MADDEN REMAINS A RAIDER.

Byline: TOM HOFFARTH Media

There's that scene from NFL Films that pops up once in awhile on ESPN Classic, the one with John Madden carried off the field by his players at the Rose Bowl moments after his Oakland Raiders toppled the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI in 1977.

``I remember them carrying me off,'' Madden told a media horde Tuesday at an ABC-sponsored gathering at Qualcomm Stadium. ``And I remember them dropping me.''

Just like that - BOOM!

He still calls it the greatest moment of his life. The youngest coach in the NFL at the time - age 40, a year older than Jon Gruden is today - had reached the top of his game. Or were there more mountains for Madden to climb?

When he retired as the Raiders coach three seasons later - he had a 103-32-7 record for an NFL all-time best .750 winning percentage and seven AFC West division titles in a 10-year span - Madden took a year off before catching a bus into the wacky business of broadcasting, where he hasn't left after 22 seasons spent at three networks.

Along came the video games. And five books - even a cookbook. And countless spots as a company pitchman.

Who knows what to call him today? He does.

``You are what you are. ... I mean, I'm a Raider,'' said Madden, hired as a linebackers coach out of San Diego State in 1967 and promoted to head coach two years later at age 33 when the team was in the American Football League. ``Certain groups know me as an ex-coach, kids know me for `Madden 2003,' a lot of people know me from TV. But if it wasn't for Al Davis and the Raiders, who knows where the hell I'd be.

``The Raiders are my history. My life. My foundation.''

He was reminded of that fact two weeks ago during the Raiders' home playoff game against the New York Jets. He walked onto the Oakland Coliseum field before the contest, the same sidelines he roamed for years, and a rush of memories came back to him. Good thing he wasn't broadcasting that day or he might have sounded a bit biased.

Not to worry that his opinions about the franchise and his relationship with Davis are foremost on his mind when he goes to work Sunday.

It's Madden's second consecutive Super Bowl broadcast - he did it last year with Pat Summerall at Fox before jumping to ``Monday Night Football'' - and his eighth overall. He and Summerall were in the booth for CBS the last time the Raiders won the Super Bowl, in 1984.

``I just love the National Football League and broadcasting it,'' the 66-year-old said. ``Everyone says it doesn't get any better than this. And it truly doesn't.''

--No story here: Al Michaels acted incredulous when a swarm of writers tried to pin him down the other day about his supposedly deep-rooted anti-Raiders feelings and how he'll manage to keep them in check on his play-by-play call of Sunday's game.

Much of that perception comes from an interview Michaels did with Marcus Allen more than 10 years ago - in December 1992 - that aired at halftime of a ``Monday Night Football'' game when the Raiders were in Miami. Allen, who'd been benched most of that and the previous season, told Michaels he felt Davis was trying to ruin his career and his value heading into free agency.

Michaels followed that up with a commentary basically siding with Allen.

``It was years ago, it got a lot of attention, and like you guys, I was looking for a scoop,'' Michaels said Tuesday. ``We got the scoop, it was a good interview, they took offense. I've done a lot of their games since.

``To me, it's ancient history.''

Yet, the Raiders never forgot. Even years after that, following a game in 1997 when Michaels challenged the Raiders' ``Commitment to Excellence'' motto, the team issued a strange press release challenging Michaels' credibility.

Michaels, the play-by-play man for ``Monday Night Football'' since 1986 and a four-time Emmy Award winner for his sports coverage, tried to settle reporters down before they exhausted themselves chasing their own tails.

``You have very good relationships with people and you have other types of relationships, and I've never let that affect me one iota when it comes to going on the air and never will,'' Michaels insisted.

``You do anything on `Monday Night Football,' and it develops a life of its own. For all I know, I'm treated (by the team) exactly like every other announcer.''

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

When John Madden, left, led the Oakland Raiders to a Super Bowl victory in 1977, he was the youngest coach in the NFL. The ABC broadcaster remains grateful to owner Al Davis, right.

Associated Press

Box:

SOUND BYTES

By Tom Hoffarth