The former Oakland Raiders coach and NFL broadcaster, who died in 2021, had a Greyhound bus converted into his Madden Cruiser in 1987 to travel in comfort from game to game and avoid flying. Four other Madden Cruisers followed throughout his broadcasting career, but he donated the original to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, in 2018.
Shortly after, the interior was restored to its original condition with features that were considered state-of the-art technology at the time, including two color TVs, a telephone, intercom system, citizen’s band radio, two laser disc players, a videotape player, stereo system and built-in vacuum cleaner.
A video on the Pro Football Hall of Fame YouTube channel that shows Madden giving a tour of the bus is from a 1991 visit to Green Bay when he invited a WBAY-TV sports reporter to come inside and see the amenities, including a kitchenette with an oven for cooking a turkey, a private bedroom and room to sleep four more in the living quarters.
“This comes down. Boom, that’s a bed there,” Madden said. “This comes out. Boom, that’s a bed there.”
Traveling by bus also allowed Madden and his crew to run across great little local places to eat. In Green Bay, he was particularly fond of Los Banditos East and Chili John’s. Former San Francisco 49ers head coach and Iron Mountain, Michigan, native Steve Mariucci once ate pasties with Madden on his bus when he was in Green Bay.
In January 2022, the Madden Cruiser made the trip from the Pro Football Hall of Fame to Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas as the Raiders paid tribute to Madden after his death.
Jersey patches, pregame coin toss will honor Madden during all three Thanksgiving games
Each year since his passing, the NFL pays tribute to Madden with its daylong John Madden Thanksgiving Celebration across all three games. In addition to Dolphins-Packers, this year’s Thanksgiving games are Chicago Bears vs. Detroit Lions on CBS and New York Giants vs. Dallas Cowboys on Fox.
Each game will begin with the same video that shows Madden talking about how much he loves football, family and turkey on Thanksgiving, according to NBC Sports.
NBC Sports also reports that all six teams will wear Madden patches on their jerseys. The coin used for the pregame coin toss will feature his silhouette for heads and a turducken (a chicken stuffed into a deboned duck stuffed into a deboned turkey) that he helped popularize as tails.
The MVP of each game will receive a Madden trophy and choose a high school or youth football program to receive a $10,000 donation from the NFL Foundation, according to NBC Sports.
More: NFL announces halftime entertainers for Thanksgiving games, including Lindsey Stirling for Dolphins-Packers at Lambeau
More: At ‘The Green Bay House,’ the Packers game-day tailgates are a bucket list item and giving back to veterans is a tradition
Madden’s postgame turkey leg tradition somehow missed Jordan Love last Thanksgiving
It was Madden who started the tradition that the player or players of the game get a turkey leg or a hunk of turducken after winning a game played on Thanksgiving. He gave the first turkey leg to defensive end Reggie White after the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Dallas Cowboys in 1989. The turducken came along in 1997.
Packers quarterback Jordan Love was somehow not offered a turkey leg after the Packers beat the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving last year, a move that ruffled the feathers of some Packers fans.
“You’re looking for a turkey leg, we don’t have one,” Fox sports reporter Erin Andrews said to Love on the field during their postgame interview. “We’re going to make a donation on your behalf.”
Packers running back AJ Dillon was quick to jump on the slight to his teammate, selling apparel on his website that read: “Turkeygate Never Forget Thanksgiving 2023.”
Kendra Meinert is an entertainment and feature writer at the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Contact her at 920-431-8347 or kmeinert@greenbay.gannett.com . Follow her on X @KendraMeinert .
