Sports capture the best of us.

Triumph. Redemption. Community. No other aspect of our society so clearly places human wonder on a stage for us to marvel at together. And we’re not just talking about the sports you watch on TV: every week, the miraculous happens on Little League baseball fields, rec-league basketball courts, and everywhere in between.

The Word is a weekly newsletter, published every Friday, of the most unexpected, fascinating, and astonishing stories from the wide-world of sports.

The Word is created by Religion of Sports, the award-winning media company founded by Tom Brady, Michael Strahan and Gotham Chopra. Like this newsletter, Religion of Sports’ work is defined by thoughtful, elevated stories that uncover why sports matter, and distill the spirituality, science and humanity that unite elite performers and people of all kinds. They tell stories that make believers.

Most weeks, The Word will be written by Joe Levin—a lifelong believer in the Religion of Sports. Joe lives in Austin, TX, where he attends church every Saturday in the fall at Darrell K Royal Memorial Stadium, cheering on his beloved Longhorns with 100,000 other faithful. His work has appeared in Texas Monthly, SB Nation, and Wildsam.