Podcast
Phantom Island
Hosted by Steven Godfrey & Ryan Nanni · EN
Every week, Steven Godfrey and Ryan Nanni walk you (and one another) through a question from the sports world. While they don't promise any conclusive answers, you'll get an interesting and thoughtful look at topics from a variety of perspectives. This feed is also home to Steven and Ryan's other work, including The Single Wing, where Godfrey answers listener questions, We're Not All Like This, Ryan's interview series profiling different sports fanbases, and more. Find out more at https://www.falconscottproductions.com/
48episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
How should we judge Auburn basketball's first year post Bruce Pearl?
2d ago01:10:45Tap to summarizeJustin Ferguson of The Auburn Observer joins Ryan Nanni to discuss an incredibly tumultous year for Auburn's men's basketball team that ended with a championship victory in the NIT. What did the national perspective miss about Steven Pearl getting his dad's old job? How did a seemingly fine Auburn season fall to pieces? Will Bruce Pearl, Talking Head be good, bad, or both for the Tigers? And why does Ryan think the football calendar impacted how this basketball season was perceived? Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.
Transcribe →What's fact and fiction about the 1970 USC-Alabama game and SEC integration?
3d ago00:48:56Tap to summarizeOn this bonus episode, Steven Godfrey and Ryan Nanni examine Bear Bryant's 1970 loss to Sam Cunningham and an integrated USC team, a game mythologized as a watershed moment in the racial politics of college football in the South. Was this truly an unprecedented loss for Alabama? What efforts at integrating had Bryant and the Crimson Tide attempted before this? And did this game overshadow other trailblazers in the conference? Plus: find out about the next longform series we're making! Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.
Transcribe →RE-RELEASE: How to write a coach profile (and how to quit doing them)
4d ago02:00:33Tap to summarizeRyan Nanni sits down with Steven Godfrey to review a classic of offseason sportswriting: the coach profile. Examining the work Godfrey did interviewing coaches from James Franklin to Tom Herman to Geoff Collins, this episode explores how these pieces come together, what agendas they serve for both sides, whether you can get actual journalism from these stories, and why Godfrey eventually decided to abandon the format. Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.
Transcribe →PI Book Club: American Men by Jordan Ritter Conn
1w ago01:10:47Tap to summarizeSteven Godfrey accidentally starts a book club on Phantom Island, and entry one is American Men by Jordan Ritter Conn. Steven and Jordan discuss the economics that pop up across the four stories that make up the book, the role sports play in this examination of modern masculinity, and the closeness Jordan achieves in bringing readers to the four men of his book. Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.
Transcribe →Why is half of American pro soccer flipping its calendar?
1w ago00:54:33Tap to summarizeSusannah Fuller, host of the Kickback Committee, joins Ryan Nanni to discuss Major League Soccer's motivation to align its schedule with the rest of the world in the men's game, why the National Women's Soccer League came to the opposite conclusion, and what the shift (and non-shift) will mean for both leagues. Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.
Transcribe →RE-RELEASE: We're Not All Like This - The Seattle Seahawks
2w ago01:03:33Tap to summarizeThe Pete Carroll Seahawks gave their fans and the football world a seemingly endless supply of spectacle. More than a decade since their Super Bowl triumph over the Broncos and subsequent Super Bowl agony on the goal line against the Patriots, how do Seattle fans feel about the past, present, and future of their team? We talked to Mina Kimes, Jacson Bevens, and Natalie Weiner (before Seattle won another title) about the highs, lows, and in-betweens of rooting for the Seahawks. Presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.
Transcribe →The Single Wing: Lane's Future and CFB's Past (PREVIEW)
2w ago00:03:33Tap to summarizeOn this edition of the Single Wing, Steven Godfrey answers subscriber questions about alternative Nick Saban timelines, nostalgia for College GameDay, the Fuente and Pry eras at Virginia Tech, and how the new Pac-12 will sit in the eyes of the Playoff Committee. Oh, he also has some thoughts on That Lane Kiffin Profile.This is a preview of the full episode, which is available to paid subscribers – go to phantomisland.show to sign up today. Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.
Transcribe →What's really happening between private investors and college sports?
2w ago01:05:58Tap to summarizeRyan Nanni is joined by Sports Business Journal's Ben Portnoy to discuss how we can make sense of the steady trickle of news linking universities and conferences to private capital/equity, why investors think college sports are a good place to park millions of dollars, what schools actually plan to do with new capital, and whether this will close financial gaps between programs or widen them. Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.
Transcribe →RE-RELEASE: A (mostly) Jordon Hudson-less Assessment of UNC
3w ago01:25:40Tap to summarizeFormer UNC football player and current TarHeel247 analyst Michael Felder joins Ryan Nanni to discuss the football failures of Bill Belichick's first year in Chapel Hill. Where did the defense find improvement over the course of the season? Was the offensive failure an issue of identity or execution? What's the case for optimism in year two? And what does Felder think is the root problem that will determine whether this team ever works under Belichick? Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.
Transcribe →Let's Fix Week Two of the CFB Schedule (PREVIEW)
3w ago00:09:28Tap to summarizeIt's early May, which means it's the perfect time for Steven Godfrey and Ryan Nanni to sit down and scheme up a plan to build a Week 2 in college football that helps address realignment fatigue, geographic rivalries, and NFL creep. And we'll only need the cooperation of Oklahoma, Air Force, USC, Missouri, Miami, Baylor, Cal, Notre Dame, Maryland, Nebraska, Virginia Tech, and a few dozen others to make it real. No sweat! This is a preview of the full episode, which is available to paid subscribers – go to phantomisland.show to sign up today. Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.
Transcribe →