Ex Jets Quarterback Boomer Esiason, CBS Crew Confronted With Taylor Swift Conspiracy
Outrage over Taylor Swift, an abundance of alcohol and a stinging loss in the AFC Championship Game left former New York Jets' quarterback Boomer Esiason almost fighting his way back home last weekend.
Esiason, who played for the Jets from 1993-95, was traveling back to New York from Baltimore, where he and his CBS NFL Today studio crew had broadcast the Kansas City Chiefs' victory over the Baltimore Ravens.
Next thing you know, according to Esiason, he and co-hosts Bill Cowher and Nate Burleson had to deal with an angry Ravens fan at the Baltimore Amtrak station. The fan was apparently drunk, and angry that the NFL was "rigged" to have the Chiefs in the Super Bowl because of the popularity of Travis Kelce's girlfriend, Taylor Swift.
Esiason suspected the fan — a “douchebag” — was drunk and he was trying to ignore him and watch the NFC Championship Game between the Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers on his iPad. Cowher, however, engaged the fan and a lengthy argument ensued with the fan eventually on the verge of a physical confrontation.
“Coach is awesome," Esiason said on the WFAN Wednesday morning show. "Because he’ll defend the NFL, like ‘I don’t want to hear crap from some drunk-ass fan who just lost a bet.’ He will die with that shield.”
As the episode continued to escalate, Esiason and Burleson quickly went to Cowher's defense.
“If he gets any closer I may have to get up and f’in smash this guy in the face," Esiason said. "I am like pissed off now. I am trying to watch the game and this idiot is screaming about how the NFL is rigged and it’s this, that and the other thing.
"Nate is ready to come out of his suit and rip this guy’s face off ... He was right in the middle all of it.”
Esiason said the group ultimately was able to calm the fan down before any punches were thrown or shoves exchanged.
The crew next week will head to Las Vegas for CBS' coverage of Super Bowl LVIII.
