Boomer Esiason talks Joe Burrow, Cincinnati's La Boom nightclub memories on Manningcast

Former Bengals great Boomer Esiason was among the guests on ESPN2's Manningcast with Peyton and Eli Manning during Cincinnati's Monday Night Football loss in Cleveland, and his appearance offered somewhat of a trip down memory lane for longtime Greater Cincinnati residents.

Esiason sharing his own Battle of Ohio experiences with the Browns was expected, but his discussion of the La Boom nightclub he co-owned at the Waterfront was a pleasant surprise.

"(La Boom) was a part of the Waterfront. We had a general partner whose name was Jeff Ruby. During the 1987 players' strike, I woke up one morning and picked up the Cincinnati Enquirer. And Jeff Ruby banned the entire team from the Waterfront - the restaurant that (Cris) Collinsworth and I owned. And I remember saying to Cris - I called him up - and said, 'Cris, did Jeff actually ban us as well? Because if he did, I'm taking my money out of the restaurant. But he banned the whole entire team because we got into a couple fights in the bar with I think a movie crew that was shooting 'Fresh Horses.'"

Eli asked Esiason if he thought Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow should open a nightclub in Cincinnati.

"You know what - I would not recommend that to Joe. No," Esiason laughed. "There were a lot of headaches and there were a lot of unpaid bills by teammates."

Esiason, Peyton and Eli all thought the Bengals should've gone for it on 4th down in a scoreless game in Browns' territory late in the first quarter. (The Bengals punted.)

"I think if you have Joe Burrow and you're on their side of the 50 (-yard line), you go for it, man," Esiason said. "That's what you pay the big bucks for these quarterbacks for. You know if I had Peyton or Eli Manning, I'd be going for it. This is what you pay these guys to do. Coach Cowher would love (the punt). I don't like it."

Earlier in the broadcast, Esiason offered praise of Burrow.

"He's a great leader," Esiason told Peyton and Eli. "He's a little goofy, like you two guys are. But he knows the game. He loves the game. And his teammates really do respect him like your teammates respected you guys. That's really the thing that separates him. … He's got the heart and he's got the soul. And remember he was an all-state point guard for his basketball team. And when I found that out about him, I knew he was gonna be perfect for the NFL."

Peyton asked Esiason about the time in 1985 that he pranked a Bengals rookie by putting ex-lax in his candy.

"I would never do that with a kid," Esiason joked. "Only a kid that's a little bit out of his lane if you know what I mean. Maybe a rookie that's a little bit too big for his britches - that needs to be brought down a step or two."

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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Boomer Esiason talks Burrow, La Boom nightclub memories on Manningcast