Did You Know One Of John Madden's Favorite Places Was Right Here

Beginning Thursday and carrying throughout the weekend the NFL honored the late John Madden. John Madden passed away on December 28, 2021, and the NFL chose Thanksgiving to honor him because he was a big part of so many Thanksgivings for so many people. His turducken will never be forgotten. Hearing all about John Madden reminded me of the story about John Madden making an annual stop right here in West Texas.

When you hear the name John Madden, some think legendary football coach, some think legendary broadcaster and some think about the football video game. No matter what you think of John Madden, he was a legend. John Madden left his mark on football like no other. There will never be a voice more recognizable than John Madden's. Kids these days only know about the football video games that come out each year that they can't wait to get.

Who knew one of this NFL's legends' favorite places was tucked away in West Texas? It is a little Tex-Mex restaurant named Chuy's, not to be confused with the Austin-based chain, but a restaurant named after, Jesus "Chuy' Uranga. He had his very own table and his very own chair.

<a href="https://www.yourbasin.com/sports/the-van-horn-restaurant-john-madden-turned-into-a-national-favorite/">Your Basin</a> recently did a story on the history of John Madden's love for Chuy's and it's owner:
<blockquote>“It’s a staple to the community,” Chuy’s son and current owner, Paul Uranga, said. “A lot of people that are there still or no longer there or grew up there, a lot of those people worked there and it was the first job they got.”
<div class="s2nFriendlyFrame k k-54enFF2o" data-type="float">Uranga could’ve never predicted that one Monday night in 1987, the famous “Madden Cruiser” a tour bus used by former Super Bowl-winning head coach turned CBS broadcaster John Madden to travel the country to combat his fear of flying, would pull up in his parking lot.</div>
Desperate to watch Monday Night Football, Madden had just faced what he would consider a major issue…he lost reception.

“This was before satellite tv and so he told his bus driver ‘there are some lights up there, let’s find someplace with a tv.’ he told his bus driver to pull over and say ‘hey, there’s a place that says tv room,'” Paul Uranga said.

Chuy himself couldn’t quite believe it.

“My dad said he couldn’t believe it and was saying ‘is that who I think it is?’ and my dad said ‘are you John Madden?’ and the guy said ‘yes, I am.'”

Madden loved the food and the atmosphere, and when his dad asked him to pick up a newspaper in El Paso where the story would be, Paul Uranga couldn’t believe it either.
“I drive up and it’s up there in the front of the El Paso times and it’s on the front page in the headlines and I was like ‘oh my gosh, I didn’t think it would be up at the front!”

After 1987, Madden would visit Chuy’s at least once, more likely twice a year, so Jesus had to make him feel at home, giving him his own table and a chair with his name on it.
“He would sit down and somebody would come to talk to him and he would say ‘come pull up a seat, let’s talk.'”

Madden let his friends know about Chuy’s too and soon after the likes of Tom Hanks, Selena, and Johnny Cash among countless other celebrities made their way to Van Horn.

Madden made Chuy’s an annual stop every year for the next two decades and the employees began to figure out for themselves when he would stop by.
“We’d kind of figure it out because we’d say ‘if he’s broadcasting in Dallas and then his next game was going to be in Phoenix, we’d see that the game was at 3:00 or whatever and with him driving, he’ll be here at a certain time.”

The legendary coach never forgot about the place or the family…as was evident after Jesus died in a car crash in 2010…and Madden called Uranga’s widow to give his condolences.

Just as the family embraced Madden, he embraced them right back.
“To me, that means that he held us like family, and he cared.” <a href="https://www.yourbasin.com/sports/the-van-horn-restaurant-john-madden-turned-into-a-national-favorite/">Your Basin Nexstar Media</a></blockquote>
 

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Source: Did You Know One Of John Madden’s Favorite Places Was Right Here In West Texas?

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