OAKLAND, Calif. — Virginia Madden sat on a couch amid family and friends when a stranger approached. He crouched down on a knee, presented a box and ...
Heck, she thought he was going to propose, or so she joked afterward.
Rather than a ring, inside the wooden box was a medallion from the Pro Football Hall of Fame, given by its president to honor her late husband's 2006 induction to the Canton, Ohio museum he truly cherished.
Tears welled in her eyes at the touching and meaningful gesture.
It was one of the few somber, sobering reminders Monday night that John Madden is gone, as much as his playful spirit and captivating stories live in the hearts and souls he reached. He passed away six weeks ago, at age 85 of a magnificent life.
He would have loved how the public celebration played out in his honor, not that he personally requested anything of the sort.
He loved Oakland, the Coliseum, the Raiders, the fans, the colleagues, the public and, especially, the Madden family, who sat in chairs along the first-base line and off-stage during the .
My wife and I sat two rows behind them — a Valentine's date like none of our previous 26.
"It was great. It was touching. It was funny. Turducken, I'd never had that," she said once we returned home from the VIP reception, which was held on the Warriors' former court inside the Oakland Arena.
How would Madden describe this night? Colorful adjectives would escort one story to the next, encapsulating a scene that made it feel like the greatest place on earth. He'd make it sound both spectacular and way too much for just a regular guy, a dufus who grew up in Daly City and enjoyed his best decades growing old in the East Bay.
These are the sights, sounds, tastes, and smiles :
— The Madden's matriarch stole the show. "She does that," son Mike quipped. Virginia played to the crowd of about 2,000 in her on-field interview with emcee Tom Rinaldi. She invoked how she, and her late husband of 62 years, believed in the Raiders — "the Oakland Raiders," she clarified, to fans' delight.
— Best dressed: grandsons Jack and Jesse, who wore original, All-Madden Team letterman jackets. While budding chef Jack is studying food at Cal Poly, Jesse is in his freshman year as a backup quarterback at Michigan.
— Best job offer: Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid told Jesse he'll save him a spot on his staff if Jesse is interested in a few years, after his Ann Arbor tutelage under Jim Harbaugh.
— Reid signed autographs upon entering the Coliseum for the same fans who, in the spirit of the Raiders-Chiefs rivalry, playfully jeered him once he took the stage to speak. "I'm glad I'm not within spitting distance," Reid began.
Reid's closing lines were as poignant, as he envisioned Madden in heaven: "The sideline polar bear has arrived. Turkduckens for everybody. All is well. We love you, coach."
— Reid, at the reception, patiently waited in line for Turducken — the turkey, duck and chicken trifecta that Madden met 25 years ago on a broadcast in New Orleans. (Personal review: It was much fresher than the version Steve Mariucci offered me from his plate as he exited the Madden cruiser, at a 49ers' road game 20 years ago.)
— Mariucci, on cue, delivered a heartfelt speech that blended humorous tales that oozed brotherly love, especially when it came to their bocce ball rivalry. "The next time you pick up a bocce ball ... take a deep breath and think this one's for John. Let her rip, and John will be up there smiling," Mariucci said.
— Mariucci, before the ceremony, spotted 49ers owner Dr. John York sitting solo and rushed over for a cordial reunion, nearly 20 years after York ended Mariucci's tenure as the 49ers' coach. They swapped Madden tales and comforting smiles.
— York shared with me that this past 49ers' season was his favorite in the 22 years he and his wife, Denise DeBartolo York, have served as majority owners. He prefaced that declaration with the realization they did not reach nor win the Super Bowl (for a 27th straight season). But he thoroughly appreciated and enjoyed the coaches and players, including Jimmy Garoppolo's "special" knack for handling 2021's challenges.
— York and Madden worked together on the NFL's health and safety committees. John Madden had relayed this story to his son Mike: "Dr. York and I sat once and he said, 'I know you're a Raider, but if you need a local facility or anything, and if the Raiders can't serve you, consider us your hometown team.'" That offer was appreciated.
— Mariucci's MVP pick for the night: Mike Madden. John's oldest son who quarterbacked this event and anchored the speaker lineup. He also represented the family during Super Bowl festivities in Los Angeles.
— Mike Madden shared how his dad taught him that, when it came to reception lines, there are "walk-by" and "stop-by" people. So, at an L.A. gala, Mike spotted Hall of Famer Charles Haley, stopped by to say hello, and it was Haley who comforted him with loving words. At Monday's reception, Madden stopped by and re-introduced himself to ex-cornerback Lester Hayes, who fondly remembered Mike being attached to the Raiders coach's hip in the late '70s.
— Madden's other son, Joe, shed a tear as his brother spoke to cap the ceremony. That image hit home on the Coliseum's Jumbotron — and it was carried live on the NFL Network feed.
— It was Madden-esque to not only attract current NFL coaches such as Reid and Washington's Ron Rivera, but retired local icons, such as Bob Ladouceur and Matt Sweeney, who once ruled the East Bay's prep ranks at De La Salle-Concord and Foothill-Pleasanton, respectively. That duo happily ran into each other at the reception, exchanged compliments and still looked like champs.
— "Commonsense guy. No pretense to him, and same with his kids," Ladouceur said in aptly describing Madden and his sons (and five grandchildren).
— As big a presence Madden commanded in the sports world, former KCBS anchor Stan Bunger reminded everyone Madden was a "Bay Area guy," adding: "America loved him. But we owned him."
— "Don't worry about the horse being blind. Just follow the wagon," Madden's quote imprinted on cocktail napkins. Speaking of cocktails, yes, Miller Lite was among the tastes great/less filling options. It was a nod to his 1980s commercials that helped launched his "booming" career as a colorful pitchman.
— Perhaps you've seen a black-and-white picture of Madden gnawing on a cigar. He never smoked them and instead used cigars as pacifiers after quitting cigarettes, his Pleasanton pal Carl Marsh told me — while we happened to be standing next to Madden's cardiologist.
— A replica of the Madden Greyhound cruiser was served as a cake for the reception. Outside the Coliseum was not only one of the actual busses he used to traverse the country, but a "Madden Memorial Cruiser" decked out with his image, a bus that will service the Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority's routes through the Tri-Valley and his hometown of Pleasanton.
— The memorial and its $32.14 tickets (symbolic of the 1976 Raiders' Super Bowl score) were the latest of the Madden's philanthropic endeavors to benefit East Bay youth. Six students are riding such scholarships this year at Madden's alma mater, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo. Virginia announced she had squirreled away some of her own money and would match contributions up to $1 million.
— "I know he's up there and I know he's smiling down on all the players here and all the fans that supported him for so many years," — Virginia Madden.
— Tony La Russa was bummed he couldn't make it in from Arizona, ahead of his second season of his second stint as the Chicago White Sox manager. But La Russa texted me the best advice he got from Madden: "Treat every season as a new beginning and start from Zero!!"
— No, there weren't 54,000 in the Coliseum stands like the crowds who watched Madden go 5-0 as the Raiders coach in Monday night home games. Blame it on Super Bowl hangovers. Or Valentine's Day. Or the chilly weather — football weather, mind you. Regardless, it was a win for those who showed, which had me recall something Madden once told me about postgame parties.
"After a home game, we always had a party at the Hilton hotel," Madden said in a 2006 interview. "If you won, they were good parties. But they were kind of pre-parties. Our parties would go from the Coliseum to the Hilton to Jack London Square. I didn't go to Jack London Square, my players did."
Never?
"Oh, maybe a few times. It was a different era."
The John Madden era was, indeed, wonderfully unique.
