My image of John Madden was shaped differently after I read a Sports Illustrated article, I guess some time in the late 70's or early 80's. After reading that article, I never saw him the same again... and among the change was he wasn't first and foremost a football figure. He became in essence a saint.
The article/incident I'm referring to most old-timers will know well... a 1979 preseason game, Oakland vs. New England, and the hit Patriots receiver Darryl Stingley got by Jack Tatum while going for a pass. Although the hit was legal at the time, it was particularly viscous and Stingley ended up compacting his spine and being paralyzed for the rest of his life (which eventually would lead to his death in 2007). Stingley was taken to an Oakland hospital while the entire Patriot team got on a plane home; only a Patriots' staffer stayed behind.
Madden went through the postgame rituals and cleanup, and then it dawned on him: "I wonder how that Stingley kid is?" He finds out that indeed he was doing terribly, and was in Castro Valley Hospital. So what does Madden do? Makes a beeline for the hospital, arrives, finds out where he is, finds out that he's about to go into emergency surgery. And then what does he do? Stays with him and comforts him up until he gets wheeled in. Eventualy, Madden realized that he was the only person to visit Stingley at that moment, so what does he do? He calls the airport and demands that the Patriots turn their plane, which was about to taxi to the runway, back to the gate and get to the hospital (several Patriots players did eventually go over).
And if that wasn't enough, while Stingley recovered in Oakland over several weeks, Madden went to visit him regularly, when he was back in Oakland after games (he even offered his house for his wife to stay in for free while he recovered, but she graciously declined, wanting to be at the hospital with Stingley... nevertheless, the Maddens had her over to dinner regularly during that time, and Mrs. Madden would frequently join her at the hospital - when John was unable to due to his job.
John Madden - sincerely and honestly concerned for the welfare of a player when no one would ever have blinked if he didn't. Stingley never forgot that moment, and it changed his life - he said that he might have come out of the incident a much more bitter man, but for seeing the compassion and care of Madden, it deeply affected him. They remained close friends until Stingley's death.
How do I know all of this? Because the article was essentially an interview by Stingley, who, through several bouts of tears, said that he couldn't believe the decency of this man, and how he would always treasure how Madden cared for him, put him first. He never forgot it either, and always spoke so lovingly of Madden it was heartwarming.
Like Stingley, that made such an impression on me of the heart of John Madden that football seemed ludicrous by comparison. John Madden was almost, if not quite, my hero from that time. And he also proved that he was much, much bigger than a silly game of football.