NFL
Why is the NFL honoring John Madden on Thanksgiving?
Madden, along with his tarducken, will forever be associated with NFL Thanksgiving games, with a number of tributes again lined up this year.
For a not insignificant number of Americans, Thanksgiving is all about food, family and football, which in turns means plenty of NFL fans across the United States spent the big day in the company of John Madden for a number of years.
The legendary broadcaster, who also won Super Bowl XI as a coach with the Oakland Raiders, will again be honoured by the NFL during this year’s Thanksgiving games, which will see the Chicago Bears visit the Detroit Lions (12:30 p.m. ET), the New York Giants’ travel to the Dallas Cowboys (4:30 p.m. ET) and the Green Bay Packers host the Miami Dolphins (8:20 p.m. ET).
John Madden: the NFL’s Mr Thanksgiving
Madden called 20 Thanksgiving games over the years in his own inimitable style, which led to him winning 14 Sports Emmy Awards. To mark the occasion, the Minnesota native awarded a turkey, or a turducken, a dish he helped popularize, to the team that won the game he was commentating on, as well as turkey legs to the the player that impressed him the most. Following his death in December 2021, NBC have since continued the latter tradition in his honour.
This Thursday’s games will part of the “John Madden Thanksgiving Celebration” for another year, with a number of Madden-related tributes planned by the NFL.
How the NFL will pay tribute to Madden on Thanksgiving
Before kickoff, the official broadcasters of the games will show a video in which Madden reveals, “There’s no place that I would rather be today on Thanksgiving than right here, right now, at a football game.”
Each player from the six teams involved will wear patches on their jerseys that contain a drawing of Madden’s face, while the coin used for the pregame toss will depict his silhouette on one side (heads) and a turducken on the other (tails).
The MVPs from each game will be awarded a Madden trophy and can select a high school or youth football program to receive a $10,000 donation from the NFL Foundation. Additionally, items from the three games will be auctioned, with the money raised going to the John Madden Foundation, which is dedicated to helping young people in Oakland and other East Bay communities.
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