The memorial service for Pat Summerall was held Saturday during which John Madden, Summerall’s companion in the TV booth for 22 years, said his final goodbye.
“He is the voice of the NFL,” Madden said. “To me, he wasn’t a braggart. To me, he was John Wayne.”
Madden, said he could hear Summerall’s voice, “Brevity, brevity, brevity” in his head, during his speech. The two friends have said goodbye twice before — during their final game together on CBS and during their final game as a broadcast team on Fox after Super Bowl XXXVI.
“This is the third goodbye. The toughest,” Madden struggled to say. “Goodbye, Pat. Rest in peace. I love you.”
Summerall passed away Tuesday at the age of 82. He played 10 years in the NFL and worked a record 16 Super Bowls on television.
