A Madden-ing development

Monday night games still fail to score big ratings

In an effort to keep viewers entertained last week during the second consecutive Monday Night Football snooze-a-thon of the season, analyst John Madden took off on a short riff about all the sideline gadgets and gear NFL coaches wear these days. Madden made one of those squiggly telestrator circles around the battery pack that was strapped to the belt of Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid and the red flag coaches use to challenge officials' calls that Reid had in his pocket. Coaches sure do wear a lot more stuff than they used to, was the point of Madden's little routine -- and it was amusing enough, except for the fact that you'd heard it all before.

If you're like me, you can't remember which college football telecast you were watching last season when the analyst went off on a similar tangent about coaches' gizmos, but you know you heard it. It's not that Madden is stealing other broadcasters' ideas, it's that they've been imitating him for years now, so there's very little left for him to do that he or some Madden wannabe hasn't already done. There was a time when his funny, conversational broadcasting style was cutting edge, but no longer. He may have been the first of his kind, but he's not the only one of his kind, not anymore. That's why the fanfare that accompanied his arrival to the Monday Night Football booth has been much ado about nothing.

Not only has Madden failed to bring the ratings boost ABC executives expected, but he also hasn't even been able to stop the bleeding. MNF ratings have declined each of the past seven years, and the trend has continued so far this season. During the Eagles' 37-7 pasting of the Washington Redskins last week, ABC lost 48 percent of its audience from the second quarter to the end of the game.

That's hardly Madden's fault, of course. The cast of Friends wouldn't have been able to keep people from tuning out last week's stinker, or the equally awful New England-Pittsburgh game the week before. But it's obvious that Madden just isn't a drawing card anymore, which wouldn't be such a big deal if he weren't still being paid like one. If you're tired of complaining about weak-hitting infielders and poor-shooting power forwards making too much money, you might want to turn your attention to the four-year, $20 million deal Madden signed to do Monday Night Football. That kind of cash only makes sense if he either brings more people to their TV sets or keeps them there longer than they would otherwise stay. So far, there's been no evidence that he can do either one.

Granted, it's early in his MNF tenure, but the message that viewers sent during the first two games, both blowouts, isn't likely to change. Fans are drawn to intriguing matchups and they stay for entertaining games, not for broadcasters who are standup comedians or retired quarterbacks or sexy sideline reporters or irreverent ex-coaches.

The irony is that while half the analysts in television are doing Madden impersonations to varying degrees, Madden isn't really Madden anymore. He doesn't play the Boom! Bang! Pow! cards as much as he used to, maybe because he wisely is careful not to become a caricature of himself, or maybe because at 66 it's just hard to be as animated as he used to be. He seems to realize what viewers have always known: that the game is the star, not the broadcaster. Eventually, maybe ABC will realize the same thing.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Phil Taylor writes about a Hot Button issue every Monday on CNNSI.com.

 

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