Introduction:

Our proposal for a monument in Madison Square Park for John Madden, an NFL coach and broadcaster who lived from April 10, 1936 – December 28, 2021. He had as much success on the field as he had off the field. Leading the Oakland Raiders to a national championship in Super Bowl 11 on the field, changing the broadcasting game and how the fans viewed the game, and his ongoing legacy to the most popular sports video game, Madden NFL Football, he changed the lives of many around the country. This memorial would be not only for football fans, a sport for which he is mostly remembered for his involvement with, but for all Americans to highlight his effect on American football and American culture. 

Definition of the Problem: 

John Earl Madden joined the NFL in the early 1960’s and since then John Madden was one of the few individuals that had a huge influence on and off the field, through his life-time commitment in the National Football League (NFL). In addition to being the raiders’ head coach, he was well-known for being one of the NFL’s best commentators and serving as an inspiration for the popular “Madden NFL ” video game series. On the field, Madden led the Oakland raiders to a 32-14 victory over the Minnesota Vikings, while also having an overall regular season coaching record of 103 wins, 32 losses, and 7 ties. As time went on, Madden was later Inducted in the professional Football Hall of Fame in 2006, while also having a crucial influence in our pop culture by coming up with the name of the popular football game “Madden”. Off the field, he introduced the telestrator during Super Bowl 26 in which the San Francisco 49ers beat the Cincinnati Bengals. The telestrator allowed him to draw x’s and o’s on the tv broadcast allowing viewers to visualize and understand the routes run by the receivers, the smart ball placement of the quarterback, and the strategic plays by the defense. This was also used to sometimes doodle on screen which provided the audience a few laughs while watching games that were dull at some points. He also started the tradition of awarding turkey legs to the winners of Thanksgiving NFL games which is a tradition that has grown and still occurs today.

The proposal for the John Madden statue memorial comes to light due to the need for recognition and immortalization of Madden’s profound contributions to the sport of football and as well as pop culture. Some justifications for this memorial would be that there would be a community and Fan connection within the viewers, the unbelievable contributions that he made to the field of American football and finally this would have a huge influence in the gaming industry.

Explanation of the Proposed Solution: 

The memorial will be a gold statue of John Madden 7 feet tall. He will be wearing a suit and tie wearing a headset holding a turkey leg in one hand and a football in the other. This visual of him captures the essence of his effect on football, broadcasting, and Thanksgiving culture. Surrounding the base of the statue will be his three most famous quotes that can be applied not only to football, but to life in general. The center of the base will have his name and his lifespan under it. People passing by will stop when they see a thing of gold in the periphery of their eyesight, with the beautiful shiny color inviting interaction. At that point they will see the statue itself and the three quotes. The quotes will be, “The road to Easy Street goes through the sewer.”, “Self-praise is for losers. Be a winner. Stand for something. Always have class, and be humble.”, “Coaches have to watch for what they don’t want to see and listen to what they don’t want to hear.”, “Discipline in football occurs on the field, not off it. Discipline is knowing what you’re supposed to do and doing it as best you can.”. Some of these quotes apply to football, but all of them can be interpreted for each person’s individual life. When seeing this statue and reading just one of these quotes a person will ask themselves “how can this be true?”, which will make the memorial successful in showing the importance John Madden had on the game and on many people’s lives. Here’s a model of what it would look like. 

Conclusion:

Throughout John Madden’s career in the field of American Football. Having to take on the position of a coach in his early career for the Oakland Raiders to having to become a huge icon while off the field through the entertainment industry in broadcasting and video games. A memorial statue would not only honor his legacy but also serve as a reminder of his profound impact on the generations of fans. This statue will also revolutionize the meaning of what most statues stand for, in the sense that in American culture most statues are remembered by the individuals serving for their country, while this statue would create some type of hope in a sense that every individual is worth being memorialized.