Fantasy football is a massively popular subject with a lot of people, Chris Berman just isn’t one of them.
That revelation came from Matthew Berry who mentioned that Berman didn’t see the fit for Berry’s expertise and the ESPN mainstay on NFL programming.
“I think he was reticent when I joined the company,” Berry said of Berman on the podcast House of Strauss hosted by Ethan Sherwood Strauss.
“Not specific to me. But I just think he didn’t feel like fantasy had a place on Sunday NFL Countdown or Monday Night Countdown, on the shows that he was hosting,” Berry would go on to say.
Despite Berman’s hesitance to accept fantasy football on those shows, Berry would say that didn’t alter the two’s relationship and in fact, it’s strong and ongoing today.
“On a personal level, he has been nothing but lovely to me,” Berry said. “I love the man and I would never say a bad thing about him. Really enjoy him, we text to this day because he likes betting. While he personally doesn’t play fantasy – although randomly, he plays fantasy golf…he understands the importance of [fantasy football]. His kids play, he knows that fans care about it. And by the way, in 2007, who am I? Chris Berman built that place, he built NFL Primetime, he build Sunday NFL Countdown, Monday Night Countdown, who am I, some dumb kid, to say what should or should not be on those shows?”
