Tom Jackson to John Madden: ‘Take that, Fat Man!’

I’m just finishing up John Madden’s book One knee equals two feet and I came across a story that was pretty humorous. Keep in mind this book was written in 1986 so the story is much funnier now that both became big time analysts. Madden was talking about certain opponents when he got to this part regarding All-Pro linebacker Tom Jackson of the Broncos:

“Tommy Jackson of the Broncos wasn’t very big, but he was a quick linebacker before there were quick linebackers. And he was the wildest linebacker I’ve ever seen. You never knew where he was going to turn up. He was tough, but not disciplined, which made him that much harder to figure out. Against a disciplined linebacker, you knew that if you did this, he would do that. But with Jackson, you had no idea. One time he might run in there, the next time he’d run out there. And for some reason he didn’t like me.

“Take that, fat man,” he would yell.

He was the only player who ever yelled at me like that. Of course, he usually yelled when the Broncos were winning, especially when they were winning in Denver.

In Oakland, he never yelled much.”

I’d love to ask Tom Jackson about that story now to see what he says. Who knows if it was just an intra-divisional competition thing or a personal thing. I’m guessing it’s the former considering division rivalries still exist and I’m also figuring Madden is including the PG version of the story. By the way, if you really miss Madden’s analysis since he’s retired, One Knee Equals Two Feet is a fun read. Despite being almost 25-years-old, it’s not out-dated but rather a good history lesson (or refresher if you enjoyed that era of football).