Summerall will forever be the Voice of the NFL

This past week, the world lost the greatest football broadcaster to ever live.

Legendary football voice Pat Summerall passed away at the age of 82 in his home city of Dallas.

Summerall’s death left a series of ripples through the NFL world with longtime broadcast partner John Madden joining many former players and coaches in stating what I believe true as well: Summerall will forever be the voice of the NFL.

The reasons for Summerall’s greatness are multi-fold – no single newspaper piece could do justice to all of the things that made the famed broadcaster great.

But any piece about Pat Summerall would be incomplete without mentioning those famous vocals – probably the best in the history of his field.

When Summerall was on a telecast, even a modest sports fan knew it immediately – no one else has ever sounded quite the same as he does.

His vocals were calm and stoic. The famed broadcaster was dry and to the point on the mic, but subtly witty when needed.

He was precisely this: the perfect partner for John Madden and the madness that went with him.

The two were like oil and water. Nothing about the famous commentating duo’s personalities was similar.

Summerall was like Mr. Rogers. Madden was like Mr. Magoo.

Summerall was a former kicker/punter. Madden was a former head coach. Anyone who knows football knows that coaches don’t always see eye-to-eye with special teams performers.

This unlikely pairing didn’t work on paper in so many ways.

But in reality, it was perfection at its finest.

Summerall and Madden were the best commentary team in NFL history. There is no close second place.

Madden was able to be Madden when Summerall was in the booth – a complex mix of both genius and village idiot.

The reason Madden was able to stay “in character” so often was because of the way Summerall played the role of second fiddle.

Instead of fighting Madden’s rambling and trying to make his own mark, Summerall fed into the madness and embraced it.

When smart Madden started to dwarf into goofy Madden, Summerall controlled the tempo of the conversation and either fed it with questions or finished it a witty sarcasm that sort of let Madden know that it was time to shape up and get back to business.

You could just sort of tell that the two guys genuinely liked one another. Their broadcasts were truly a pleasure to watch.

But let’s get away from the tug of rope between Sumerall and Madden for a second and focus more on Summerall himself.

Today’s media figures’ thoughts are often more fluff than substance.

Things are said not to inform, but to grab attention or clicks. The same controversial opinions and topics to discuss are recycled and rehashed over and over again in a telecast.

For example, if the Jets are playing, Tim Tebow will be shown on the sidelines at least 30-35 times during the game.

The lead announcer will feed the hype by driving questions about whether Tebow could be making an impact on the game.

If the Cowboys are playing, Tony Romo’s postseason record will become a point of conversation at some point.

Last year with the Saints, Bounty Gate controlled most of the team’s 16 games.

But with Summerall, a lot of that nonsense just simply wasn’t present.

The guy just called the game.

While a play was in action, he informed the audience who had the ball and where on the field he was approaching.

If the play was over and the ball carrier got a first down, he made it known.

If not, he stated the next down and distance.

In between plays, Madden would analyze what happened in the action via replay – often making a mess of the telestrator.

It wasn’t a hybrid between a football game and sports talk radio.

It wasn’t a cross between a two-minute drill and ESPN’s First Take.

It sounds so simple and easy.

But how many of today’s broadcasters do the same?

I can make the argument there are very few – if any at all.

And the last thing that stands out about Summerall’s greatness was simple: When he was present, you just knew it was a big game.

From the very first words on the opening of the telecast, football fans worldwide immediately knew a game was important – just by hearing Summerall’s voice.

As a Cowboys fan, I was spoiled and got to hear Summerall call dozens and dozens of the most important games of my childhood.

Growing up as a Louisiana child, I also remember times where the Saints were showcased on Fox.

During that time, the Black and Gold had not yet “arrived” as an NFL power.

When Pat and John were around, it was a legitimate feather in the team’s cap.

It made the games so much better.

The NFL will move forward and will continue to be the premier sport in America.

But it will proceed without its voice.

The sports world lost a great one this past week.

There will likely never be another quite as good as Pat Summerall.