This New York Jets season is already driving WFAN in New York City to lunacy. On Tuesday, host Boomer Esiason explained how the friction between Tiki Barber and the legendary Joe Benigno from earlier in the week is really just sports talk radio in a nutshell.
“I was thinking that Tiki, who’s so reserved, I wanted to send him a text this morning like, ‘Welcome to afternoon drive and just the complete idiocy of fandom,'” Esiason said.
The incident arose when Benigno, who retired from the WFAN afternoon show three years ago, joined Evan & Tiki on Monday to talk Jets. Benigno was at peak animosity toward his woebegone NFL franchise and turned that frustration back on Barber, a former New York Giants running back. Barber ultimately walked out of the studio to “calm (himself) down with some Dunkin’.”
It is admittedly a hilarious scene, as Esiason’s cohost Gregg Gianotti explained.
“Joe, who I believe just turned 70, is wearing a Jets sweatshirt, a Jets hat, he’s got a Joe Namath jersey thumbtacked to the wall behind him, and he is screaming at Tiki’s credibility breaking down Zach Wilson,” Gianotti said. “And here’s Tiki … and he’s gotta deal with this wacko on Zoom.”
“Welcome to talk radio,” Esiason laughed.
Barber replaced Craig Carton in the afternoon slot at WFAN in July. His previous TV work includes time on The Today Show, Fox & Friends, Morning Joe, NBC’s Olympics coverage, and more. He’s been calling NFL on CBS games for a few years as well, including in a regular role with Andrew Catalon and Matt Ryan this season. He is an accomplished athlete and a businessman.
Esiason is right. Truly, Barber ending up on that Zoom call with a diehard like Benigno is peak sports radio.
