By Anthony Atencio

Satire

By all accounts, John Madden should have been the first to retire.

Once a respected football announcer, he had a series of missteps and flubs over the last few years. But Brett Favre, his companion of 17 years, was in relatively good physical health. It was his mind that was losing ground to family and golf. But even as his football future faded around him, Favre remained at the heart of Madden’s ramblings.

In hindsight, says their families, it makes sense that on February 11, 2009, when Favre retired, Madden was there to watch, just as he always had. And, though no one expected it at the time, it also made sense that just two months after Favre retired, after Madden had done all the last things he could for him, he also quietly retired.

“It's widely believed that when one spouse dies the other tends to die sooner than he/she would otherwise.” Said marriage councilor and football coach Mike Ditka.

Madden said, “It's time...it's still fun and that's what it makes it hard and that's why it took me a few months to make a decision.”

But Ditka has a different answer as to why Madden retired: “a broken heart.”

Satire

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Anthony Atencio is a Co-Host of 314 Sports Radio on 101.1 Saturdays from 10-noon, and the web editor of 314Sports.com

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