John Madden’s days in the broadcast booth are long over, and his days as the Raiders coach have been over even longer than that.
But even though he’s no longer diagramming on a telestrator and using sound-effect-type words that usually appear in comic-book word balloons, Madden is still providing hard-hitting analysis.
And the 81-year-old Madden isn’t exactly mad about the Raiders’ move to Las Vegas.
Madden, who coached the Raiders from 1969 through 1978 and led them to a win in Super Bowl XI, said on Sirius XM NFL Radio via ESPN.com that he was “jolted” and “shocked” by the move.
“Maybe this is just me being oversensitive, but doggone it, if you’re going to go, that’s really tough, but leave us something,” Madden said. “Leave us something here in Oakland. Please.”
Madden, who spent 30 years as an NFL color analyst after his Hall of Fame coaching career, also chimed in on the hypocrisy of putting a team in Las Vegas but fining players who appear in Vegas for an arm wrestling tournament.
“I would hate to be a coach to take a team in there,” Madden said. “I would hate to have my team in Las Vegas on Saturday night before the game … every team has a bottom 10.”
Madden was referring to the “bottom 10” on every team in terms of player behavior.
Considering what he accomplished in Oakland, it’s understandable that Madden wants to see that tradition carry on. He said when the Raiders went to Los Angeles in 1982, there was still a chance Oakland could get a new team because the Oakland Coliseum isn’t the relic that it is today. The Raiders ended up moving back there in 1995.
“With the (state of the) stadium now, when they move out, that’s going to be torn down, and it’s going to be a high rise or some doggone thing. There’ll be no more Oakland Raiders,” Madden said. “There will be no more history of the Oakland Raiders, and that really bothers me.”
Madden finished that thought with a line that flashed back to his days with Pat Summerall.
“Boom, it just goes away.”
Ah, memories.
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