John Madden Will Be Missed

The news today about John Madden's retirement was disappointing to me. I looked forward to Sunday night games over the last few seasons and one of the main reasons was the entertainment and insight that Madden brought to the telecast. The Cowboys are slated for three Sunday night games. Those games lost just a little bit of their luster to me.

I value the play on the field over all else, but an announcing team can make or break the entertainment value for a lot of games. I'm watching every game involving the Dallas Cowboys from now until the day I die regardless of the announcers, but some of the marginal matchups can become nearly unwatchable with an annoying announcer blabbing throughout the telecast. Some people would say that Madden is one of those annoying announcers but I always enjoyed his antics.

I'll miss the random comments from Madden that seem idiotic but usually have some truth to them when you stop and think about it. A perfect example is Madden's reference to an offensive lineman's "kankles". He talked about how a lineman with "kankles" had the right build to be a durable offensive lineman. "Kankles" are said to be calves that become feet without taking an ankle break. Of course he would break out the telestrator and circle the "kankels" to make his point which always added to the entertainment of his comments. But think about it...a guy built like that is usually a big, stong, durable offensive lineman. And that idiotic/insightful comment has been stuck in my mind for years now since I first heard Madden utter that ridiculous expression.

The worst part of the Madden retirement story is his replacement. Cris Collinsworth is slated for the Sunday night color commentator role. Ouch. Is there an announcer who is more arrogant than Collinsworth? He always comes off as a smug know-it-all to me...to the point that he has distracted me from the play on the field during some games. Maybe without Terrell Owens on the team he won't be so negative towards the Cowboys. I hope he doesn't last long on the Sunday night telecasts but I am already convinced that he will take away from many of the games I watch on Sunday night.