Ten Unforgettable John Madden Quotes

With John Madden announcing his retirement on April 16th, a page in the book of sports history will officially be closed.

John Madden, whether you liked his perspectives or not, was undeniably one of the most recognizable faces to ever step into a broadcast booth. His wit and charm were always on display for, along with his knowledge of football, the game he loved. He partnered with some of the best broadcasters to ever grace the booth, teaming with such legends as Pat Summerall and Al Michaels during his career behind the microphone.

Madden will leave his mark on the game, not only as a broadcaster, but also as a coach, where he has the highest winning percentage of any coach in NFL history, and his time with the Oakland Raiders helped usher in the Raider philosophy of Commitment to Excellence.

With his legendary career now coming to an end, it is only appropriate to see remember some of his best moments in front of a microphone. Here is a small collection of his most memorable quotes:

- "Self-praise is for losers. Be a winner. Stand for something. Always have class, and be humble."

- "The only yardstick for success our society has is being a champion. No one remembers anything else."

Interesting that that last quote was in direct contrast to the previous one, but still interesting nonetheless.

- "Coaches have to watch for what they don't want to see and listen to what they don't want to hear. "

- "The road to Easy Street goes through the sewer."

- "The fewer rules a coach has, the fewer rules there are for players to break. "

- "What's the toughest thing in a professional football game? It's being the mother of the quarterback -- toughest thing."

- "Hey, the offensive linemen are the biggest guys on the field, they're bigger than everybody else, and that's what makes them the biggest guys on the field."

- "Don't worry about the horse being blind, just load the wagon."

- "He got up looking out of his earhole!"

- "He was standing in the hole waiting for something to develop...and WHAP!, he got developed"

Do you have any you want to share? Feel free to jump in and throw some into the mix.

Sources:
- John Madden Quotes, ThinkExist.com
- John Madden Quotes, BrainyQuote.com
- John Madden Quotes, NotableQuotes.com
- The John Madden Stupid Quotes Thread, bbs.buccaneers.com