Here is the absorbing story of twenty-two men who gather every fall to painstakingly reenact what ESPN called the most shocking play in NFL history and the Washington Redskins dubbed the Throwback Special the November 1985 play in which the Redskins\' Joe Theismann had his leg horribly broken by Lawrence Taylor of the New York Giants live on Monday Night Football .
The Throwback Special is a moving and comic tale filled with pitch-perfect observations about manhood, marriage, middle age, and the rituals we all enact as part of being alive..
Along the way, mishaps, misunderstandings, and grievances pile up, and the comforting traditions holding the group together threaten to give way.
Over the course of a weekend, the men reveal their secret hopes, fears, and passions as they choose roles, spend a long night of the soul preparing for the play, and finally enact their bizarre ritual for what may be the last time.
With wit and great empathy, Chris Bachelder introduces us to Charles, a psychologist whose expertise is in high demand
George, a garrulous public librarian
Fat Michael, envied and despised by the others for being exquisitely fit
Jeff, a recently divorced man who has become a theorist of marriage; and many more.
Here is the absorbing story of twenty-two men who gather every fall to painstakingly reenact what ESPN called the most shocking play in NFL history and the Washington Redskins dubbed the Throwback Special the November 1985 play in which the Redskins\' Joe Theismann had his leg horribly broken by Lawrence Taylor of the New York Giants live on Monday Night Football
