Boomer Esiason and Craig Carton have big egos and big desks. For now, comparing desks is in good fun, but it might not be long before Boomer and Carton’s egos clash.
Next Monday is opening day for Carton, as he embarks on his comeback tour with WFAN. Now in afternoon drive, Carton and co-host Evan Roberts are beginning their tenure in good graces with the station’s morning show, but for how long?
The two biggest egos on WFAN are in morning and afternoon drive, Carton and his former co-host Boomer. Both hosts might be rooting for each other, but those egos will undoubtedly find ways of competing.
Monday morning, Esiason said he was envious of Carton’s big desk when he saw it arrive at WFAN last week. The comment was made in jest, but Esiason also ended up getting a bigger desk of his own, bragging about its ability to move up and down.
During Carton’s first hour on WFAN last Thursday, he expressed gratitude for Esiason and reaffirmed the desire to have a good working relationship with his former morning show. But Carton’s always relied on having enemies to fuel his sports radio genius. We’re being naïve if we believe there won’t be a point that Carton goes after Boomer, Gregg Giannotti, and everyone in mornings on WFAN.
All it takes is one show’s desire to drum up some extra interest through controversy, one impression, or one joke to be deemed as crossing the line. Giannotti and former WFAN host Chris Carlin were friends and fans of each other’s, but less than a year after they joined the lineup, Carlin was ready to bop Gio on the nose for a parity song.
Carton has a foe in ESPN New York’s The Michael Kay Show, where he’s already clashed with Peter Rosenberg, who doubles in morning drive for HOT97. Beating the well-oiled machine that is TMKS will be a challenge, and Rosenberg might be enough of an enemy to fuel Carton as he kicks off his new WFAN show next week.
But Carton also noted he would’ve been interested in returning to morning drive on WFAN if the offer was on the table. Instead, building a new show in afternoons not only will Carton be driven to have the highest rated PM show, but he’s also going to want to out-rate what he previously helped build in mornings. Losing to WFAN’s morning show will be an admission that the show is better off without him, something Carton won’t accept.
When he was captaining WFAN’s morning show, Carton regularly clashed with station icon and afternoon host Mike Francesa. That uneasiness between WFAN’s morning and afternoon shows continued even after Carton left. But since Francesa departed, WFAN has lacked ego with its afternoon show. The ego returns Monday, Nov. 9. For now, Boomer and Carton can compare their desks, but it won’t be long before they’re comparing radio success.
Brandon Contes is a former reporter for BSM, now working for Awful Announcing. You can find him on Twitter @BrandonContes or reach him by email at Brandon.Contes@gmail.com.
