Former NFL coach and broadcaster John Madden died on Tuesday at the age of 85:
NFL legend John Madden died unexpected this morning. He was 85. pic.twitter.com/FoC1mAzoF6
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 29, 2021
He will be missed!
John Madden was a treasure. He was a gift. And he was an incredible friend.
RIP John🙏🏼
— Troy Aikman (@TroyAikman) December 29, 2021
He really was “one of the all-time greats”:
I was saddened to hear about the passing of John Madden, at age 85. One the all-time greats, he showed me the ropes during our brief football partnership. He was always kind and delightful. He can now join his former partner, Pat Summerall, in calling Super Bowls in heaven.
— Vin Scully (@TheVinScully) December 29, 2021
And “people will be playing the video game named after him generations to come”:
John Madden is the greatest, and most influential, sports broadcaster of all time. An absolute legend of sports, people will be playing the video game named after him generations to come. RIP.
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) December 29, 2021
Now, that brings us to this tweet by @emptywheel who asked, “How many concussions could we have prevented had he not turned brain injuries into a video game?”:
Everyone eulogizing Madden: How many concussions could we have prevented had he not turned brain injuries into a video game?
— emptywheel (@emptywheel) December 29, 2021
WTF did we just read?!
https://t.co/Gkj42MNCCU pic.twitter.com/zEbDtuAcs0
— S. Rose Gotsulias (@StaceGots) December 29, 2021
Ratio in progress:
https://twitter.com/ReedSAlbers/status/1476094287687344130
And is her argument even accurate? Madden NFL was released in 1988:
The number of participants in youth tackle football has dropped almost every year since 2006. It was at 8.4M in 2006, it was at 5.16M in 2018. Youth football coaches, by the way, blame video games. https://t.co/S3kpDklr6y https://t.co/cyVkV8UvJA
— Jeff Grubb (@JeffGrubb) December 29, 2021
And this:
Anyone who legit thinks a dude who got paid to put his voice in a videogame and his name on the box actually led the development of that game is not worth listening to nor getting angry at. https://t.co/9cDHMfJPas
— Jeremy C. Owens (@jowens510) December 29, 2021
It’s one for the record books, that’s for sure:
This takes the cake for the worst tweet of the year. https://t.co/LJU4mCa6K3
— Hunter (@HunterHodies) December 29, 2021
This has got to be one of the most amazing tweets I’ve seen in this website. https://t.co/x47IG3tJAr
— Kirk Henderson (@KirkSeriousFace) December 29, 2021
One of the most pathetic tweets all-time https://t.co/eEFC5dT1cX
— ChadinPortland 🎙 (@ChadinRipCity) December 29, 2021
Galaxy CTE https://t.co/rLgYJfxyQn
— Jordan Hoffman (@jhoffman) December 29, 2021
Does her argument work for other games, too?
I was a safe, responsible driver before Mario Kart. Now on my daily commute, I kill at least four endangered turtles, chucking them at other drivers. https://t.co/n9VHFj3iHv
— Philip Michaels (@PhilipMichaels) December 29, 2021
Sheesh.
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