Games with Names - Dudes on John Madden

Episode Date: June 13, 2026

We're covering NFL Legend John Madden! Gronk and Julian Edelman discuss what makes John Madden so great and some of their favorite stories.Support the show: http://www.gameswithnames.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's that time to put on your jersey and wave your flag, whoever you root for. Why do I watch the World Cup? That's like asking me, why do I breed? And it's beautiful. The guys are young and cute and fit. It's not just a game. It's your culture. I like watching it with my dad.

It's a connecting force. From Futuro Studios, I'm Fernanda Chavari, and this is American Football, a show about soccer culture in the U.S. and its underdog roots. Listen to American Football on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Someday into right now with Buddy by Jake Radio, nonstop workout music and expert tips 24-7.

Hey, head over to iHeart.com. Search Body by Jake Radio and stream it for free right now. Awesome health and wellness tips 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Remember, stick to the fight. When your hardest hit, it's when things seem worse that you must not quit. Don't quit. Body by Jake Radio. where hope meets momentum.

Search Body by Jake Radio and stream it for free. Have a great day. I heart radio. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season.

And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was hungry. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come in. He's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love.

This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Michael Rappaport, and my podcast, the I Am Rapaport Stereo podcast, is unlike anyone you've ever heard. If you're looking for strong opinions about sports, entertainment, politics, pop culture, and whatever else catches my attention, then subscribe now. This kid, Jafar Jackson, should absolutely positively get nominated for his particular. trail is Michael Jackson. Listen to I Am Rap Report on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

podcast. Standing six feet, four inches tall and weighing around 250 pounds during his playing days. He grew up in Daly City, California. Shout out. And played college football at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. As an offensive tackle, he was drafted in the 21st round of the 1958 NFL draft. by the Philadelphia. It goes, my mind was just blown

because I just learned something, Julian. There was that many rounds in the NFL draft back then? The 21st round. Yeah. How many rounds were there total? 30 rounds total? Yeah.

That's absurd. That's absurd. I'm glad they knocked it down a little bit. That would be way too much if there was 30 rounds. It wouldn't even make sense. It wouldn't even make sense. You better have large rosters.

Oh, but was there less teams? Was there only like 10 teams? Is that why there was 30 rounds? They're just throwing out. It's like kind of getting drafted to go to the military. and if someone showed up, they showed up, then great. Kind of.

But if they didn't show up, well, he didn't show up. That's why we drafted 50 players to our team to share. If you got to go. That's when we know. They just didn't have it. You're going to draft 50 guys back then. The ones that don't show, we already know they don't have it. More like baseball, not military, but yeah, we'll take it.

And he went on to become one of the most successful head coaches in NFL history, winning over 100 games and securing a Super Bowl title in 1977. After his playing and coaching days were over, his football interrelated. and natural charisma helped him become a legendary broadcaster, pitchman, video game pioneer, and cultural icon. Let's get on John Madden. John Madden. And Jules, what's the first thing that you think of when you're here to name John Madden?

The turduckin. Ooh, turduckin. Who doesn't think of the turduckin? This guy used to cut the damn turduckin with his fingers, those big ass offensive line sausages that he had. He cut the turduckin on Thanksgiving, and he would reward the MVP of Thanksgiving Day with the turduck and turkey leg, chicken, whatever the thing is. Whatever leg it is, he would give it to him. We all know about it because of John Madden.

Thanksgiving, John Madden. Football when you watch it, John Madden. If you're a kid that's in his 30s or lower, 40s, maybe even early 50s, taught you the game of football through his video game. John Madden is one of the most important names for the NFL. One of the most important names for the National Football League. I mean, you got kids out in Tokyo and Africa and India playing American football because of John Madden. Video game. I don't know if that's actually true.

I know it's the highest grossing American video game of all time. But, you know. It sounded good. It sounded good. That's all matters. That's all. But, you know, he, Daily City, I love John Manon because he, he's a fellow college of Sam, college of San Mateo alum, go Bulldogs, went to CSM, the same juco that I went to.

He was born and raised in Daily City. So he had a huge Bay Area, Bay Area influence. And then he also coached the Raiders, legendary, got them their first, was it their first Super Bowl? Got them their first Super Bowl with Al Davis with that cornerstone organization. and the history of that organization to be the guy that brings them their first. I mean, he's just, he's an absolute legend. His name is synonymous with football.

Here's a question for you being a California guy. How did being a Norkel guy shape his approach to the game? That's a question I just do at you. I mean, it's not even just John Madden. How is just being a NorCal guy overall? I mean, John Madden set the standard, but like how do that change the approach or how do he see it, you know, approaching the game, you know, just being from California?

Well, if you look at him on and how he was on TV, very approachable, like there's always the stories of how John Madden took the bus everywhere and was always big in the community that he was visiting, would be go up to people. He was like the most famous guy in football and he would go hang out at like the local restaurant. And I think maybe that's what the Nourkeownness he had. is being able to be a very intellectual dude, but be able to break it down to simple

for everyone to understand. Kind of techie. Kind of techie. I mean, he's C++ and shit. There we go. That's the answer that we're looking for. All the techies are from California. He's coding shit for you to understand.

There it is. He's basically coding football. There it is. For the regular viewer to understand. I mean, Daily City, the freaking cloudiest place in the world, but awesome, right by the SFO. Literally. That's why they're geniuses.

They don't go outside. It's cloudy. It's so cloudy. What's the point of going outside? There's no sun. You stay inside and you become a tech master. Tech master. And that's kind of what he was.

In the Bay Area that you have this mountain range that is along the whole coast and it funnels all that fog right from both north and south right into like daily city. And so Daily City always freaking foggy. Shout out Ceramani. that's over there. Saromani was this mall where everyone would go get their Air Force ones. It was in Daily City. Shout out.

Say in that era and being that consistent for that long of a time, yes, you got to give it to him, I would say, right? Who would be up there in that competition? There's a lot of great ones. I mean, I don't know. John Madden is the guy. He is just the guy, and that's why he got the video game cover. Doink! Wap!

Hey. Wap. I like Wop. I want to say wop. Whop. He used to go, boom. Just the way that he broke down plays, too. Like you said, he invented the Telestrator.

That's why he is who he is because you said it. He made the game simple. And the game of football is not simple. There's a lot going on, especially if you're the quarterback. You've got to know 15 things going on in a matter of a split two seconds. You got to know where the safeties are, who's blitzing off, what the defense alignment is doing, what your wide receivers are doing, what are the cost. at the offense line position.

And then when he broke it down, when John Madden broke it down on that little, you know, chalkboard or whatever he was doing. Yeah, he's the one who started that type of shit, too, to break it down with the fans. He made it simple for fans to understand the game of football for people that don't play the game of football. Because it's hard to understand the game of football if you don't play it. And if you can break it down easy,

it gets the fans more involved. And that's also what made him so iconic is he got so many fans involved and understanding the game of football because he broke it down so easily. And that's kind of how I am too. I appreciate when it's simple, Jules. When McDaniels was calling 50 calls at the line of scrimmage, you got to do that when the blitzers. I'm like, no, it's a lot for me.

You got to think. I like when it's simple. And McDaniels found that out too as my awesome corner. He's like, I'm just going to keep it simple for Gronk. And that's when you thrive the most. So I appreciate John Manafort, keeping it simple. You understand it and you can just go out there and do what you got to do. They call that kiss.

Keep it simple, silly. My dad used to say stupid, though. You ever meet John Madden? I didn't get to meet John Madden. I never have either, but it feels like... I feel like I know if we ever did, meet him. Yeah, it's like you'll be your good friend. You know what he also did?

Like, he brought in the telestrator. He brought in, you know, Madden. I remember hearing stories that they originally wanted to make it 8 verse 8 because they didn't have the technology to do 11 verse 11. and he was like hard no if we're going to teach football we're going to teach it correctly he taught football to the viewer the telestrator what that did and what that showed was that gave an inside look of how a coach coaches a player you know the the the great telestrator coaches that we had i had scotty o'brien where these guys would sit up there for 20 minutes and they'd be doing

john madden's shit all right you guys he'd draw like a butt here a butt here you got to get up there going guys get on these telestrators and they think they're fucking Picasso or something. And, you know, and it's, you know, but it brought the best out of them. It brought the best. And it was a form of entertainment. And it was. And it made it down simpler as well. And made it simple. And he was the first. John Madden was the first to show people. That's how we broke down film. That's how like probably in those days, they had overhead projectors where they would show. All right, guys, this is what we're doing. And like that, that little thing right there is so huge and now you look at like how they show games now everyone every network is always trying to look for

that new thing that's like the telestrator with all the different camera angles the fucking camera that goes in behind and everything like all that stuff you could he's a pioneer a lot of that shit you know what i mean let's go an iard radio experience you and a pal in Montreal and Oceaga, with four nights at residents in downtown Montreal, flights from Porter Airlines, two weekend gold tickets, and $1,000 of cash. Please, love me. Lord, Zara Larson, Tema Gray, Sombor, 21 pilots, and more. Download IHard Radio, listen to IHard new music for 10 minutes, and enter to win. Osiaga, 2026.

Every day you listen is another chance to win. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines.

We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

I love the sounds. The buzzing from the stadium, the chanting from the fans, the announcers calling the place soccer, football at home. Why do I watch the World Cup? That's like asking me, why do I breed? I inherited that fandom from my mom. I like watching it with my dad. It's a connecting force. From Futuro Studios, I'm Fernanda Chavari, and this is American Football,

a show about soccer culture in the U.S. and its underdog roots. We go beyond the game to the people and the stories that make it great. A soccer game is a festival. It's not just a game. It's your culture. took an elbow to my head, which cracked my skull. It is an American game. The Brazilians don't like hearing that, though. Are they the only ones that don't like that? Nobody likes that.

As we get ready for the Men's World Cup this summer, listen to American Football as part of the My Coutura Podcast Network, available on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam, it's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm CJ Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game.

His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall.

And then he has to give us every. everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers, why he got the ball.

Like, you go through a training camp with that, I say, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Madding game, I mean, John Madden is so legendary.

They already have a movie coming out about John Madden. You got Nicholas Cage playing Madden. And I've seen some pictures of him. He kind of looks exactly like Madden. I don't know how they do that. Nicholas Cage is a skinnier guy. And like, what do they do? Fill them up with pillows.

Yeah. I mean, when I used to fill myself up with pillows, I'd be in one corner. My brother would be in the other corner. We call it Zooms. And you just get as big as you possibly can, stuff as many pillows as you can. And then you would run full speed.

at each other and just crash right into each other kind of like mark all stop versus any lineback in you would meet at the line of scrimmage and then we would just go flying backwards but our protection was the pillows so that's what i guess nicholas cage is doing right now let me explain something to some people out there for all you people to think like oh i got a baby gronk in my house look at this kid's his form of entertainment was running full speed into a wall with pillows okay into another person not a wall Built different. Into another one. You can't coach this shit.

He literally, the former entertainment was playing hockey downstairs and fucking running into each other with pillows. Full contact. Look at that looks like Madden. That's Nicholas Cage. Holy shit. They got his tities and everything. I'm going to be watching the movie.

You remember Matt used to have some, he used to have man boobs. We all love Madden. Would you have rather played for John Madden as, you know, with him being the head coach? or would you rather have been his broadcast partner? I'd rather play with him, played for him. I heard he was an awesome players coach. I took a picture recently in a bathroom. I forgot where I was,

and it was a quote of John Maddenny goes, guys, what was it? I think it was like, you can't break, if you don't make a lot of rules, guys can't break them. It was something like along that line. Didn't I send it to you guys?

Mm-hmm. the fewer rules a coach has the fewer rules there are for players to break keeps it simple keeps it simple because the rules that he has probably get fouled so well because there's not so many rules and i think he did only have three rules what were they they were simple beyond time pay attention this is like kindergarten i love it yeah i could have thrived i could have gotten an a you know playing for john madden back in the day and play hard when I tell you I like that so what if he doesn't tell you to play hard you don't have to play hard you're you're probably just playing your game but then like when he really needs like that team to step up his team step up to another level brings him in the huddle hey motherfuckers

I need you guys to play hard right now and whoop the motherfucking asses and then they go out there and play hard I bet you he had he probably had some great like pregame speeches I mean the guy knows how to talk savvy savvy clever and it was like always like entertaining talk like the booms and you know he would come up with names and he would like he analogized the regular man shit to like i really look up to people like john madden that just have that wittiness to them there's a lot of people like that greg olson has a stray hand has it you know terry bradshaw has it like you put them in any situation and they can just be witty with whatever's going on and figure out a way to explain what's going on or a way to ask a question of what's being evaluated right there.

John Madden had that. The words he would come up with, the way he would explain things, you got to be born with that trait. I mean, you can develop it a little bit. I got it in a way, like, but they have it to a whole nother level. And it's like, I envy it. I love it. I love what they just do.

And John Madden had that. And that's what made him so great as well. And that's what made him just a great speaker. and a guy to explain the game and broadcaster and coach because you can relate to people when you can, you know, speak like that. And I, I love people like that. And it's crazy. He's one of the only, he's the only broadcaster to go on the four big networks,

NBC, CBS, ABC, and then go into Fox. He did all four. He did the big four. That's when you know you're good. Hearing old stories from Shanks, one of our bosses at Fox. He used to say that like John basically gave the template of how we're going to call the game. And it was basically like a play sheet of like how you would prepare for a game. Like the information groups, like building a scouting system.

He taught the people on like what information he wanted to see like what the coaches request for all the film guys for when they're breaking down an opponent. I heard like he was a huge part of all that. I could be completely wrong and may have just thought that through my brain. But I remember Shanks talking about a lot about Madden. No, definitely. He was one of the first guys that brought in the interviewing with the players the night before whenever you hear like, oh, we're talking to this guy. You know, like that was John Madden.

And that's a true inside perspective into the game is when you get inside the heads of the player. And John Madden started that like you said. And that helps you out in the boot. as well and it gives you know a better perspective to the fans and a sports it's in the game all right before we get on though and figure out what type of guy he is jules i got a question what was your best madden rating i don't know yeah you do know i really don't come on you don't know i was in the 90s i'll tell you mine you were a 99 clubber yeah i was a 99 clubber baby that's why i asked you that so i can boost my ego up a little bit 99 clubber a couple times as well was i i don't think i really

deserved it like one of the years but I was a 99er a few times my best what was my best 95 95 that's not bad 95 is really good overall it must have been your speed that knocked you down yeah your quickness is definitely a 99 should be elite what's your speed what was your 40 by the way 448 oh that's not bad actually 451 yeah but your quickness is just through the roof through the roof jewels 95 overall that's not bad You run the cover? Mm-hmm. What year? 12?

I think it was. You were on the cover of Madden? Yes. Yes, Jules, I was. You've been on so much cool shit, I forget half of it. Yes. Thanks, man. I appreciate it.

It was really cool, man. I think it was 2017. You didn't get hurt after the curse was gone. It was. It was gone. I forgot the guy before me broke it. Who was on it the year before me. Oh, I do remember that.

But, yeah, I was gronks biking on the cover. I mean, it was special, dude. It was really special to be on the cover of Madden. So I just want to give a big shout up to John Madden for creating Madden and giving me the opportunity to be on the cover. And it was special, dude. It really was just to, you know, be in that category, you know, to be recognized like that. You know, that was one of the coolest things that happened to me while I was playing, you know, in the NFL. It really was.

Hell, yeah. I mean, that's a huge honor. And I didn't know my score, but like I remember back when we were playing, we all looked at our score. I knew I was on a high 90 of some sort, my best. But like, that was a huge thing in the locker room. I mean, you got guys that like, what the fuck, man? That's all they care about now. That's all they care about is their goddamn Madden rating.

I mean, what was it, the New York Giants? They were, or was it the Jets? They were cutting guys based on their Madden score? I mean, that's what they said. Yeah. I mean, the grandson was running it. Yeah, I mean, that just shows how influential. Yeah, influential and how legit Madden is.

Let's get into what kind of dude is John Madden? I think this one's easy. Easy. I mean, he's definitely a stud drafted in the 20th round. Maybe a freak. We all see the man boobs. That's out of love. Definitely had some dog in them because I've seen a mother F some people.

You see a mother F in the old footage is. He used to yell. And he used to make him. he used to have all those great commercials he used to have a lot of great commercials he's definitely a dude but i think it's easy what he is it is on three one two three whiz why do you think he's a whiz he's a whiz i mean like you said he broadcasts for all you know four of the major stations he was a head coach he was a player uh in just the way he broke down games you got to be a smart and intellectual guy in order to do that and i would say that's his number one aspect of who he was was just

his knowledge. And when you got that knowledge, you're a whiz. He literally got inside the game, as EA would say, because of John Madden. It's that time to put on your jersey and wave your flag, whoever you root for. Why do I watch the Walk Up? That's like asking me, why do I breed? And it's beautiful. The guys are young and cute and fit. It's not just a game. It's your culture. I like watching it with my dad. It's a connecting force. From Futuro Studios, I'm Fernanda Chavari, and this is American Football, a show about

soccer culture in the U.S., and its underdog roots. Listen to American Football on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Turn some day into right now with Buddy by Jake Radio, nonstop workout music and expert tips 24-7. Hey, head over to iHeart.com. Search Body by Jake Radio and stream it for free right now. Awesome health and wellness tips 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Remember, stick to the fight. When your hardest hit, it's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

Don't quit. Body by Jake Radio, where hope meets momentum. Search Body by Jake Radio and stream it for free. Have a great day. I heart radio. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano.

It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. We didn't talk ever again. I was crying. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow.

Then after that game seven, Marquis come in to you. He's like, you know, I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Michael Rappaport, and my podcast, the I Am Rapaport Stereo Podcast, is unlike anyone you've ever heard.

If you're looking for strong opinions about sports, entertainment, politics, pop culture and whatever else catches my attention, then subscribe now. This kid, Jafar Jackson, should absolutely positively get nominated for his portrayal as Michael Jackson. Listen to I Am Rap Report on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.