will make amazing commentators. After all, if all you had to do was point out that the team with more points at the end of the game wins, John Madden would probably have a few more fans.
Feel like there was some point where John Madden was a great color commentator? Set Andy straight at avansistine@wisc.edu.
