Going back to January 2nd, 2013, aside from the more than a year of working from home during the pandemic, Brooklyn native Brandon Tierney walked through the glass doors of the WFAN studios in New York City every day to do his show. But while the doors read “WFAN”, Tierney entered the studios to do his national show on CBS Sports Radio. He was home in the New York area after spending some time in San Francisco, but he wasn’t truly home in terms of talking New York sports like he had done at a previous stop on his journey.
But Tierney’s homecoming was completed in January of this year when Audacy brought him and his partner Tiki Barber over from CBS Sports Radio and moved Tiki and Tierney down the hall to be the new 10am to 2pm midday show on WFAN.
“I missed the energy,” admitted Tierney. “You can’t replicate that. There’s no way around it. The beat is stronger. It’s an injection of energy for me. My style is very consistent with who I am off-air. I’m very much a communicator. I’m passionate. I’m loud. I like to debate. Some of those qualities, just by the nature of the genre, were a little suppressed on national radio.”
“BT” enjoyed his time doing national radio as it allowed him to grow as both a talk-show host and also as a broadcaster. Tierney, who is also part of the St. John’s University radio broadcast team, brought his passion and energy to work with him each and every day at CBS Sports Radio but also had an eye on moving down the hall on the 10th floor at 345 Hudson Street.
In Tierney’s mind, getting back to New York radio was inevitable.
“I was able to expand in certain areas and, I think, get better as a broadcaster,” said Tierney of his time on national radio. “But I was always driving in and keeping my ear on the FAN and the other local station and wondering when I would get back into the game…not if…when I would get back into the local game. It seems like the timing is right and it was meant to be.”
Tierney’s first foray into New York sports radio came in April 2003 when he left Sports Radio 1130 “The Fan” in Detroit to come home to work in New York. He began a run at what was then 1050 ESPN Radio (now 98.7 FM ESPN New York) and was there until May of 2011. In addition to his hosting duties at the station, Tierney was also involved in New York Knicks broadcasts hosting pre-game, halftime and post-game while also filling in on play-by-play from time to time.
During Tierney’s run at ESPN Radio, he experienced a spectrum of emotions.
“There were times when it felt like a really small station…not quite the major leagues,” recalled Tierney. “And other times, it absolutely did. I think it was a good window where I can make some mistakes and maybe not feel the heat if I made those same mistakes on WFAN. I could experiment a little bit. What that did for me was it really forced me, trained me and taught me how to really craft a conversation and not just be overly reliant on phone calls because there were some nights when they weren’t there.”
And that is something that is not a problem at his new prime real estate during middays at WFAN. Tierney is “galvanized” to be back on the New York airwaves and has rediscovered a certain “energy” to start the show every day. He only knows one way of hosting a show and that is, as I steal a line from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, to “Just Bring It” each and every day on the air.
To not have that feeling is something that just doesn’t resonate with him.
“I get uncomfortable if I feel like the show doesn’t have an energy, a pop or a sizzle, and maybe sometimes I’ll try to force it and maybe that’s not the best thing,” said Tierney. “I have never been a guy that just rolls in unprepared, opens the mic and just f***s around. I’m not saying every show is an A+ but my motivation is to make it an A+. I never lost that drive nationally, but it’s a renewed vigor being back home.”
While Tierney is finally back “home” in New York radio on WFAN, he’s along for the ride with his longtime partner and former New York Giants running back Tiki Barber. It’s been a partnership that began in 2013 and has grown into a radio team that exhibits a tremendous amount of chemistry. Both Brandon and Tiki bring their own skillset to the table and what makes them unique individually has helped them evolve into a wonderful tag team on the air.
“We have a great relationship,” said Tierney. “What I bring to the table, he needed and I think what he brings to the table, I needed.”
As Tierney and Barber continued to work with each other over the years, they grew stronger as a team because they learned a lot from each other. Brandon was the “radio” guy while Tiki was the “ex-jock” and with those qualities came the evolution of a show where the hosts developed the strong ability to play off each other and to take advantage of their strengths.
“When we first started, Tiki was a little stiff on the air and he needed to learn to be vulnerable,” said Tierney. “He was reluctant to let it fly early on. I think being with me and seeing how I comport myself on the air just having a conversation and understanding that sometimes you’re going to piss people off and sometimes you’re going to be wrong…that’s benefited him.”
And how has Barber helped Tierney?
“What’s benefited me is that I really had to learn to not be the guy that thinks he knows everything on the air,” said Tierney. “Working with somebody that is very different in terms of temperament and just everything about him. I just think we complement each other very well.”
Tierney joined WFAN as part of the country’s first all-sports radio station’s revamped lineup that kicked off back in January. The very successful “Boomer and Gio” morning show was joined by “Tiki and Tierney” middays, “Carton and Roberts” as the new afternoon drive-time show, Keith McPherson at night and Sal Licata overnights.
With new Vice-President of Programming Spike Eskin now in charge, WFAN has entered a new era and Tierney is not only a big part of it but relishes the opportunity in front of him.
“It’s an honor to be in the middle of that change and that new wave of voices because the station has always meant so much to me,” said Tierney. “When you put it partially in the hands of somebody who has always revered WFAN and what it represents and always wanted to be a part of the fabric of WFAN, you know that I’m going to protect it and give it every ounce of energy and everything that I can possibly conjure up to make sure that it not only works but to elevate it from what it was.”
With a storied history that included iconic shows like “Imus in the Morning”, “Mike and the Mad Dog” and Steve Somers, WFAN has now turned the reigns over to the next generation of on-air personalities and while the bar has already been set very high, Tierney figures why just settle for the same success of the past.
“You don’t want it to be as good as it was,” said Tierney. “You want to take it to the next step. As corny as it sounds, that’s what I strive to do every day.”
Brandon Tierney may have returned “home” from San Francisco in 2013, but he is now truly “home” talking New York sports on WFAN and bringing his trademark passion and energy to the audience he missed talking to for many years.
Peter Schwartz writes weekly sports radio features for Barrett Media. He has been involved in New York sports media for over three decades, and has worked for notable brands such as WFAN, CBS Sports Radio, WCBS 880, ESPN New York, and FOX News Radio. Peter has also served as play by play announcer for the New Yok Riptide, New York Dragons, New York Hitmen, Varsity Media and the Long Island Sports Network. You can find him on Twitter @SchwartzSports or email him at DragonsRadio@aol.com.
