Madden Decides to Put Down His Microphone - NYTimes.com

Thank you Lord. I'm know I'm not the only one who can't stand Madden behind a microphone. I'm sorry, but he was a coach and commented on games all the time, yet he could never catch the idea that if a play is called dead from the get go, it's because it's a false start. If it's offsides, the play continues with one exception. So, it's easy to call. But that wasn't even the worst thing.

His going on and on about obvious things or explaining over and over simple concepts is what would drive me batshit crazy. Anything insightful coming from him was rare. He was basically just BSing the whole time, and his voice... yes his voice is just plain irritating. I can't stand listening to him at all. How he ever coached a pro team is beyond comprehension, maybe he was a good manager and just let the assistant coaches do their thing. I don't know. He was guaranteed to say some stupid shit during a game, that's a given. How he lasted so long as a commentator, I'll never know. Most people I know can't stand him either.

Now as a person or maybe a grandpa figure, I'm sure he's a wonderful person. I have nothing personal against him, I just never liked him as a commentator. I know there's going to articles saying some shit like, "He changed the game" or "He was an icon" and it's true... just not in the way they're likely to portray it. He changed the game in that better sportscasters didn't a shot because of him, and he's an icon for how if you do something long enough, people will think you must be good at it.