Which sportscaster helped popularize nachos after a 1978 Monday Night Football game?

Howard Cosell helped popularize nachos after a 1978 Monday Night Football game. During the broadcast, Cosell received a plate of nachos and took an interest in the unfamiliar-sounding name, mentioning it repeatedly on air and in subsequent broadcasts.

The moment mattered because nachos were still strongly associated with Texas and the U.S. Southwest. The dish had been created in 1943 by Ignacio “Nacho” Anaya in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, just across the border from Eagle Pass, Texas. By 1978, ballpark versions had begun reaching much larger American audiences.

Cosell did not invent nachos, despite a common misunderstanding. He was a prominent ABC sportscaster and a central voice of Monday Night Football, so his repeated references helped expose the snack to viewers nationwide. The game connected with this story was the September 4, 1978 meeting between the Baltimore Colts and Dallas Cowboys.