Gumbel’s sad passing reminds me of Summerall, Madden

The tragic passing of Greg Gumbel reminded me how much we take announcers for granted. Case in point: John Madden and Pat Summerall.Dan remembers hearing Gumbel calling Super Bowl 35, and Summerall and Madden on Sundays. Madden was the comic relief, Summerall the straight man.
Dan will never forget these three men as the “soundtracks “ of fall Sundays. I’ll treasure hearing them for the rest of my life.


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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
This is Dan Riley for Sports Talk on Passionate World
Internet Radio. According to reports, legendary sportscaster Greg Gumbel has
died at seventy eight. Gumble contributed to coverage on the NFL, NBA,
and college sports. You name it, he did it. It's

(00:23):
a reminder of the many gifted broadcasters. I was lucky
to see an action, of which Gumble was one. Joe
Morgan was one Baseball. But what I most cherished was
hearing John Madden and Pat Summer All calling NFL games

(00:48):
for Fox when I was a kid. Of course, I
remember Gumble's call of Super Bowl thirty five, but I'm
going to focus on Madden and summer All here. I
grew up hearing Madden and some are All called NFL games,
just like many Gen xers and other millennials did. I

(01:15):
wish I could again. Madden was like the comic relief
to summer All straight man. The two brilliantly dissecting plays
with this revolutionary device called a telestrator, which is commonplace now,
but it revolutionized broadcasts. They made sports fun like a

(01:40):
kid wanted them to. Madden made the game understandable and
used simple everyday language. To do it well. Some are
all made football look and sound as dignified as most

(02:02):
academic disciplines. Pat was very simplistic when he called games,
and it worked. Young Ter raise touchdown. I'll never forget that.
I still fantasize even now about tuning in with these

(02:29):
two in the booth, ready to call some game, like
maybe a fantasy game between the Cowboys of the nineteen
nineties and the Patriots of the new millennium. It could
never happen, of course, but these two were the soundtrack
of my childhood. I was lucky enough to hear the

(02:56):
greatest broadcasting team not only in the history of the NFL,
but all of professional sports. And having to hear of
them pass away as well as Greg Gumbel makes me
realize how tragic it is these three are gone, as

(03:22):
well as just how much a broadcaster can mean to
someone as much as any athlete. Going forward, we need

(03:43):
to realize we took Madden and Sommerle for granted, not
just Greg Gumbel, and going forward, I'll hold those days
in my heart and I'll never forget. This is Dan Riley.

(04:06):
Thank you for tuning in and so long