Norman Julius "Boomer" Esiason is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League for 14 seasons, primarily with the Cincinnati Bengals.
38 Facts About Boomer Esiason
2.
Boomer Esiason was selected in the second round of the 1984 NFL Draft by the Bengals, where he spent 10 non-consecutive seasons.
3.
Since retiring from football, Boomer Esiason has worked as a football analyst for CBS Sports on The NFL Today and Showtime's Inside the NFL and was previously with ABC, HBO, and Westwood One.
4.
Boomer Esiason was born and raised in East Islip, New York.
5.
Boomer Esiason got the "Boomer" nickname before he was born.
6.
Boomer Esiason's father was of Norwegian and Swedish descent; grandmother Nora Ingrid Gulbrandsen was born in Norway and his grandfather Fritz Henning Esiason was born in Sweden.
7.
Boomer Esiason attended Timber Point Elementary and East Islip High School, where he graduated in 1979.
8.
Boomer Esiason played college football at the University of Maryland for head coaches Jerry Claiborne and Bobby Ross and offensive coordinator Ralph Friedgen.
9.
Boomer Esiason completed 461 of 850 passes for 6,169 yards and 42 touchdowns with 27 interceptions.
10.
Boomer Esiason was a two-time honorable mention All-American in 1982 and 1983.
11.
Boomer Esiason got his first pro start on October 7,1984, in Cincinnati in a game against the Houston Oilers.
12.
Boomer Esiason became particularly adept at running the difficult "no huddle" offense devised by Bengals head coach Sam Wyche.
13.
Boomer Esiason set the team single season passing record of 3,959 yards in this game.
14.
Boomer Esiason finished the season as the NFL's top rated passer.
15.
Boomer Esiason, who had worked with Jets head coach Bruce Coslet in Cincinnati, was traded to the Jets for a third round pick in 1993, subsequently guiding their offense until the end of 1995 under three different head coaches: Coslet, Pete Carroll, and Rich Kotite.
16.
Boomer Esiason is thought to have been the first NFL player to enter a concussion study during the season.
17.
Boomer Esiason contemplated retirement in the off-season, but was talked into playing one more season with the Bengals.
18.
Boomer Esiason was surprisingly effective after replacing Jeff Blake midway through the 1997 season, throwing for 13 touchdowns with only two interceptions and garnering a passer rating of over 106 for the season.
19.
The Bengals wanted Boomer Esiason to come back for two more years.
20.
Boomer Esiason's last play was a 79-yard touchdown play-action pass to wide receiver Darnay Scott.
21.
Boomer Esiason was named to four Pro Bowl games and holds several NFL career records for left-handed quarterbacks, including most touchdown passes, passing yards, and completions.
22.
Boomer Esiason led the AFC in passing in both 1988 and 1989.
23.
Boomer Esiason was inducted into the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame in the Football Category with the Class of 1990.
24.
Boomer Esiason has appeared in over 25 commercials including ones for Diet Coke, Wheaties, Reebok, Samsung, Hanes, Doritos and Domino's Pizza.
25.
Boomer Esiason has appeared in many TV shows and movies, such as The Game Plan, Miss America 1999, Spin City, and Blue Bloods among others.
26.
Boomer Esiason made two appearances on the game show Family Feud.
27.
Boomer Esiason authored a children's reader in 1995 titled A Boy Named Boomer and co-wrote a 1998 novel titled Toss.
28.
Boomer Esiason co-hosted the Miss America Pageant with Meredith Vieira on September 19,1998, and co-hosted with Julie Chen the CBS broadcast of the 2002 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
29.
Boomer Esiason has co-hosted Super Bowl's Greatest Commercials from 2012 to 2023.
30.
Boomer Esiason made a cameo appearance as himself on the October 3,2014, episode of Blue Bloods.
31.
Boomer Esiason has provided analysis and commentary for all the Kitten Bowls since Kitten Bowl II, which airs during half time of the Super Bowl.
32.
Boomer Esiason was a color commentator for ABC's Monday Night Football from 1998 to 1999.
33.
Boomer Esiason is an avid ice hockey fan, and a die-hard supporter of the New York Rangers.
34.
Boomer Esiason is a fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks.
35.
Boomer Esiason plays in the annual Mikey Strong Charity Hockey game with NHL alumni.
36.
The Boomer Esiason Foundation was formed soon after Gunnar's diagnosis to fund research to find a cure for cystic fibrosis.
37.
In 1996, Boomer Esiason formed a partnership with Cantor Fitzgerald and Howard Lutnick as the foundation offices were moved to the North Tower of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan on the 101st floor, which was destroyed in 2001 in the September 11 attacks.
38.
All five full-time employees survived, as none were in the building at the time, but "Boomer Esiason figured he knew over 100 people personally" who were killed in the attack, including his best friend Tim O'Brien who was a partner at Cantor.