Jim O'Donnell: An old beer commercial helped flip John Madden into an NFLer for the ages
FOUR WARRING WORDS greatly assisted the rise of John Madden from former NFL coaching curiosity to beloved national icon:
"Tastes great! ... Less filling!"
That was it.
When Madden burst toward TV viewers as an animated spokes-celebrity for Miller Lite and its McCann Erickson ad affiliate, his star went into an accelerated ascent.
That trajectory would reach unprecedented strata as his "Madden NFL" series became one of the most successful video game franchises in history for Trip Hawkins and Electronic Arts.
HIS UNEXPECTED DEATH at age 85 Tuesday will only enhance his legacy.
He seldom fumbled, whether it was as coach of Al Davis' cutthroat Oakland Raiders, grand-slam NFL television analyst (for CBS, Fox, ABC and NBC) or general good-guy-for-hire.
Most importantly, at its core, Madden's fluid genius mastered a golden trifecta of imaging touchpoints: likability, credibility and distinctiveness.
No one needed to be told who was working color when John Madden called an NFL game.
That was true when he initially got behind the microphone for CBS in 1979 and remained so when he signed off following NBC's Super Bowl 43 in February 2009.
HIS ENORMOUS STARDOM was all that more remarkable considering his relative middling name recognition as head coach of Davis's Raiders from 1969-78.
Sure his record was stellar - 103-32-7.
And yes, only his 1976 Raiders prevented an astounding five-year run of Super Bowl victories (1974-78) by Chuck Noll, Terry Bradshaw and the Steelers.
Oakland beat an injury-depleted Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship Game that year and then trounced overmatched Minnesota in SB 11.
(People forget Noll's "Steel Curtain" defense allowed only 9.9 points per game in 1976, including just 28 points in the team's final nine regular-season games).
BUT IT WAS THE HEAVY HAND of Davis - one of the most ferocious capitalists in the annals of professional sports - that was all over every aspect of the Oakland operation.
That included coaching. And it was Madden's clear acknowledgment of who the boss was that enabled him to put together his launching decade as the Raiders head coach.
Also, while people say it was his fear of flying - or aerial claustrophobia - that drove him from the sidelines, that's not entirely accurate.
A major influence on his abrupt farewell following the 1978 season was the barbaric preseason hit that Oakland headhunter Jack Tatum laid on New England WR Darryl Stingley.
IN AN INSTANT, Stingley became a quadriplegic for life.
Madden was one of the first people at the hospital after the game. He saw to it that the Patriots initiated an ongoing presence during Stingley's futile tries at rehab.
Privately, Madden told intimates that the game was getting "far too brutal."
So, he retired as a head coach, publicly citing a general "burnout."
And he could have little idea that the best, indeed, was yet to come.
IN 2005, MORE THAN 20 YEARS after "Madden NFL" first went into development, the northern California native signed a "contract into perpetuity" with EA.
The pact ceded his name to Hawkins and associates for $150M plus future royalties that will now accrue to the coach's heirs.
In one of a football life's grand ironies, Madden wasn't Hawkins' first choice as frontman for the billion-dollar video game.
JOE MONTANA WAS and he couldn't do it because he already had a deal with Atari.
Pick No. 2 was Joe Kapp, Jim Finks' improbable Vikings QB who helped push Minnesota to Super Bowl IV and was later the head coach at Cal.
Kapp, according to Hawkins, wanted too big a rake of royalties.
So the jackpot fell to Madden.
Like so many other opportunities in his life, he didn't fumble.
THE MAN'S EARTHLY LEDGER is now closed. He will be forever remembered as one of the most important promoters in the history of the NFL.
And could there be a more fitting epitaph than simply:
"Boom! Doink! Wham! ... What a life!"?
STREET-BEATIN': Anyone who can get 27-1 on Matt Nagy coaching the Bears next season should baby-tap on it. (Just make sure the booking agent immediately puts the potential payoff in escrow.) ...
Chicago media hearts are at half-staff over the sad passing of ESPN's Jeff Dickerson, 44. He was considered one of the very best of the contemporary breed at Halas Hall. ...
Plucky Danny Zederman is the new director of content at ESPN AM (1000). (Indiana Jones walked into more promising situations.) ...
When the NFL allows a prime time game like Dallas' 56-14 Sunday night thrashing of Washington to get that far out of hand, could there be a more forceful sign that the league wants Dan Snyder out as owner of the WFT? Jeff Bezos would be the dream new keyholder, and, he might even fund a new mascot contest. ...
If Stevenson High's very own Aidan O'Connell doesn't throw a pick, Purdue beats Tennessee in Thursday's Music City Bowl (ESPN, 2 p.m.) (Does anyone remember Jeff Francis?) ...
Jim Harbaugh and Michigan plus-7½ over Georgia in the CFP's Orange Bowl Friday? The Wolverines are at the "Why Not?" stage of their revival season (ESPN, 6:30 p.m.). ...
And Scott Thomson offers quick translation of two popular bowl-season TV football phrases: " 'Arm talent' means 'good arm' and 'eye discipline' means 'not easily hypnotized.' "
• Jim O'Donnell's Sports & Media column appears Thursday and Sunday. Reach him at jimodonnelldh@yahoo.com.