Absolutely, I thought Howard was very entertaining and a great foil for the other two, the perfect antidote to the expected ex-jock and formulaic play-by-play guy. MNF was a radical idea in sports programming and that broadcast team was virtually perfect for it.
One MNF, Cosell was going on about the lackluster performances on the field that night. “Rather like some of the lackluster performances turned in by your two respective teams, Frank & Don!” was Cosell’s final comment.
To which Dandy Don replied, “Well Howard, at least Frank & I HAVE respective teams.”
Cosell did not say a word for 20 minutes!
I found Howard’s pedantic diatribes nauseating. Gifford said that NO ONE liked Cosell. Despite this, Gifford was the better man and visited Howard daily at his bedside as Howard neared his demise.