Skip to main content

John Madden reminisces at Pat Summerall memorial

Hall of Fame coach and legendary broadcaster John Madden gave a heartfelt speech at the memorial service for Pat Summerall on Saturday. The two worked games together for 22 years.

"He is the voice of the NFL," Madden said. "To me, he wasn't a braggart. To me, he was John Wayne."

Summerall passed away Tuesday at the age of 82. He played 10 years in the NFL and worked a record 16 Super Bowls on television.

Madden, who's been known to ramble at times, said he could hear Summerall's voice, "Brevity, brevity, brevity" in his head, during his speech. The two friends have said goodbye twice before -- during their final game together on CBS and during their final game as a broadcast team on Fox after Super Bowl XXXVI.

"This is the third goodbye. The toughest," Madden struggled to say. "Goodbye, Pat. Rest in peace. I love you."

Follow Kareem Copeland on Twitter @kareemcopeland.