I grew up on Madden. Watching him coach, then call games, then of course playing the console games.
So one night when I was working at the deli I managed during my college years in DC, I instantly recognized the guy walking into our shop towards closing hours.
That time of night was always slow, and he was the only one there besides me and my co-worker. I never realized from TV how big John Madden was. My height (6'4") but twice my size. He came up to the counter to order dinner, and I figured it would be a good sized meal. He only ordered a small salad. Like snack size.
We had upstairs seating that was closed for the evening, which I offered to him. Not so much for privacy reasons, but because our other tables were essentially plastic stools and I figured he'd be more comfortable in a real chair. He chose the downstairs stool, ate his meal and went on his way back to his hotel/bus. (Always tripped me out that he never flew, taking the bus for all the MNF games.)
I never let on that I recognized him. We got lots of celebrities there, and I always figured that at least I could give them a dash of normalcy in a day surrounded by gawk eyed autograph hounds. What struck me most, besides the small salad, was his quiet demeanor. Known for being boisterous, he was anything but. (This didn't apply to all that came in...Jesse Jackson was one that stood out for being pretty much exactly as you'd expect.)
Anyway, that encounter always stuck with me. Thanks for adding color to our football experience, Mr. Madden, both on the field and off.
RIP
Q "Why do you like Duke, you didn't even go there." A "Because my art school didn't have a basketball team."