The NFL has a number of traditions for their Thanksgiving Day slate of games. The annual “Turkey Leg Award” given to select players in their postgame interview, and the famous Turducken. These traditions have one thing in common. They were founded by legendary broadcaster John Madden.
Madden called 21 Thanksgiving Day games in his illustrious broadcasting career. To put it simply, Madden and Thanksgiving football just went together.
The NFL realizes this, choosing to honor him with a patch featuring a silhouette of Madden will be on the jersey of each player at all three games played this year on Thanksgiving Day.
NFL Network analyst and former NFL head coach Steve Mariucci took some time ahead of the Thanksgiving Day games to speak about Madden’s legacy and how it directly ties into the meaning of the holiday.
“There’s no tradition like NFL football on Thanksgiving Day,” Mariucci said in a video shared by NFL on Twitter. And that tradition would be nothing without the legendary John Madden. John began calling Thanksgiving games in 1981 and would go on to call 21 Thanksgiving matchups throughout his storied career. John brought so much love and gratitude for the game to his Thanksgiving broadcasts. And that made his voice a staple of the holiday.
“With the inception of the yearly John Madden Thanksgiving celebration, the day will not only pay tribute to an icon in our game, but an exemplary person who lived the greatest values of Thanksgiving throughout the course of his life. There was nobody like John Madden, and we are proud to honor his memory and legacy on his favorite day of the year.”
Thanksgiving and John Madden will always go together ❤️@stevemariucci explains why #MaddenThanksgiving is such an important tradition for the NFL. pic.twitter.com/drVvb5adfF
— NFL (@NFL) November 23, 2023
Thanksgiving Day games simply haven’t been the same since Madden’s death in 2021, and it is great that his memory will be at the front and center of the minds of football fans on the holiday he helped make famous amongst NFL fans.
