The Last Man Halas Hired
Explore the relationship that brought Mike Ditka back to Chicago, watch Notebook 004 on football and education, and meet the people behind Issue I.
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The Gridiron Aficionado Newsletter
The Sunday Letter
Kept.
The people’s game, held onto.
A weekly letter for serious football fans: coaching intelligence, history, leadership, culture, and the stories that deserve more than one week in the feed.
Get Kept
Past Sundays
The Kept archive.
Each issue keeps a record of the football ideas, working notes, and artifacts worth returning to.
Kept No. 005
October 11, 2026
October 11, 2026
The Last Man Halas Hired
An essay on Mike Ditka and George Halas, a closer look at what Ivy League football gets right, and the people bringing Gridiron Aficionado Issue I to life.
Kept No. 004
October 04, 2026
October 04, 2026
TYour First Opportunity to Claim Issue I
Kept readers get first access to Gridiron Aficionado Issue I—1,000 numbered collector-grade copies, printed once. Plus: Jason Phillips on developing receivers and John Jenkins’ paper shredder.
Kept No. 003
September 27, 2026
September 27, 2026
The Serious Fan Was Never Unserved
Read a new essay on the football reader who wants to understand more, watch Notebook 003 on Bill Snyder’s work in Manhattan, and revisit a lesson from Mark Moseley.
Kept No. 002
September 20, 2026
September 20, 2026
What Football People Keep
A Three Rivers Stadium memory, the room Bill Snyder built, and the unseen coach behind every $5M quarterback.
Kept No. 001
September 13, 2026
September 13, 2026
The Week Deserves a Place to Land
Football people already know how to watch a game. What they need is a place to put the week. Four things, eight minutes, and no noise—made for the quiet part of Sunday.
New letters appear at the top of the archive after each Sunday delivery.
GRIDIRON AFICIONADO
Thoughts, stories and ideas.
© 2026 Gridiron Aficionado