A reserve safety for Michigan used to text his grandfather throughout the week and before or after every game.
No big deal.
Except that safety was Jesse Madden and his grandfather was the iconic John Madden, Super Bowl-winning coach, a pitchman who starred in as many commercials as Peyton Manning, and the name and face of a video-game empire.
“My teammates and I were just playing Madden when you called,” Jesse, a redshirt junior for the Wolverines told a reporter a couple days before Monday’s Rose Bowl game against Alabama. “For me, it’s not crazy because it’s all I’ve known my whole life.”
Although he’s still waiting to log playing time at safety — “No excuses, just need more hard work,” he said — Madden did log some snaps at quarterback as a freshman against Northern Illinois. John Madden was able to watch that broadcast, three months before his death on Dec. 28, 2021.
“The fact that he got to see me play was really special,” said Jesse, 20, who switched to safety in his second season because it afforded him more opportunity to play.
Madden, a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, was named the team’s defensive scout team player of the year in 2022.
He said the most vivid memories he will take from this Rose Bowl experience were a practice session at SoFi Stadium and stepping onto that hallowed field in Pasadena where his grandfather led the Oakland Raiders to victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI.
“I got a shot of me wearing a Super Bowl XI T-shirt at the Rose Bowl,” he said. “So cool how it has come full circle.”
At the game with his twin sons was Larry Paul, minority owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was just back from Seattle, where he watched his team upset the Seahawks. Not only did that keep Pittsburgh alive in the postseason hunt, but allowed the Rams to clinch a playoff berth.
Paul, whose family owns the largest share of the Steelers this side of principal owner Art Rooney II, lives in Los Angeles and was happy to help the Rams, who earlier Sunday edged the New York Giants.
“Having been out here for 25 years, I’ve become very good friends with Kevin and Les,” Paul said, referring to Rams chief operating officer Kevin Demoff and general manager Les Snead. “My view is if I can help them and help us all at the same time, I’m delighted to do it.”
As for the Steelers, they need to beat Baltimore next Sunday — a game that means very little to the Ravens — and get a Buffalo loss to Miami or Jacksonville loss to Tennessee.
“Hopefully, we can position ourselves to be able to play in Week 19,” Paul said. “Maybe karma will come back around.”
Rich Eisen wore his heart on his sleeve Monday. And various other items of clothing worn by his family members.
The ubiquitous sportscaster and NFL host is a Michigan graduate and brought his family to the game. Not surprisingly, everyone was in Wolverine gear. That includes his wife, sports commentator Suzy Shuster, who was wearing a T-shirt Eisen bought in the university bookstore in his freshman year when current coach Jim Harbaugh was the quarterback.
“This is amazing, man,” Eisen said. “I covered the Rose Bowl in that press box during my senior year in college. It was Bo Schembechler’s last game, against USC, in 1990. Seeing these mountains and how they light up different colors as the sun sets, the flyover, this is America’s stadium in the heart of Southern California, the home of college football.
“The fact that my school is here, in this facility, on this day, with my family, is really emotional for me.”
Alabama’s first national title in football came at the Rose Bowl in 1926, with a 20-19 victory over Washington. It was the first time that a Southern school participated in the game, and the New Year’s Day classic was referred to by some as “The Game That Changed The South.”
So impactful was that Crimson Tide memory that the Rose Bowl is mentioned in the school’s fight song: “Fight on, fight on, fight on men! Remember the Rose Bowl, we’ll win then.”
Top-seeded Michigan defeats Alabama 27-20 in overtime at the Rose Bowl to punch its ticket to the College Football Playoff national championship game.
Art Spander was determined to get to this Rose Bowl, his 70th in a row — not counting the year the game was moved to Texas because of the coronavirus pandemic.
As a kid growing up in Los Angeles, he sold programs at the game. He later worked as an usher in the press box, ran statistics, then began covering the game as a student at UCLA. In recent years, he has covered the game for his blog, ArtSpander.com.
“It’s really tough now,” said the beloved Spander, 85. “My one good eye has 15%, 20% vision, and I don’t walk very well. Ben Hogan said, `Don’t get old,’ and I missed that advice.”
Still, he was determined to keep his streak going.
“Back when I started selling programs in 1954, this was the only game in Southern California,” he said.
“But the Rose Bowl was magic.”
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