# Best John Madden quote **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 5, 2003, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-john-madden-quote/146707 "2003-01-05T02:23:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-john-madden-quote/146707/1 "2003-01-05T02:23:32Z")
While the Packers were getting mauled by the Falcons Madden said the following about Michael Vick after he took off on a run: > [@](#): > > You know, when he was a kid and played tag on the playground he was never ‘IT’. Nobody could catch him. That is my favorite Maddenism. What’s yours? Slee ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-john-madden-quote/146707/2 "2003-01-05T02:51:09Z")
BOOM! ---
**Author:** ![BabaBooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dfb087/32.png) [@BabaBooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BabaBooey)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-john-madden-quote/146707/3 "2003-01-05T03:27:07Z")
Too many good ones that it’s hard to pick one, but I like another line of his today: “Brett Favre is Brett Favre and he’s going to do what he’s going to do.” Is that right? ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-john-madden-quote/146707/4 "2003-01-05T04:25:52Z")
I think a few weeks back when Miami was playing on MNF, Ricky Williams ran one in for a touchdown and Madden said, “Watch this, he’s gonna run it right up the A-hole,” during the replay. For the rest of the section, he kept referring to it as the A-hole until they came back from a break and he started saying Williams was running up the A-gap. Hilarious. Does Madden telestrater moments count in this? Because my favorite one of those was a few months ago during that big meteor shower. The camera panned into the sky and he started drawing little yellow vertical lines all across the sky, to demonstrate what the meteor shower would look like. My roommate and I couldn’t stop laughing. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-john-madden-quote/146707/5 "2003-01-05T04:32:03Z")
The best part of that was that Michaels was going to be in a plane during the shower, and Madden thought he could look _down_ to see the meteors go by. ---
**Author:** ![HelloKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecccb3/32.png) [@HelloKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelloKitty)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-john-madden-quote/146707/6 "2003-01-05T05:02:05Z")
I think Madden is hilarious. Al Michaels keeps giving him a hard time about not going to Hawaii for the pro bowl because Madden won’t fly. Funniest line tonight was towards the end of the game: “Was that a whirling dirvish?? I’ve always wondered what one of those was, and I think we just saw one right there.” ---
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-john-madden-quote/146707/7 "2003-01-05T05:23:47Z")
**HelloKitty** , I agree that Madden is hilarious. He is like a drunk old uncle that you see at holidays. Madden knows football but he says some seriously funny stuff. BTW, what is a ‘whirling dirvish’? I have no idea. Slee ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-john-madden-quote/146707/8 "2003-01-05T05:34:48Z")
It’s not quite a quote, but my favorite Madden weirdism has to be from about 1997 or so. We had quite a large group assembled to watch an Eagles game, and one young player was having a great game. Madden kept commenting on how amazing his play was, especially FOR A BLIND GUY. At first we thought we were hearing him wrong – but he kept saying it. Everyone was asking each other “does he keep saying that guy’s blind? Can that be possible?” This was the most confused group of football fans I have ever seen in one place. It turned out, of course, that he was talking about Jermane Mayberry, who does have significant vision impairment in one eye. To this day I believe that Madden thought he was blind, in the traditional sense of not being able to see AT ALL, because he was so darned amazed by it and never once used any key phrases like “partial vision” or “corrective eyewear” or “in one eye.” ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-john-madden-quote/146707/9 "2003-01-05T05:39:12Z")
[Here’s a Pit thread about ole JM and PETA.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=146642) That turdunken really pissed them off. And here’s a [picture of some whirling dervishes.](http://www.collapsingsilence.com/insp/dervish.jpg) A dervish is a kind of Muslim monk, if they had such a thing. Some of them whirl. ---
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-john-madden-quote/146707/10 "2003-01-05T06:42:36Z")
**Biggirl** , Thanks for the links. I remember the PETA outrage. The whirling dervishes link helps a lot. I do wonder how Madden knew about the dervishes. Oh Well, Want to go out on a date Biggirl? Slee ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-john-madden-quote/146707/11 "2003-01-05T07:07:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sleestak \* > \*\ ***Biggirl** , > Oh Well, Want to go out on a date Biggirl? > > Slee \*\* Why sure! Although I gotta warn you, that road only leads to pain and heartache. Just ask my husband. ---
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-john-madden-quote/146707/12 "2003-01-06T01:52:06Z")
**Biggirl** , Dang, just when I thought I was gonna get lucky I find out you are married. 🙂 Slee ---
**Author:** ![Jerrybear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8c91f0/32.png) [@Jerrybear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jerrybear)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-john-madden-quote/146707/13 "2003-01-06T20:39:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sleestak \* > \*\*While the Packers were getting mauled by the Falcons Madden said the following about Michael Vick after he took off on a run: > > That is my favorite Maddenism. > > What’s yours? > > Slee \*\* He said the same thing about Walter Payton circa 1980-something. It was during a Bears-Packers game, and he said that some large, lumbering Packer defensive lineman was always “It,” as opposed to Payton who never was. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-john-madden-quote/146707/14 "2003-01-06T20:45:00Z")
A-Hole? Neurotic, that’s hilarious! My fav… Cancles. ---
**Author:** ![Realhoops](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8dc957/32.png) [@Realhoops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Realhoops)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-john-madden-quote/146707/15 "2003-01-06T20:51:52Z")
I can’t remember which game it was this year, but during one of the games a receiver was unable to get control of the ball before hitting the ground and losing it. Madden, in his ultimate wisdom offered a comment something like “If he would have had control of the ball, it would have been a complete pass.” I felt very enlightened. ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-john-madden-quote/146707/16 "2003-01-06T21:32:41Z")
I almost never watch football, but years ago, around Thanksgiving, I think - a game happened to be on TV. They had put up a picture of a roast turkey with 6 legs. Madden starts drawing over it; he circles the front legs and says “You got your front legs for your front power”…then "You got your middle legs for your middle power…“and your rear legs for your rear power”. We were rolling on the floor laughing.