Importance of Football in the South

Assignment: Answer the following prompt in a 2-3 page, double-spaced, 12-point font essay. Organize your essay into clear paragraphs with an introduction, body, and conclusion. The purpose of the assignment is for you to demonstrate your ability to critically examine the intersection between sports, race, and American culture.

For this particular essay on Georgia Tech and the 1956 Sugar Bowl, students must demonstrate that they have read Lane Demas’ chapter, “We Play Anyone: Deciphering the Racial Politics of Georgia Football and the 1956 Sugar Bowl Controversy.” This assignment is worth up to 25 points.

Prompt:

Historian Lane Demas argues that the debate surrounding Georgia Tech’s participation in the 1956 Sugar Bowl and “the subsequent backlash of most whites in the state—reveals tension not only between progress and Jim Crow but also among segregationists themselves” (76-77). In what ways did the Sugar Bowl controversy represent “an important politicized episode that enriches our understanding of the struggle to integrate schools, buses, and voting booths?” In your answer, be sure to discuss the importance of college football in the South and how the sport became entangled in the broader civil rights movement.

Citations:

For quotations and paraphrasing, please cite the pages from Demas’ essay, “We Play Anyone” using parenthetical references at the end of your sentences. For example, in your first citation paraphrasing or quoting the author, you will write (Demas, “We Play Anyone,” 77). For this essay, thereafter, you only have to cite the specific page number since you will only be writing using one source.

Guidelines:

• Your essay must be at least two pages long, but no longer than three pages.
• Your essay must have a thesis statement. A thesis answers the question as specifically as possible.
• Your introduction paragraph should provide the necessary and relevant background to lead into your argument.
• Your essay should follow a logical path and have clear paragraphs with strong topic sentences.
• Your essay must rely on evidence from the reading and lecture. A good essay offers specific examples to support general points.
• Use quotes judiciously. Quotations can be effective, but overuse diminishes your authority.
• Do not write sentences that start with “I” or “This essay will . . .” Instead, write in crisp, formal language.
• Proofread your work! Read your essay out loud to catch mistakes and polish your language.