Mar 9, 2024; Harrison, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants former running back Tiki Barber walks out for the coin flip before the match between the New York Red Bulls and FC Dallas at Red Bull Arena. Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
MLBNFLRadioBy Sam Neumann on

If you’re in the New York market and either tune into WFAN’s afternoon drive or a Mets game on the radio on WCBS 880, you’ve probably heard Tiki Barber talk during commercial breaks. Now, that’s not unheard of given that the former New York Giants running back has become one of New York sports talk radio’s leading voices (and faces).

But it appears that the commercial and product he’s sponsoring have been heard a bit too much. Recently, folks have taken to social media to complain about Barber being a spokesperson for SAXX Underwear—and the overwhelming sentiment seems to be that they’re tired of him talking about his family jewels.

It appears that if you’re tuning into the MLB App to listen to the New York Mets radio broadcast, they cycle through the same three or so commercials, and Barber is one of them. A search showed that the commercial usually plays at least once daily on WFAN’s airwaves, but that doesn’t appear to be the case over at WCBS.

The growing line of thinking here is that this is an MLB streaming thing. So, if you want to listen to Howie Rose, Keith Raad, or Patrick McCarthy call a Mets game on the MLB app, you might have to suffer through Barber talking about his balls.

That was the case with Craig Calcaterra, a longtime baseball writer himself. Calcaterra was at the Mets’ 7-3 win over the Miami Marlins at Citi Field on Friday but elected to tune into the radio broadcast as well. Of course, you’re going to experience a delay, but the great thing about baseball is everyone can have their own unique experience at the ballpark, and for some people, that involves popping in an AirPod(s) and listening to the home team’s radio broadcast.

But as fate would have it, Calcaterra heard a little more than he bargained for.

The Mets hit two home runs on Friday (Jeff McNeil & Brandon Nimmo each went yard), and yet, Calcaterra and others probably heard more about Barber’s balls than they did New York hitting them out of the ballpark.

And that sentiment shared by Calcaterra has been echoed by others in recent days and weeks.

“Hey, guys, I got to admit, early in my career, I had a little bit of a problem — that was trouble holding onto the balls on the gridiron,” the ad reads. “But when it comes to your own, don’t fumble them like I did. Choose SAXX Underwear, with their scientifically engineered ballpark pouch. It secures your jewels, keeping everything chafe-free, and gives your boys the freedom they need. You have complete freedom of movement and effortless comfort all day long.

“I’m Tiki Barber and I approve this message because no one likes a fumble, especially down there.”

Fumbles were an unfortunate part of Barber’s game. He averaged 7.5 fumbles per year from 1999-04. For such a talented player and one of the best running backs in the league, it became a glaring hole in his game. As he got older, the problem was eventually rectified. But now he’s using it in conjunction with promoting a product.

As gracefully pointed out by one of AA’s followers on X (formerly Twitter), this isn’t the first time a WFAN personality has done an advertisement dedicated to a product designed for the nether region. There was, of course, Joe Benigno, who performed a graphic ad read for Manscaped Trimmer while talking about grooming himself with a “monstrosity of a scissor,” noting there was a little blood that required a Band-Aid.

At least Mets fans can take solace in knowing that even if their team fumbles a game or two down the stretch, they won’t be hearing quite as much about it as Tiki Barber’s… fumble woes.

[Awful Announcing]

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.

View all posts by Sam Neumann