NFL luminaries came together to honor the late John Madden on a night when he was nearly unbeatable as a head coach.
Thousands of family, friends and fans gathered at the Oakland Coliseum to pay tribute to the iconic coach and broadcaster in an emotional public memorial which took place, fittingly, on Monday night.
An array of current and former players, coaches, and broadcasters who knew him best, told joyous stories to remember the larger-than-life figure, including Henry Lawrence, Steve Mariucci, Ron Rivera, Lesley Visser, Andy Reid, and former KCBS Radio news anchor Steve Bunger.
In addition to the live speeches, the memorial also featured video tributes from those unable to attend from across the country, such as messages from Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, Jim Nantz and his former longtime broadcast partner Al Michaels.
The night also included numerous video montages honoring Madden’s career and life, and a musical performance from E-Street Band guitarist Nils Lofgren.
In addition, Raider nation filled the black hole for one more time to add a tailgate atmosphere to the event, not unlike a game day at the Coliseum.
Among the highlights of the night was a live interview with Madden’s widow, Virginia, who spoke publicly for the first since the Pro Football Hall-of-Famer’s death in December. She received a minute-long standing ovation when first introduced.
"Everything in the world. It means so much," she said when asked what it means to hold the memorial in Oakland, where John coached for 10 seasons. "When John passed, I said, 'I want to have a gathering at the Coliseum.' I know he's up there, and I know he’s smiling down on all of his players that are here and all of you people, the fans that supported him for so many years."
She also called on the return of a football team to the city of Oakland.
Bunger used his speech to remember the estimated 5,000 interviews Madden conducted over the KCBS Radio airwaves.
"25 years ago, Coach came over to KCBS to join our hearts," he said.
"Steve (Bitker), Susan (Leigh-Taylor) and I were along for the ride every weekday morning," Bunger said. "So was our audience. You never really knew where coach was going to take that conversation, but you knew it would be interesting. Listeners told us they'd be late for work, they'd stay in their cars so they could hear the end of what was supposed to be a five minute segment, but often ran much longer than that."
Bunger also reminisced about the annual Madden-Mariucci bocce ball tournaments, where KCBS Radio had a team, and the KCBS Radio barbecue event that Madden hosted for many years.
The memorial was concluded with a speech from Mike Madden, one of John's two sons.
"Dad loved Oakland. And Oakland loved him back," he said to end his speech.
All ticket proceeds from the memorial will go to the newly formed John Madden foundation, a scholarship fund aimed at providing opportunities to underserved Oakland youth.
You can watch a full replay of the public memorial here.
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