@kyary: That story is in the Polygon article on his passing: https://www.polygon.com/22857879/john-madden-obituary-nfl-video-games-ea-sports-sales-legacy
EA founder Trip Hawkins went to Madden with the idea of doing a 7-on-7 football game but Madden was adamant that if he was going to put his name on it then it had to be real 11-on-11 football.
For me, Madden changed the way I watched football. I no longer "ball watch" but actually see plays develop. I can pick out open receivers, I can spot whether the defense is in man or zone before a snap or I can spot which gaps linebackers are assigned to plug. As cliche as it sounds I really believe games like Madden have helped teach a generation of fans how football really works and helped popularize analytics among fans, after all we were already going for it on 4th down everytime at home.
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