The Final Season

Eternal Fan

The Final Season explores the questions sports fans rarely stop to ask. What makes someone a fan for life? Why do teams become part of our identity? How should athletes and the people with whom we shared those memories be remembered? Each episode brings together perspectives from sports business and funeral service, along with current events and stories about sports figures we’ve lost. With plenty of humor to keep things from getting too heavy, it’s an honest conversation about fandom, memory and what remains after the final whistle.

Episodes

  1. 2d ago

    Wemby Drops 52, Hocevar Gets Benched and Why We Eat After Funerals

    Victor Wembanyama delivered a 52-point, 24-rebound, eight-block performance that barely looks real. Carson Hocevar was suspended by his own team for the NASCAR season finale. LIV Golf may be approaching the end of the road, and the first College Football Playoff rankings have already given fans plenty to argue about. Brad and Matt also discuss the Golden State Valkyries winning a WNBA championship in only their second season. Game 7 drew the largest postseason audience in league history, giving the WNBA a much better story than the scheduling controversy that dominated the previous week. The episode then remembers three athletes we lost, 1969 World Series champion Jerry Koosman, former Seahawks running back and physician Dan Doornink, and Irish Olympic runner Ciara Mageean. In the final segment, Matt explores a tradition most of us have experienced but may not fully understand. Why do families gather to eat after a funeral? The funeral luncheon, commonly called a repast or repass, has roots stretching back thousands of years. From meals held at graves in ancient Rome to funeral cake and wine in colonial America, food has long helped communities care for the living while honoring the person who died. Matt and Brad discuss the repast’s importance within Black American church traditions, the stories that emerge once the formal service is over and why sharing a meal can become the first step back toward everyday life.

  2. Oct 29

    Brewers Are Champions, Did Team Orders Decide Talladega, and the Fans Who Should Have Been There to see The Brew Crew

    The Milwaukee Brewers are World Series champions for the first time in franchise history. Matt and Brad break down Milwaukee’s historic victory, what it means for one of baseball’s smallest markets and why this championship belongs to generations of Brewers fans. They also examine Kyle Larson’s remarkable Talladega comeback, which gave him a commanding lead in his pursuit of a third NASCAR championship. Larson received plenty of help from other Chevrolet drivers, raising a bigger question about manufacturer alliances, team orders and whether drivers are still racing for themselves. Other topics include Cam Skattebo’s rare personal-foul penalty for lowering his helmet as the ball carrier and the WNBA scheduling a potential championship-clinching Finals game for 12:30 on a Thursday afternoon. Matt and Brad also remember Ron Duguay, Lawrence McCutcheon, Pete Banaszak, Phil VanderSea, André Lacroix and Barry Clemens. The final segment turns personal. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel spoke with Brewers fans who spent this historic postseason thinking about parents, grandparents and other family members who did not live to see the team reach the World Series. Their stories are a powerful reminder that fandom is often inherited, and that our biggest sports moments remain connected to the people who first shared the experience with us. Listen, follow the show and learn more about Eternal Fan here: https://linktr.ee/EternalFan

  3. Oct 22

    The Price of Being First: Building a Category, College Football Chaos and a Small-Market World Series

    The Final Season has officially reached Episode 10, and this may be one of our best conversations yet. We begin with a wild week in sports, including five of college football’s top 10 teams losing, a rare small-market World Series matchup, and the Texas fan who filmed himself flipping off Florida players and ended up banned from future athletic events. We also recognize several members of the sports community who recently passed away and reflect on what they meant to their fans. Then we get into the conversation at the heart of this episode: the price of being first. Creating a new category sounds exciting, but it also means introducing an idea that people have never encountered before. There is no established roadmap, no familiar language and no guarantee that everyone will immediately understand what you are building. After Front Office Sports published its feature on Eternal Fan and the 904EVER Club, more details about the program entered the public conversation. That attention created excitement and momentum, but it also brought opinions, assumptions and criticism from people seeing the concept for the first time. Brad and Matt talk honestly about how public reaction can affect personal motivation, why building in the open can be emotionally exhausting, and what it takes to keep moving forward when you are creating something that does not fit neatly into an existing box. Follow The Final Season and connect with Eternal Fan through our Linktree.

  4. Oct 15

    NFL Ratings Are Rising, Mike Ditka Remembered, and What’s With All the Amazon Urns?

    The NFL’s TV audience continues to grow, and we look at what the latest ratings say about football’s place in sports and television. Then we revisit the Jaguars’ wild win over the Eagles in London, sealed by Cam Little’s 57-yard field goal as time expired. The Dodgers are on the brink of elimination, Mike Ditka’s passing has us reflecting on a personality who became bigger than the game, and Matt Linn asks the question we can’t ignore: what is the deal with all the urns on Amazon? A week of NFL ratings, playoff baseball, sports memories, and an unexpected look at cremation urns.

  5. Oct 8

    Yankees Fan Interference, NASCAR in Vegas and When Loss Gets Personal

    How do you cope with death when it is part of your everyday work, and what happens when the people you lose are your own family? This week on The Final Season, Matt shares the deeply personal story of losing his grandmother and his dad within a day of each other, and embalming both of them. We talk about how he handles being around death so much, the emotional weight of the work, and his own experience of grief. It is a side of funeral service that few people ever hear about, told by someone who has lived it professionally and personally. Before that conversation, we get into the Yankees’ fan-interference controversy, the wild NASCAR finishes in Las Vegas, and NFL officials being suspended after confrontations with players. Matt also recaps his trip to Iowa City for a Hawkeyes football game and the Hawkeye Wave. We briefly remember athletes who recently passed away, then discuss cremation trends and the research on how many families keep a loved one’s cremated remains at home. The sports give us plenty to talk about, but Matt’s story is the part you will want to stay for.

  6. Oct 1

    Brad Keselowski’s RFK Exit, Justin Verlander’s Goodbye & Funeral Industry Jargon Explained

    What happens when a driver leaves the team that carries his name? This week on The Final Season, Matt Linn and Brad Zimmerman discuss Brad Keselowski’s departure from the RFK Racing No. 6 and the questions it raises about NASCAR ownership, team identity and his next chapter. Justin Verlander’s emotional farewell in Detroit brings the conversation closer to home...how do athletes, families and fans say goodbye to a career that has meant so much? We also discuss the NFL’s dramatic Ravens–Cowboys game in Brazil and what international expansion means for the fan experience. In our remembrance segment, we reflect on NBA pioneer Bob Pettit and recent losses across the sports community, looking beyond the headlines to the people and relationships they leave behind. Matt also shares takeaways from his trip to the Collegiate Athletic Leadership Symposium in Texas, where conversations with college sports leaders reinforced why Eternal Fan® exists. Finally, Matt translates the unfamiliar language of the funeral and deathcare industry into everyday terms, helping make conversations about end-of-life planning easier to understand. Join Eternal Fan CEO Matt Linn and CMO Brad Zimmerman for an unscripted conversation about sports, the business behind them, and how we remember the people who made them matter.

  7. Sep 24

    Bristol’s Pit Road Fight, LSU’s Oxford Loss...and Cremains?

    What happens when a late-race move at Bristol turns into a fight on pit road? Brad and Matt start with Carson Hocevar and Ryan Blaney’s post-race confrontation, the contact that set it off and NASCAR’s decision not to penalize either driver. Was it part of the intensity that makes short-track racing compelling, or did it cross a line? From there, they head to Oxford, where Ole Miss beat LSU 32–24 in Lane Kiffin’s return. They discuss the atmosphere around the game, LSU’s comeback and what the result means for both programs. The sports conversation also takes in the Tampa Bay Rays winning the American League East and the NFL bringing the Baltimore Ravens and Dallas Cowboys to Rio de Janeiro. Then Matt leads an informative discussion about cremains, the cremated remains left after a person is cremated. Many people have heard the word without knowing what cremains are actually made of. Brad asks Matt to explain their composition, address common misconceptions and talk about why families choose different ways to keep or place a loved one’s remains. It’s a practical conversation about a subject that often goes unexplained. The episode closes by remembering athletes who have recently died and the lives they lived beyond their sports careers. The Final Season brings current sports stories together with conversations about memory, family and how we remember the people who matter to us.

    Bristol’s Pit Road Fight, LSU’s Oxford Loss...and Cremains?

  8. Sep 17

    Congress Wants to Fix NIL. Should We Trust It?

    Congress is stepping directly into the rapidly changing world of college sports. With the Protect College Sports Act advancing in the Senate, Brad and Matt examine the attempt to create national rules for NIL, athlete compensation, transfers and eligibility. College sports clearly need some order, but should Congress be the group providing it? The discussion explores what lawmakers may actually be protecting, whether athletes could lose some of their newly gained power and how decades of inaction helped create the current mess. Brad and Matt also revisit the controversial Michigan victory that the NCAA admits should have ended differently, examine Clearlake Capital’s takeover of Chelsea and remember former MLB pitcher and two-time Japan Series champion Brian Wolfe.

    Congress Wants to Fix NIL. Should We Trust It?

  9. Sep 17

    Baseball History, Messi at 100 and Charlotte’s Big Win

    Pete Crow-Armstrong and Alex Bregman accomplished something no pair of MLB teammates had done since 1958, Lionel Messi scored his 100th goal for Inter Miami, and Charlotte landed both the WTA Finals and the organization’s global headquarters. Brad and Matt discuss what turns a great performance into sports history, why Charlotte continues to grow as a sports-business city and whether Messi’s years in Miami will eventually be viewed as an important chapter or simply the closing act of an extraordinary career. They also remember four-time Pro Bowl linebacker Fredd Young and consider how even elite athletes can slowly disappear from the larger sports conversation. Matt closes the episode with a look at what is happening behind the scenes in the world of sports, fandom and remembrance.

    Baseball History, Messi at 100 and Charlotte’s Big Win

  10. Sep 10

    Barry Melrose, Big Sports Moves and Bringing Fan Stories to Life

    In Episode 3 of The Final Season, Brad and Matt explore the stories connecting sports, business and the people who make fandom meaningful. The NFL is taking a regular-season game to Australia for the first time, Denzel Ward has invested in his hometown Cleveland Guardians, and more than 43,000 volleyball fans packed Wrigley Field to watch Nebraska and Missouri before a slippery court brought the match to an early end. Brad and Matt also remember former NHL coach and longtime ESPN personality Barry Melrose, whose unmistakable style and genuine love for hockey made him part of the sport’s identity for an entire generation. Finally, Brad shares how Eternal Fan® is producing deeply personal memorial videos for families joining the 904EVER Club. These films capture the stories, relationships, experiences and details that made each person’s time here meaningful, preserving far more than a name or a photograph. Learn more about Eternal Fan and the 904EVER Club here: https://goeternalfan.com/ https://904everclub.goeternalfan.com/

    Barry Melrose, Big Sports Moves and Bringing Fan Stories to Life

  11. Sep 3

    The Dog Days of Summer are Almost Over, It's Been 25 Years Since 9/11 & Spreading Ashes at the Mouse House??

    Why do people want their final resting place connected to somewhere they felt most alive? In this episode, Brad and Matt explore the unusual but surprisingly common practice of families secretly scattering ashes at Disney, particularly inside the Haunted Mansion. Brad shares the firsthand experience of a former Disney employee, while Matt explains what these moments reveal about grief, identity and our attachment to meaningful places. The conversation then moves into sports, where stadiums, teams and traditions often become inseparable from a fan’s identity. What happens when private grief collides with a public place? Should venues provide dignified ways for people to remain connected forever? Explore Eternal Fan and everything connected to the show:https://linktr.ee/EternalFan

    The Dog Days of Summer are Almost Over, It's Been 25 Years Since 9/11 & Spreading Ashes at the Mouse House??

  12. Sep 1

    A Sports Marketer and a Funeral Director Walk Into a Podcast

    Why would a sports marketer and a funeral director start a podcast together? In the pilot episode of The Final Season, Brad Zimmerman and Matt Linn introduce the unlikely combination behind the show and explore what sports reveal about identity, memory and the way we remember people. They also explain what listeners can expect from future episodes, including provocative questions, current sports stories and conversations that take fandom seriously without taking themselves too seriously.

    A Sports Marketer and a Funeral Director Walk Into a Podcast
  • 12 Episodes

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

The Final Season explores the questions sports fans rarely stop to ask. What makes someone a fan for life? Why do teams become part of our identity? How should athletes and the people with whom we shared those memories be remembered? Each episode brings together perspectives from sports business and funeral service, along with current events and stories about sports figures we’ve lost. With plenty of humor to keep things from getting too heavy, it’s an honest conversation about fandom, memory and what remains after the final whistle.

Information

  • Creator
    Eternal Fan
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    12
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Eternal Fan
  • Show Website
    The Final Season