Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, January 24, 1994 TAG: 9401240112
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"I'm not going to tell you I love you, but I do like you a lot," Summerall said to Madden as he signed off after the NFC championship between Dallas and San Francisco in Irving, Texas.
Not a word was said until late in the game about losing the NFL's TV contract after 38 years to Fox's bid of $1.58 billion. The first on-air inkling came in the third quarter, when director Sandy Grossman switched to a shot of a sign in the seats that read: "Goodbye. Thank You John and Pat." The CBS eye was emblazoned under the word "Goodbye."
With about four minutes left, CBS showed a few other banners. "In The Beginning There Was CBS," one read. On another, the initials CBS spelled out: "Come Back Soon."
"It doesn't mean come back soon," Summerall said, haltingly, in a low voice. Then the cameras panned to other cameramen and technicians, many of them waving a final farewell.
"We don't have football at CBS anymore, but we've got the memories," Madden said on the sign-off. "I want to thank you for 13 great years, 13 great years of being in the arena, 13 years of fun."
A few CBS workers asked announcers to autograph their credentials, but that was the only indication at CBS headquarters in Texas Stadium that anything was unusual. There were no farewell posters or dark bunting, although the mood was serious.
Now, viewers can only hope that reports that Madden and Summerall will be reunited at Fox for the next four years.
It's a natural for Madden. Without football, he has nothing to do at CBS. Summerall, on the other hand, is CBS' lead golf and tennis announcer. But the former NFL player has said he wants to continue doing football.
If Madden were to go to ABC, he would be teamed with Frank Gifford and Al Michaels on "Monday Night Football," replacing Dan Dierdorf. If he were to go to NBC, he might wind up with Dick Enberg. Fox is the only place where the team would be kept together.
"It would be hard to picture myself not standing next to Pat Summerall," Madden said in the week leading up to the Cowboys' 38-21 victory.
In the end, Madden and Summerall treated us to ample portions of grace and humor, of understatement and insightfulness, the substance of nearly all their broadcasts. They made it fun, even when the game was a runaway.
"He's got one leg shorter than the other," Madden said of Cowboys defensive end Charles Haley. "That's why he walks sideways. He's 6-foot-3 on one side and 6-foot-4 on the other side."
That was vintage Madden.
Then, there was this vintage Madden-Summerall exchange in the fourth quarter:
"This guy's not a fat guy," Madden said as Grossman showed an off-season picture of 303-pound offensive lineman Nate Newton of Dallas in swim trunks. "He weighs about 350 there, but he's not fat. I think he looks good. He's just a massive man. You always think he's just a big, ol' fat guy, but he can move."
"But he could weigh less," Summerall said, "and it would be OK."
"Weigh less than he does now?" Madden asked, "No, no! You've got to have some `combilations' hanging up there. That's what gives him the bulk to knock guys back."
by CNB