John Madden was no longer the head coach by the time I joined the Raiders, nor did he have an official role with the team, but his presence still resonated, as it did for the almost 30 years I was with the organization.

When I think of John, the word “boom” comes to mind, not only because he used that word when broadcasting football games, but because John brought “boom” to so many moments. While “larger than life” is an adage often used, John was indeed larger than life.

John Madden’s career as the head football coach of the Oakland Raiders:

◻️ 10 years (1969-1978)
◻️ 103-32-7 overall record
◻️ .759 win %*
◻️ 1976 Super Bowl Champion
◻️ Pro Football Hall of Fame

*It’s the highest by a head coach in NFL history (min 100 games)

— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) December 29, 2021

John’s love for the game of football and his love for the league was palpable, not only to those who watched his broadcasts, but in personal interactions as well. As I remembered those interactions following his death on Tuesday, memories washed over me:

• John had a terrific sense of humor and his observations and commentary often left me laughing, sometimes in circumstances in which I shouldn’t have been laughing. It struck me at times that he enjoyed the fact that he made me laugh when I shouldn’t have been laughing.

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• I am laughing now as I remember the time I called John to apologize for behaving in a manner which, had I been a player and had it been during a game, would not only have drawn a flag for taunting, but probably my ejection. I was coaching a team of Raiders players in the Madden-Mariucci bocce tournament. We won, we won the whole tournament and in doing so, we beat John’s team. When we won, I carried on like a nut. In fact, I carried on so much that Willie Brown tried to calm me down. Several days after the tournament, I called John and apologized for having gone too far (because really, running right up to John with my arms in the air and then running back and forth in front of him while gloating was too far). John accepted my apology but clearly noted that an apology was due. Thinking about that makes me smile.

• The Raiders were back in Oakland when John’s tremendous broadcast career ended. Afterward, he attended our home games. We did all we could to provide him with as much privacy as possible as he entered and exited the stadium and while he watched the game. On one occasion, I stopped in to visit a group of guests who were sitting in the suite directly below John’s suite. That group was to include two young boys and I had with me some team hats and other gear for them. When I asked where they were, I was told, “Oh, we think they went to the suite right above this one.” I ran so fast to get them out of there before John arrived that someone remarked at the time that had Al Davis seen me, he might have considered playing me at corner. Thinking about that also makes me smile.

• Special Madden moments were not limited to interactions with John. As was often the case with the Raiders, families of those who worked for the organization made an impact as well. John’s son Mike worked with the team for a number of years and my overarching memory of him is his tremendous kindness and that he too made me laugh, at times to Al’s dismay. John’s wife, Virginia, told me that it wasn’t lost on her that I was the only woman unrelated to a team owner who had the job I did in the league. She certainly did not have to share that with me and she may not have recognized how meaningful it was to me that she did.

From the first time I sat with Al and John as they discussed football, the league and life, and each and every time thereafter, I recognized how tremendously fortunate I was to do so. I still recognize that and I shall forever appreciate that I had the opportunity.

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Just as Al did, John loved the game of football and John loved the league. It was my perception that they also loved one another.

One really cannot discuss Raiders history without including John Madden in that discussion.

(Photo of John Madden in 2006: Jay LaPrete / Icon Sport Media via Getty Images)