Science Takes On NFL Announcers: Who Talks Most Often? Does It Matter?

The Wall Street Journal unveiled a study today that looked at the NFL’s announcing teams and measured which ones talked the most. Specifically, which ones led the league in words-per-minute, data they compiled by measuring the first 15 minutes of Week 1 NFL games.
But before we get into the winners and losers, let’s clarify. It’s not important who actually talks the most; it’s all about who we think talks the most. Like, Joe Buck and Cris Collinsworth finished at the bottom of the list, but does that make it less annoying to listen to them?

I say no.

The full list is after the jump.

All stats courtesy of the Wall Street Journal:

And again, it’s an important distinction to note--the frequency of speech is sort of irrelevant. It’s not that we have a problem with announcers talking a lot. But it’s a problem when it feels like they’re talking a lot. And someone like Cris Collinsworth may have finished at the bottom of the list, but when he treats every play as another opportunity to flaunt his fluency, or relate some anecdote from production meetings, it starts to feel like he’s talking a lot. Or maybe like, “HE JUST... WON’T... SHUT. UP. ”

The same goes for Joe Buck. Or Tony Siragusa, who interjects sporadically from the sidelines, but seems almost inescapable by the second quarter. Not because he’s talking all the time, but because when he does, it tends to be completely insufferable babbling.

On the other hand, Kevin Harlan tops the list, and he’s generally delightful.

So what did the Wall Street Journal teach us today? What most of us have known all along--NFL announcers are no different than you or me watching the game. And in either case, it’s not really about how often you speak, but what you say when you do.