John Madden, probably American football’s best-known commentator, retired last week. On Friday I wrote a short piece for Telegraph sport to explain why he was so important:
Madden taught American football fans to watch the game like a coach. A perfect example came in SuperBowl XLIII, Madden’s final game as a commentator. Many fans would have been wondering why the Arizona Cardinals weren’t destroying the Pittsburgh Steelers with their spectacular passing game. Madden explained that the Steelers were keeping their safeties deep, effectively taking away the Cardinals’ major threat. He suggested they exploit this by passing across the middle of the field. When they did, late in the game, they scored a 64-yard touchdown.
You can read the whole thing here.
Possibly related posts:
- Contro il calcio moderno
- Another long rant about competitiveness in the Premier League (with numbers!)
- Why the Super Bowl will never be played in London
The Next Post: The Wire bible: Examining David Simon’s first draft
The Previous Post: 26 Books 2009: March
Comments Down Here
// Please share your thoughts.
You can follow any responses to this entry via its RSS comments feed. You may also leave a trackback by clicking this link.