Craig Carton Explains His Epic Beef with Bobby Flay

**Craig Carton** (0:01)
And by the way, Wayne's not a PNC, just for those of you that are going to get tickets. It's Little John and Pitbull.

**Chris McMonigle** (0:07)
That's different.

**Craig Carton** (0:08)
Wayne's at Joe's Beach later in September. That's right. Quick question for you. Yeah?
You were a big fantasy football player back in the day? Like pre-kids, even when you guys had your two beautiful sons?

**Chris McMonigle** (0:21)
I'm a big fantasy football player right now.

**Craig Carton** (0:23)
But yes, always. So here's what I want to get to. I'm wondering.

**Chris McMonigle** (0:25)
By the way, I'm waiting for my championship trophy from my friends in my friend league. We have a trophy.

**Craig Carton** (0:31)
Yeah, you haven't got it yet?

**Chris McMonigle** (0:32)
Last year still hasn't been shipped to me. I just wanted to make that public.

**Craig Carton** (0:36)
Okay.

**Chris McMonigle** (0:36)
I'm very upset about it.

**Craig Carton** (0:37)
You want to throw any names out there or no?

**Chris McMonigle** (0:39)
Yeah, no, Nella.

**Craig Carton** (0:40)
Nello.

**Chris McMonigle** (0:40)
Nella.

**Craig Carton** (0:41)
Nella.

**Chris McMonigle** (0:42)
Nella owes me a trophy. He has not shipped it. And we also have a trophy of testicles for the loser.

**Craig Carton** (0:47)
Great. Nice.

**Chris McMonigle** (0:49)
Look at that.

**Craig Carton** (0:49)
Okay. I didn't need to know that, but I appreciate you sharing that.

**Chris McMonigle** (0:52)
There you go.

**Craig Carton** (0:53)
It's not why I brought it up.

**Chris McMonigle** (0:54)
No, but I thought...
Just to give you the level of... You know how you play golf with no ball?

**Craig Carton** (0:59)
Yes. Imaginary golf, yeah.

**Chris McMonigle** (1:01)
We have trophies for the winner and the loser. With balls. And you have to put it on your mantel in your house.

**Craig Carton** (1:06)
Love it. That's a great thing. Honey, your friends come over, like your mom comes over. What's with the testicle trophy? Well, I got the biggest balls in town. Mom, everyone.
Here's why I asked the question. Okay, please. I'm gonna do a quick little survey of you guys, because I can be dead wrong on this. I'm getting the sense that the current, the new generation of football fans, meaning like kids 18 and up, all right, that are now like, die are fans, or they go to college, or they can drink, watch whatever it is, right? I'm getting the sense that because gambling is now legal and so prevalent, that fantasy football, maybe not an afterthought, but does not have the same level of popularity as it did, let's say, 10 years ago. Like, because I have this room in my house, and I say it on the show a million times, as you know, nobody cares about your fantasy team. I don't hear you have, I don't care who you have, right?
But I find that fewer people are sharing it, not because I said I don't care about it, because they're all gambling now.

**Chris McMonigle** (2:09)
Yeah, I think you're on to something. I disagree with you.

**Craig Carton** (2:12)
I think legalized gambling, I don't know, fantasy football has a gambling component to it, obviously.

**Chris McMonigle** (2:17)
Sure, of course.

**Craig Carton** (2:17)
Everybody puts money up, you can lose money, win money, et cetera.
But I'm getting the sense that kids who are, let's say, 18 to 25, they don't view fantasy football the way we did. Is that a fair statement to make?

**Chris McMonigle** (2:31)
I think it's totally fair. I think it's even impacted even my level. Like, the ability to just make a prop bet on my phone, on my couch. Like, if I believe in a player is going to have a big week, or I like a player, I can just bet all of his long-term projections. I don't have to do fantasy.
I honestly think that it has hurt. The ability to just have it on your phone, at your couch, at any moment, to do anything, I think has impacted the level of fantasy football intensity.

**Craig Carton** (2:57)
Because the reason I brought it up, I heard the commercial we just played, Matthew Berry has a podcast, I guess, with Odyssey now, which is great, right? And he was one of the foremost experts on how to draft and all that nonsense. I say to myself, you know, I used to see on TV all the time, like, you know, draft shows and draft magazines, and it was always about, oh, the draft, the draft, the draft. And I'm like, it's just about gambling now. Yeah. Right? Like even you said, like, if you were going to pick, you know, Malik Neighbors to be your starting wide receiver, but now you could just put 50 bucks on his over every week, who cares if your team won a fantasy game?