NFL to honor John Madden on Thanksgiving with patches, turducken coins
It’s time to start prepping the turducken. Meanwhile, the NFL also is coming up with more ways to honor the memory of John Madden as we count down to Thanksgiving.
If you’re a long-time NFL fan, then you know Madden, the late-great coach with his everyman analyst style, was as much a part of Thanksgiving dinner as the football games. This will be the second Thanksgiving without Madden, who died Dec. 28, 2021, at the age of 85.
The league will John Madden by creating special uniform patches. They’ll be worn by each player participating in the three Thanksgiving games. The football feast starts with the Lions playing host to the Packers. Then the Cowboys and Washington face off in AT&T Stadium down in Arlington, Texas. Leave room for your football dessert. The final contest of the triple header moves to Seattle for the Seahawks against the 49ers.
Plus, there will be more John Madden moments. The coin used for the pre-game coin toss will feature a silhouette of Madden on one side. That’s heads. Tails is a six-legged turducken, which Madden salivated over during Thanksgiving games.
John Madden wanted to spend Thanksgiving at football games
And the NFL also will continue a beloved Madden tradition. The old coach used to present a turkey leg to the player of the game he was calling. The broadcasters will do the same in all three games. Plus, each player will receive $10,000 for a grant in his name to a high school or youth program of his choice.
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During each game, the league will play a “Madden Hallmark” video. Back in 1997, for a Lions holiday game, John Madden said: “There is nowhere I’d rather be on Thanksgiving than right here, right now, at a football game. There’s just certain things that go together, You know, the turkey, the family, the tradition, football, and we have it all today.”
John Madden started giving out turkey legs in 1989. It’s a great trivia question. Who won the first leg? The late Reggie White won that first honor. The next season, Madden was back at Texas Stadium in Irving watching the Cowboys. That year, the turkey legs went to more future Hall of Famers — Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith, who was in his rookie season.
Madden always had a soft spot for the linemen. He used to say that he wanted more linemen to earn a turkey leg. So Joe Pat Fieseler, a famous pitmaster from Irving, created a six-legged, 22-pound variety that John Madden could serve each Thanksgiving. If Madden and broadcasting partner Pat Summerall were in Detroit, he’d ship it there. Or he’d make it fresh for the games at old Texas Stadium.