LITTLE ROCK — Annoying from the outset of Monday Night Football, announcer Howard Cossell’s close-minded commitment to time of possession as football’s defining statistic exacerbated his pomposity.
A sports radio broadcaster and stat fanatic/friend grew so tired of Cossell’s commentary that he would mute the volume on the telecast and listen to Jack Buck describe the game on radio. More than once on a roundtrip to Fayetteville, Jim Elder and the driver reveled in rehashing games where the winner on the scoreboard was on the short end of time of possession.
Specifics from those trips are long forgotten, but last year’s Arkansas-Auburn game provides a prime example of the vulnerability of someone who is all-in on time of possession.