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/
69episodes
Episodes
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Let's Fix Week Two of the CFB Schedule (PREVIEW)
May 800:09:28Tap 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 →Why are sports teams becoming landlords?
May 601:03:27Tap to summarizeSteven Godfrey is joined by Lindsay Crosby, host of Braves Today, to discuss The Battery, the mixed-use development that opened in 2017 with retail, office space, and residences that functions as one little mini economy all benefiting the fortunes of the Atlanta Braves. What did people think of The Battery when it was announced? Why do so many other teams want their own version? And could Cobb County children one day go to Braves Elementary before growing up to buy houses from Braves Homebuilders? Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.
Transcribe →RE-RELEASE: The Sports and Politics Venn Diagram
May 401:17:42Tap to summarizeA Phantom Island subscriber asks Ryan Nanni and Steven Godfrey whether labor discussions in sports will change the way we think about the topic in the broader world, and that prompts a much longer conversation between the two about media work as advocacy, sports as an escape from the burdens of politics, and, yes, the Josh Pate interview of Trump. Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.
Transcribe →The Single Wing: On Bias and Braves Hats (PREVIEW)
May 100:06:05Tap to summarizeSteven Godfrey returns to take questions from Phantom Island listeners on a variety of subjects, including the Brendan Sorsby gambling saga, flag football's emergence as a college sport, the reasonable outlook for Rich Rodriguez in his second year back in Morgantown, and a partial review of Godfrey's collection of Atlanta Braves hats.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 →Will Connecticut ever keep a pro sports franchise?
Apr 2901:06:18Tap to summarizeRodger Sherman, writer of Sports!, joins Ryan Nanni to discuss the sale and impending move of the Connecticut Sun to Houston, which will end nearly a quarter century of WNBA play in the Nutmeg State. How does the Sun move evoke painful memories of Hartford losing the Whalers? Statistically, where does Connecticut fall amongst other cities and states in the pro sports pecking order? And is the absence of prominent pro sports good or bad for UConn? Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.
Transcribe →How to write a coach profile (and how to quit doing them) (PREVIEW)
Apr 2400:15:28Tap 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.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 →Can a pro wrestler succeed without WWE?
Apr 2200:46:40Tap to summarizeSteven Godfrey is joined by Hector Diaz to discuss recent WWE Hall of Fame inductee AJ Styles and how his path in the world of wrestling reveals about the business – the fights over the "right" kind of body frame, the challenges of promoting talent outside of WWE, and the reality that all bumps count the same. Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.
Transcribe →The Single Wing: Usurper Edition (PREVIEW)
Apr 1700:15:14Tap to summarizeTypically, the Single Wing is where Steven Godfrey answers questions from Phantom Island subscribers about football, the media, and life in general. But today, Ryan Nanni steps into the parasocial chair to discuss whether Indiana will be the exception or the rule, why lawyers love to get into sports media, mourning the end of being a parent to just one child, and important SEC breakfast comparisons.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 →Why can't we trust stadium attendance numbers?
Apr 1500:54:56Tap to summarizeRyan Nanni is joined by David Covucci to discuss FOIAball's recent story comparing actual attendance at college football games to the claimed numbers. When is a sellout not really a sellout? Why don't colleges give accurate information when technology gives them much better headcounts? And what was behind the NCAA's initial push to track – and potentially punish – programs with low turnout? Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.
Transcribe →What can golf do about its addiction to Tiger Woods?
Apr 801:15:58Tap to summarizeKevin Van Valkenburg of The Fried Egg joins Ryan Nanni to review how Tiger Woods came to be so essential to the existence of the modern golf industry, why he's persisted as a foundational figure despitely largely disappearing from competition, what makes golf particularly ill-suited to moving on from him, and what a healthier relationship between Tiger and the game might look like. Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.
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