Post by TheShadow on Aug 7, 2006 9:44:33 GMT -5
www.sfgate.com/
Ex-coach evokes Raiders' golden days during induction
By Nancy Gay
Canton, Ohio -- John Madden dreamed for years and fretted for months about how he would react on the Pro Football Hall of Fame stage in Canton, standing in front of some great legends of the game -- nine of whom he coached, one who coached him.
He wondered how many family members and friends he could fit inside Fawcett Stadium.
He wondered if Al Davis' introduction would drive him to tears.
He wondered if, after 26 years of waiting, his enshrinement into the Hall of Fame on Saturday as part of the six-man Class of 2006, would leave him -- of all things -- speechless.
Not a chance.
"I didn't write anything specific. I made some notes,'' Madden said beforehand, "then I tore 'em up.''
So the emotional Madden, 70, whose extraordinarily successful 10-year Raiders coaching career often featured his amped-up, rotund body jumping up and down along the Oakland sidelines, his red hair flying and his game credentials choking his neck, just winged it.
And it was an entertaining, joyous and raucous revival of the Raiders' greatness during Madden's era -- 1969-78, when those colorful teams of characters, misfits and superior athletes compiled a .759 regular season winning percentage, won seven division titles and a world championship in Super Bowl XI.
"Stand up, enjoy the moment. This is ours. They can't take it away from us!'' Madden said to Davis, to the fellow Hall of Famers he coached, to his former players, nearly 40 of them, that he loaded onto a chartered jet to join him in Canton.
Madden, of course, made the trip on his bus. Speaking extemporaneously for about 171/2 minutes -- off the cuff, as he predicted he would -- Madden made certain he thanked his various bus drivers, among many others.
"You remember all those great Raider names in the '70s?" he asked the crowd. "We had such special fans, the whole thing. It was just something, you know, that I'll never forget.''
It hasn't been easy to be a Raiders fan lately, especially the past three years when the team wallowed in a 13-35 pit of self-inflicted misery. But Saturday was a chance to relive the good ol' days, and Madden, a bigger-than-life personality who has lent his expertise and presence to the broadcast booth and the video game industry, made certain that happened.
The TV cameras flashed shots of the crowd, getting that quintessential image of an over-the-top Raiders' follower -- in one case, a man wearing silver and black face paint and a 10-foot Afro wig -- or the folks holding the "One Nation, Raider Nation" banner. Mostly, the Raiders' contingent was tame. No hard-core spiked, handcuffed Black Hole representation.
Davis, 77, the Raiders' ailing owner and a Hall of Famer himself, set the stage eloquently, as he has for eight previous Raiders he has introduced. He needed his walker, and a little extra time, to reach the podium.
"Today is a very emotional and inspirational experience for me, to present the great John Madden into enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame,'' Davis said.
Wearing a black suit and silver tie, his face pale and gaunt but his voice powerful, clear and unwavering, Davis evoked memories of storied Raiders moments: The Immaculate Reception, the Heidi Game, the Holy Roller, Sea of Hands, the Ghost to the Post. Davis ran about eight minutes longer than his allotted two minutes.
"Wow, wow, wow!" Madden said when he finally stepped before the microphone. "You always think of what it would be like if you're enshrined into the Hall of Fame and people say, 'what would you do when you get up to the podium?'
"And I told 'em, 'I don't know. I'll tell you when I get there.' And now. ... I'm like, numb.''
He said he believes all the bronze busts in the Hall speak to each other at night -- "a goofy idea," he acknowledged. But what the heck.
All the same, Madden made certain the Hall of Famers that he coached, among them, Raiders coach Art Shell, and the players he brought along would receive their just recognition, for helping him finally achieve an honor he coveted for so long.
"I go into the Hall of Fame as a coach, but I know that I go into the Hall of Fame because of my players and what they did,'' Madden said.
He then gestured out into the crowd and asked his former players on hand -- Ben Davidson, Phil Villapiano, Cliff Branch, among others -- to join him in the moment.
"All of you, stand up! Stand up! My family! Stand up and just take your day!'' Madden told his players. They stood in appreciation.
"They're the guys that did all these things. ... No, stay up! Stay up!'' Madden said, drawing huge laughs. "This is our day in the sun, so doggone it, take it! If we're here, you guys stand up and take it, too!"
Great games. Good times. Madden brought them all back, for just a little while.
Tonight, when the Raiders of 2006 take the field for their exhibition opener against the Philadelphia Eagles on the very same field in Canton, it's up to the current franchise to begin erasing its embarrassing recent history.
Madden did all he could Saturday to show a new crop of Raiders he knows how it's done.
