By JOE REEDY | Associated Press
John Madden’s love of football and family was most evident at Thanksgiving.
On Thursday, NBC will continue to honor Madden’s legacy by opening its broadcast before the nightcap between the Miami Dolphins and Green Bay Packers.
The two-minute opening features the original Madden Cruiser traveling from the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, to Lambeau Field last week. He remained in Green Bay and will also be present during the game.
Lambeau Field has always been one of Madden’s favorite stadiums, which made this year’s Thanksgiving game on NBC even more special.
“It’s amazing to see how important and widespread John’s legacy is still,” said Ellie Wright, who performed the opening and was on the trip last week.
The idea of bringing the bus out of retirement first surfaced during NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” production meetings in early June. Madden donated the Madden Cruiser to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.
Hall was very much on board with the idea of the cruiser making one last trip to the Midwest. It’s a featured attraction during consecration week activities, but most of the year it’s stored in a warehouse in northeast Ohio.
On its journey through the Midwest, the cruiser also passed through Chicago, where it made a brief stop at Soldier Field and a Boys & Girls Club in Wisconsin before reaching Lambeau Field.
JJ Johnson, who drove for Madden for the last six years of his broadcasting career (2003-08), drove the vehicle last week and narrated the opening.
“As I drove between locations, the crew would ask me questions or I would share stories, and it brought back so many great memories. And, to me, it’s honoring John in that way,” Johnson said.
After having a panic attack on a plane before hosting a game in Tampa Bay in 1979, Madden would travel to games by train before Greyhound donated the first bus in 1987.
The first Madden Cruiser has traveled over 600,000 miles. It was replaced by an improved model in 1994 when Madden moved from CBS to Fox.
There were ultimately five Madden Cruisers. The Madden family has access to the last two, while the whereabouts of the other two are unknown.
Madden will be honored during all three games on Thursday. This is the third year the NFL has held the “John Madden Thanksgiving Celebration” following the passing of the Hall of Fame coach and iconic broadcaster in December 2021.
Madden hosted 20 Thanksgiving games on CBS and Fox from 1982 to 2001. He went to ABC for “Monday Night Football” in 2002 and joined NBC in 2006 when “Sunday Night Football” began, but neither network organized a game at Thanksgiving.
CBS carries the first game, between the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions, and Fox carries the late afternoon game between the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys.
The NFL expanded to three Thanksgiving games in 2006. NBC resumed broadcasting the night game in 2012.
This is the second time Green Bay has hosted the night game and the first since 2015.
Even though Madden retired from broadcasting after Super Bowl 43 at the end of the 2008 season, his impact on NBC’s games continues to resonate.
“Sunday Night Football” coordinating producer Rob Hyland, who was producer of Madden reruns when NBC picked up the rights from the NFL in 2006, said Madden played an important role in his development as a storyteller, not only in football but in producing the Kentucky Derby. and prime-time coverage of the Olympics.
“John Madden was the most curious person I ever worked with, and I think his curiosity definitely rubbed off on everyone who worked with him,” Hyland said. “The way a player’s ankles are taped may be different than the week before. He asked a lot of questions and I discovered a lot of things thanks to his curiosity.
In keeping with other Madden Thanksgiving traditions, NBC will award turkey legs to the game’s most valuable players and turduckens to the winning team.
Hall of Fame safety Leroy Butler, who played for the Packers for 12 seasons, has become an accomplished chef and will prepare the turkeys and turduckens, some of which will be prepared on the bus.
“The outside of one of our production trucks has a dedication to John. And when it comes to Thanksgiving, when we go out, we go do our job on game day, we think of one person, we think of John, and it’s Thanksgiving, and you have to smile,” Johnson said, who drives one of the “Sunday Night Football” production trucks. “Love of football and love of Thanksgiving and now we’re here at Lambeau Field, one of his favorite places.” I mean, that’s a game he would love to stream. And we go out with pride to do the best job we can in honor of John.
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