A moving memorial ceremony was held Monday to commemorate the glorious life of the recently deceased head coach of the then Oakland Raiderstelevision’s great bradcaster and the face of football’s most famous video game, John Madden.

Oakland, the venue for the event

While a private ceremony had already been held at his funeral, this time it was an event open to the public at RingCentral Coliseum in Oakland, California, the home of the Raiders when Madden was their head coach.

“When John passed, I said, I want to have a gathering at the coliseum,” Virginia Madden, John’s widow, said. “I know he’s up there and I know he’s smiling down on all of his players that are here and all of you fans that supported him throughout the years.”

charity event

This event was a charity event as all proceeds from the $32.14 general admission tickets (commemorating the 32-14 score by which the Raiders defeated the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XIthe first Vince Lombardi Trophy in franchise history and the only one in Madden’s career) will be donated to the causes of the John Madden Foundation to provide educational opportunities for the youth of Oakland.

Mariucci, Reid and Rivera were the keynote speakers

Featured speakers included Steve Mariucciformer head coach of the San Francisco 49ers and current NFL Network analyst, Andy Reidhead coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, and Ron Riverahead coach of the Washington Commanders.

“Coach Madden loved life, and life loved him back. Coach was able to turn everything into gold,” Reid said. “John Madden is in heaven now. It’s 100 times bigger than the Hall of Fame. He’s constantly talking to the greats of all sports, and telling them why football is the greatest sport of them all.”

During the ceremony, the colorful fans of the famous “black today” were present in the traditional costumes that characterized the Raiders’ home games in Oakland, which has moved a couple of seasons ago to Las Vegas.

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