Good Seats Still Available

Tim Hanlon
  • 4.7 (105)
  • SPORTS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

"Good Seats Still Available" is a curious little podcast devoted to the exploration of what used-to-be in professional sports. Each week, host Tim Hanlon interviews former players, owners, broadcasters, beat reporters, and surprisingly famous "super fans" of teams and leagues that have come and gone - in an attempt to unearth some of the most wild and woolly moments in (often forgotten) sports history.

  1. The NASL's Detroit Express (& More!) - With Roger Faulkner

    4D AGO

    The NASL's Detroit Express (& More!) - With Roger Faulkner

    From wartime England to the rise — and fall — of pro soccer's first big American boom, Roger Faulkner has seen it all — and now, he's telling that story in his new memoir, "You Can't Get There from Here: My Soccer Journey from Derby to Detroit." In this episode, we sit down with the Detroit Express co-founder to trace an unlikely journey: from growing up in Derby to helping bring top-flight international soccer to the Midwest at the height of the original North American Soccer League. Alongside high-profile partner/soccer  impresario Jimmy Hill, Faulkner helped build a franchise that aimed to blend global star power with big-event American sports presentation — highlighted by marquee signings like Trevor Francis and matches staged inside a cavernous new Pontiac Silverdome. Faulkner offers a candid, behind-the-scenes look at what it actually took to launch and operate an NASL club — where ambition often outpaced economics, and where the line between visionary and unsustainable was razor-thin. He reflects on the league's rapid ascent, its structural fragility, and the lessons learned as the Express hastily relocated amid the NASL's broader unraveling. Just as compelling, Faulkner shares how he stayed in the game — helping build the foundation for soccer's next chapter in the U.S., including an instrumental role in bringing the 1994 World Cup to Detroit. It's a revealing conversation — and a fitting companion to his hoot of a memoir — with one of American soccer's most underappreciated builders, who lived both the dream and the reality of the sport's first modern era. PLUS: Our trivia contest is back - this time for a chance to win a copy of "You Can't Get There from Here"! + + +    SUPPORT THE SHOW: Buy Us a Coffee: https://ko-fi.com/goodseatsstillavailable The "Good Seats" Store: http://tee.pub/lic/RdiDZzQeHSY BUY THE BOOK:  "You Can't Get There from Here: My Soccer Journey from Derby to Detroit": https://amzn.to/423VyFO SPONSOR THANKS:  Royal Retros (10% off promo code: SEATS): https://www.503-sports.com?aff=2 Old School Shirts.com (10% off promo code: GOODSEATS): https://oldschoolshirts.com/goodseats FIND AND FOLLOW: Linktree: https://linktr.ee/GoodSeatsStillAvailable Web: https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/goodseatsstillavailable.com X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoodSeatsStill YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodseatsstillavailable Threads: https://www.threads.net/@goodseatsstillavailable Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodseatsstillavailable/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSeatsStillAvailable/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/good-seats-still-available/

    1h 30m
  2. "Sports Heaven: The Birth of ESPN" - With Greg DeHart & Mike Soltys

    APR 6

    "Sports Heaven: The Birth of ESPN" - With Greg DeHart & Mike Soltys

    ESPN didn't begin as a media giant — it started as a gamble.    In 1979, a cash-strapped startup bet on an unproven proposition: a 24-hour sports cable TV network delivered by satellite, built largely on programming no one else wanted and live coverage that barely existed. By any conventional measure, it was an absurd idea. It also changed sports media forever. This week, we revisit that origin story through a new lens: "Sports Heaven: The Birth of ESPN," premiering April 6th on (where else?) ESPN. The documentary traces how founders Bill Rasmussen, his son Scott, and an unlikely group of partners pushed past industry skepticism, financial instability, and the daunting challenge of programming an "always-on" sports network — laying the groundwork for what would become a global media powerhouse. Joining us are director Greg DeHart and producer Mike Soltys, ESPN's longtime institutional historian, to explore both the story itself and the challenge of telling it. Drawing on archival footage and interviews with the Rasmussens, along with early executives and production pioneers, the film captures the improvisational, high-risk reality of ESPN's earliest days. We discuss what the filmmakers uncovered that even seasoned observers may not know, how they balanced nostalgia with clear-eyed storytelling, and why ESPN's startup DNA — equal parts technological leap, programming opportunism, and entrepreneurial persistence — still resonates in today's fractured sports media landscape. "Sports Heaven: The Birth of ESPN" premieres April 6th at 8:30pm ET on ESPN. The companion audiobook is also available now, with a hardcover book to be released in May.   + + +    SUPPORT THE SHOW: Buy Us a Coffee: https://ko-fi.com/goodseatsstillavailable The "Good Seats" Store: http://tee.pub/lic/RdiDZzQeHSY BUY THE BOOK:  "Sports Heaven: The Birth of ESPN": https://amzn.to/3PRz1cC SPONSOR THANKS:  Old School Shirts.com (10% off promo code: GOODSEATS): https://oldschoolshirts.com/goodseats Royal Retros (10% off promo code: SEATS): https://www.503-sports.com?aff=2 FIND AND FOLLOW: Linktree: https://linktr.ee/GoodSeatsStillAvailable Web: https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/goodseatsstillavailable.com X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoodSeatsStill YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodseatsstillavailable Threads: https://www.threads.net/@goodseatsstillavailable Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodseatsstillavailable/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSeatsStillAvailable/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/good-seats-still-available/

    1h 11m
  3. "Moses and the Doctor" - With Luke Epplin

    MAR 30

    "Moses and the Doctor" - With Luke Epplin

    Nonfiction author extraordinaire Luke Epplin joins the pod this week to unpack the intertwined legacies of basketball legends Julius Erving and Moses Malone, as chronicled in his acclaimed new book, "Moses and the Doctor: Two Men, One Championship, and the Birth of Modern Basketball." What unfolds is more than a dual biography — it's a portrait of a transformational era when professional basketball's future hung in the balance. Epplin traces both players back to their early professional years, including their formative time in the upstart American Basketball Association. There, Erving's aerial artistry helped legitimize a bold, improvisational style of play, while Malone's relentless presence in the paint established a new model of dominance — built on effort, positioning, and physical control. Together, those contrasting identities shaped their transition to the NBA: Erving, the ever-visible icon and cultural ambassador; Malone, the quiet, force-of-nature interior anchor. Their partnership culminated in the Philadelphia 76ers' historic 1983 championship run — a moment that represented the perfect blend of style and substance, and altered the trajectory of the modern game. + + +   SUPPORT THE SHOW: Buy Us a Coffee: https://ko-fi.com/goodseatsstillavailable The "Good Seats" Store: http://tee.pub/lic/RdiDZzQeHSY BUY THE BOOKS:  "Moses and the Doctor: Two Men, One Championship, and the Birth of Modern Basketball": https://amzn.to/4lVpe0Z SPONSOR THANKS:  Royal Retros (10% off promo code: SEATS): https://www.503-sports.com?aff=2 Old School Shirts.com (10% off promo code: GOODSEATS): https://oldschoolshirts.com/goodseats FIND AND FOLLOW: Linktree: https://linktr.ee/GoodSeatsStillAvailable Web: https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/goodseatsstillavailable.com X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoodSeatsStill YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodseatsstillavailable Threads: https://www.threads.net/@goodseatsstillavailable Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodseatsstillavailable/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSeatsStillAvailable/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/good-seats-still-available/

    1h 10m
  4. From Bleacher Seats to Luxury Suites - With Seth Tannenbaum

    MAR 23

    From Bleacher Seats to Luxury Suites - With Seth Tannenbaum

    Manhattanville University sports studies professor Seth Tannenbaum joins the show to unpack the provocative ideas behind his new book, "Bleacher Seats and Luxury Suites: Democracy and Division at the Twentieth-Century Ballpark" — a sweeping reexamination of the American ballpark and the myth of baseball as a truly democratic space. Tannenbaum walks us through how stadiums have long been designed not just for watching games, but for organizing fans — by class, access, and experience. From the crowded urban intimacy of early 20th-century parks to the rise of suburban, car-centric stadiums and today's amenity-driven retro designs, he argues that ballparks have consistently reflected — and reinforced — who the game is really "for." But this isn't just history. Our conversation explores what these patterns mean for the future: as teams double down on premium seating, luxury suites, and real estate-driven developments, are modern stadiums becoming even more exclusive? And in an era of shifting media consumption and evolving fan expectations, what does "access" to the live sports experience really look like going forward? It's a sharp, revealing discussion about baseball, business, and the subtle architecture of inclusion — and exclusion. PLUS: Your chance to win a copy of "Bleacher Seats and Luxury Suites" in this week's trivia contest! + + +    SUPPORT THE SHOW:  Buy Us a Coffee: https://ko-fi.com/goodseatsstillavailable The "Good Seats" Store: http://tee.pub/lic/RdiDZzQeHSY BUY THE BOOKS:  "Bleacher Seats and Luxury Suites: Democracy and Division at the Twentieth-Century Ballpark": https://amzn.to/4lHqYuG SPONSOR THANKS:  Old School Shirts.com (10% off promo code: GOODSEATS): https://oldschoolshirts.com/goodseats Royal Retros (10% off promo code: SEATS): https://www.503-sports.com?aff=2 FIND AND FOLLOW: Linktree: https://linktr.ee/GoodSeatsStillAvailable Web: https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/goodseatsstillavailable.com X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoodSeatsStill YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodseatsstillavailable Threads: https://www.threads.net/@goodseatsstillavailable Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodseatsstillavailable/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSeatsStillAvailable/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/good-seats-still-available/

    1h 18m
  5. World Cup History & What's Ahead - With Clemente Lisi

    MAR 15

    World Cup History & What's Ahead - With Clemente Lisi

    This week, we dive into the remarkable history — and uncertain future — of soccer's greatest spectacle: the FIFA World Cup. Our guest is veteran journalist and soccer author Clemente Lisi, whose newly updated (and eminently essential!) book, "The World Cup: A History of the Planet's Biggest Sporting Event, 2026 Edition," chronicles the tournament's extraordinary evolution from its modest beginnings in 1930 to the globe-spanning mega-event it is today.  Drawing on decades of reporting and interviews, Lisi revisits some of the competition's most iconic matches, legendary players, and defining moments — from Pelé and Diego Maradona to the modern era of global superstars — that helped transform the World Cup into the most widely watched sporting event on the planet. But the conversation doesn't stop with history. With the 2026 edition — expanded to 48 teams for the first time — set to be hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, we also explore whether the tournament could face unexpected headwinds. Sky-high ticket prices have already sparked backlash from fans and even US lawmakers -- while debates over immigration policy, visa access for international supporters, and rising infrastructure costs for host cities could complicate what should be a global celebration. Will the largest World Cup ever staged ignite a new era for soccer in North America — or expose the growing tensions between the sport's worldwide popularity and the economics of modern mega-events? We explore the past, present, and future scenarios of the World Cup in a wide-ranging conversation with one of the sport's most thoughtful chroniclers. + + +    SUPPORT THE SHOW: Buy Us a Coffee: https://ko-fi.com/goodseatsstillavailable The "Good Seats" Store: http://tee.pub/lic/RdiDZzQeHSY BUY THE BOOK:  "The World Cup: A History of the Planet's Biggest Sporting Event, 2026 Edition": https://amzn.to/47LYKsV SPONSOR THANKS:  Royal Retros (10% off promo code: SEATS): https://www.503-sports.com?aff=2 Old School Shirts.com (10% off promo code: GOODSEATS): https://oldschoolshirts.com/goodseats FIND AND FOLLOW: Linktree: https://linktr.ee/GoodSeatsStillAvailable Web: https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/goodseatsstillavailable.com X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoodSeatsStill YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodseatsstillavailable Threads: https://www.threads.net/@goodseatsstillavailable Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodseatsstillavailable/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSeatsStillAvailable/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/good-seats-still-available/

    1h 33m
  6. "Court Queens" - With Emma Baccellieri & Jordan Robinson

    MAR 9

    "Court Queens" - With Emma Baccellieri & Jordan Robinson

    Women's basketball is enjoying a remarkable surge in popularity — but it also stands at a pivotal moment. As the Women's National Basketball Association and the WNBA Players Association remain locked in difficult negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement, the sport faces a paradox: unprecedented visibility and momentum, yet uncertainty just weeks before the next season. In many ways, the tension reflects the league's maturation—and serves as a reminder of the decades-long struggle that built the modern women's game. This week, we explore that history with Emma Baccellieri and Jordan Robinson, authors of the sweeping new book "Court Queens: Celebrate the Players, Teams, and History of Women's Basketball." Baccellieri, a staff writer at Sports Illustrated, and Robinson — who covers women's basketball across multiple outlets, including Audacy's "The Women's Hoops Show" podcast — have created a richly researched and visually stunning chronicle of the sport's evolution: from 1892, when Senda Berenson introduced basketball to women at Smith College, through the collegiate era of the AIAW and the rise of the NCAA tournament, early pro experiments like the late-1970s Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL) and the 1990s American Basketball League (ABL), and ultimately the launch — and staying power — of the WNBA. Packed with hundreds of photos, memorabilia, and vivid storytelling, "Court Queens" celebrates the pioneers, iconic teams, unforgettable games, and overlooked trailblazers who fought for opportunity across more than 130 years of basketball history. Our conversation explores those stories — and why understanding that long arc of progress makes today's moment for women's basketball feel both thrilling and consequential. PLUS: your chance to win a copy of "Court Queens" in our vaunted trivia contest! + + +    SUPPORT THE SHOW: Buy Us a Coffee: https://ko-fi.com/goodseatsstillavailable The "Good Seats" Store: http://tee.pub/lic/RdiDZzQeHSY BUY THE BOOKS:  "Court Queens: Celebrate the Players, Teams, and History of Women's Basketball": https://amzn.to/4bg6Jj4 SPONSOR THANKS:  Old School Shirts.com (10% off promo code: GOODSEATS): https://oldschoolshirts.com/goodseats Royal Retros (10% off promo code: SEATS): https://www.503-sports.com?aff=2 FIND AND FOLLOW: Linktree: https://linktr.ee/GoodSeatsStillAvailable Web: https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/goodseatsstillavailable.com X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoodSeatsStill YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodseatsstillavailable Threads: https://www.threads.net/@goodseatsstillavailable Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodseatsstillavailable/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSeatsStillAvailable/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/good-seats-still-available/

    1h 23m
  7. Death in the Strike Zone: Baseball's First Superstar - With Tom Gilbert

    MAR 2

    Death in the Strike Zone: Baseball's First Superstar - With Tom Gilbert

    Before Cy Young, before Babe Ruth, before baseball even had a strike zone, there was Jim Creighton — a 21-year-old phenom whose brilliance and tragic death helped create the modern game. This week, we explore the extraordinary life, myth, and enduring legacy of baseball's first true superstar through a revealing conversation with historian Tom Gilbert, author of the new biography "Death in the Strike Zone: The Mystery of America's First Baseball Hero." In the late 1850s and early 1860s, baseball was still a recreational pastime dominated by offense. Pitchers merely delivered the ball gently, and games could spiral into chaotic, high-scoring affairs. Creighton changed everything. Pitching for Brooklyn's powerhouse Excelsior club, he pioneered speed, movement, and deception — transforming pitching into a weapon rather than a formality. His dominance forced opponents to rethink strategy, and ultimately pushed baseball's rulemakers to introduce called strikes and formalize the strike zone, forever reshaping the sport's competitive balance.  Yet Creighton's meteoric rise was as brief as it was influential. In 1862, at the height of his fame, he suffered a catastrophic abdominal injury — likely worsened by the extreme physical demands of his revolutionary pitching style — and died just days later at age 21. His death stunned the sporting world and elevated him into baseball's first martyr-figure, a symbol of both the promise and peril of a game still inventing itself.  Gilbert, whose award-winning 2020 book "How Baseball Happened" reframed the chaotic, colorful origins of America's pastime, explains how Creighton's innovations accelerated baseball's evolution from amateur hobby to organized spectacle — and how myth, memory, and historical detective work have shaped Creighton's legend (yet not enshrinement in the National Baseball Hall of Fame) ever since. + + +   SUPPORT THE SHOW: Buy Us a Coffee: https://ko-fi.com/goodseatsstillavailable The "Good Seats" Store: http://tee.pub/lic/RdiDZzQeHSY BUY THE BOOKS:  "Death in the Strike Zone: The Mystery of America's First Baseball Hero": https://amzn.to/4aYCWvc "How Baseball Happened: Outrageous Lies Exposed! The True Story Revealed": https://amzn.to/4rKhoJX SPONSOR THANKS:  Royal Retros (10% off promo code: SEATS): https://www.503-sports.com?aff=2 Old School Shirts.com (10% off promo code: GOODSEATS): https://oldschoolshirts.com/goodseats FIND AND FOLLOW: Linktree: https://linktr.ee/GoodSeatsStillAvailable Web: https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/goodseatsstillavailable.com X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoodSeatsStill YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodseatsstillavailable Threads: https://www.threads.net/@goodseatsstillavailable Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodseatsstillavailable/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSeatsStillAvailable/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/good-seats-still-available/

    1h 22m
  8. US Soccer World Cups, National Teams & Pro Leagues - With Alan Rothenberg

    FEB 23

    US Soccer World Cups, National Teams & Pro Leagues - With Alan Rothenberg

    Few figures have shaped modern American soccer more profoundly than Alan Rothenberg ("The Big Bounce: The Surge That Shaped the Future of U.S. Soccer") — and in this revelatory conversation, he tells the story in his own words. Best known as the founding architect of Major League Soccer and the driving force behind the record-breaking 1994 FIFA World Cup, Rothenberg's influence on the game in the United States stretches back decades earlier than most fans realize. Long before MLS kicked off in 1996, he was immersed in the sport's early, fragile professional era. In the late 1960s, Rothenberg worked alongside Jack Kent Cooke in the United Soccer Association, helping operate the Los Angeles Wolves — an ambitious effort to import top international clubs to American audiences. He later held a brief ownership stake in the Los Angeles Aztecs of the North American Soccer League, gaining firsthand insight into the promise and ultimate collapse of pro soccer's first boom-and-bust cycle in the U.S. A pivotal turning point came when Rothenberg ran the soccer competition for the 1984 Summer Olympics. At a time when many doubted the American market, the tournament drew unexpectedly strong crowds — helping persuade FIFA that the United States could successfully host a World Cup. As president of the United States Soccer Federation from 1990 to 1998, Rothenberg delivered on that promise. The 1994 World Cup became the most financially successful in history to that point, and he fulfilled the bid commitment to launch MLS — creating the stable Division I league that had eluded the country for generations. He also chaired the 1999 Women's World Cup, another watershed moment. In this candid interview, Rothenberg reflects on risk, resistance, political maneuvering, and the long game of institution-building — offering rare, behind-the-scenes insight into how American soccer finally found its footing. + + +  SUPPORT THE SHOW: Buy Us a Coffee: https://ko-fi.com/goodseatsstillavailable The "Good Seats" Store: http://tee.pub/lic/RdiDZzQeHSY BUY THE BOOK:  "The Big Bounce: The Surge That Shaped the Future of U.S. Soccer": https://amzn.to/4kSgacQ SPONSOR THANKS:  Old School Shirts.com (10% off promo code: GOODSEATS): https://oldschoolshirts.com/goodseats Royal Retros (10% off promo code: SEATS): https://www.503-sports.com?aff=2 FIND AND FOLLOW: Linktree: https://linktr.ee/GoodSeatsStillAvailable Web: https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/goodseatsstillavailable.com X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoodSeatsStill YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodseatsstillavailable Threads: https://www.threads.net/@goodseatsstillavailable Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodseatsstillavailable/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSeatsStillAvailable/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/good-seats-still-available/

    1h 29m
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4.7
out of 5
105 Ratings

About

"Good Seats Still Available" is a curious little podcast devoted to the exploration of what used-to-be in professional sports. Each week, host Tim Hanlon interviews former players, owners, broadcasters, beat reporters, and surprisingly famous "super fans" of teams and leagues that have come and gone - in an attempt to unearth some of the most wild and woolly moments in (often forgotten) sports history.

Information

  • Creator
    Tim Hanlon
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2026
  • Episodes
    478
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Good Seats Still Available
  • Show Website
    Good Seats Still Available

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