Throwbacks: A Newsletter About Sports History and Culture
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The Beautiful Face of Socialism (1988)
Katarina Witt had to perform loyalty for East Germany or lose her freedom. Is America still the counterbalance?
Feb 13
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Michael Weinreb
8
2
1
Special Edition: Throwbacks Goes To the Super Bowl
I watched the least interesting Super Bowl in years from inside a fishbowl. Then Bad Bunny happened.
Feb 10
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Michael Weinreb
16
2
3
Does Football Need Violence to be Football?
The rest of the world is co-opting our most essential sport...and leaving behind the one thing that might destroy it.
Feb 6
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Michael Weinreb
12
4
2
The Super Bowl Is Too Big To Escape Reality (1989)
The Miami riots, Bad Bunny, and how America’s biggest sporting event encompasses everything everywhere all at once.
Feb 4
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Michael Weinreb
12
3
Worst. Super Bowl Uniforms. Ever?
How NFL uniforms got objectively worse, and why no one will admit it.
Jan 30
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Michael Weinreb
38
14
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"You dust yourself off and you go again" (1964)
Apr 15, 2025
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Michael Weinreb
13
1
1
Pat Summerall, Joe Buck, and the Lost Art of Shutting Up (1979)
Nov 19, 2025
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Michael Weinreb
22
5
3
Justin Herbert Doesn't Want To Perform
Dec 10, 2025
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Michael Weinreb
19
4
3
The Artist and The Scoreboard
Jan 21
•
Michael Weinreb
19
4
2
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The Orangeburg Massacre and the Fight Against Forgetting (1968)
Fifty-eight years before Minneapolis, a group of Black students, led by the football team, were gunned down in cold blood while protesting segregation…
Jan 28
•
Michael Weinreb
10
2
2
The Loneliness of the Backup Quarterback
On Earl Morrall, Jarrett Stidham, and the lost art of patience.
Jan 23
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Michael Weinreb
19
6
1
The Artist and The Scoreboard
Caleb Williams made the throw of the year. His team lost. How much does it matter?
Jan 21
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Michael Weinreb
19
4
2
A Throwbacks Conversation: Chuck Klosterman on the Cotton Bowl...and Many Other Football Things...
...including defunct rock festivals, Roger Staubach, his oddly conservative video-game strategy, and football's future (or lack thereof).
Jan 16
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Michael Weinreb
17
4
1
The Rams Are a Remake of a Remake of a Remake
Warren Beatty, Vince Ferragamo, and the strange history of the NFL’s most illusory franchise.
Jan 14
•
Michael Weinreb
13
8
1
Have The Jaguars Finally Emerged From The Void?
At a moment when everything feels hopeless, the NFL's most invisible franchise has become an unlikely reason to believe in something.
Jan 9
•
Michael Weinreb
16
4
3
The Chris Weinke Prophecy: How Indiana Proved Age Beats Stars
A quarter-century ago, a 28-year-old quarterback proved maturity could win the Heisman. Now Indiana's old-man roster is changing college football.
Jan 7
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Michael Weinreb
12
1
3
From the Archives: A "Meaningless" Bowl Game That Meant Everything (1962)
Why Bowls Matter, Even When They Don't.
Dec 30, 2025
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Michael Weinreb
15
2
From the Archives: Bill Russell and The Road to Perfection (1955-56)
This is Throwbacks, a newsletter by me, Michael Weinreb, about sports, history, culture, and politics—and how they all bleed together.
Dec 24, 2025
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Michael Weinreb
15
4
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Throwbacks: A Newsletter About Sports History and Culture
An Off the Beaten Path Exploration of Sports History, Culture, and Politics (and Assorted Minutiae)
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Throwbacks: A Newsletter About Sports History and Culture
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