Champion Of The World By Maya Angelou Summary

Beer, peanuts, hot dogs, team colors, cheering and clapping. When you read or hear these words together, what do you think of? Around the world, these words, when put together, symbolize something that brings people together and can also divide the closest of friends. These are the symbols of celebrated Sporting Events! People everywhere will argue that they don’t celebrate sporting events, but it is very rare that someone truly does not care about any sport at all. Sports fans come in all shapes, colors, sizes and nationalities! Sporting events have become one of the most important parts of today’s culture because sports can educate, create unity, and give people something to identify with and yes, even celebrate.

Sports are a huge part of

education: in school and outside of the classroom too. Some lessons just cannot be taught in the classroom. Wilfrid Sheed describes the importance of sports to the young mind in his essay “Why Sports Matter”. Sheed admits that “young athletes have learned discipline” and “there are no harder workers than jocks or ex-jocks” (494). This result stems directly from the idea that discipline and learning are “synonymous” with each other, according to Sheed, as well as discipline and success (494). Young athletes are given lessons not only in the sport they are playing, but also in how to work together as a team, to trust their teammates, and that competition can be healthy. To learn these lessons, the young athlete must first learn discipline. Along with While the idea of discipline being taught can best be taught by a coach in a sports setting, it is also taught through formal education. continues to be influenced by sports programs. Sports programs have a definite place and value in our education system. Schools have implemented sports and fitness programs in schools all over America, as well as physical education programs that introduce students to all many different sports, as well as promote physical fitness and healthy living. The lessons of teamwork, discipline, integrity, and dedication that are taught in sports programs are crucial for students to learn, especially at a young age.
There are always naysayers that argue sports programs get in the way of learning. These people don’t realize that along with being on a team, the athletes are held to an academic certain standard. At most high schools, athletes must maintain a specific GPA grade point average (GPA) to stay on the team. This These standards and high expectations help lead these athletes to higher educations where they can play for their college teams. In college, athletes must maintain a specific GPA, attend all classes, and do well in school to continue playing their sport and for some, to keep their scholarships. Athletes work hard in school and play well outside of their formal education, continuing the cycle of sports being pivotal in our culture.
Sports maintain their importance in culture our society because they these events create unity in many ways.

In Maya Angelou’s narrative “Champion of the World”, she writes about Joe Louis, an African American boxer in the match of his life, against a white man. But it isn’t just Joe’s life that this one match affects; in fact, the lives of the entire town are impacted. The narrator describes “the last inch of space…filled, yet people continued to wedge themselves along the walls of the Store” (484). The atmosphere quiet and the whole town listening to one single radio where the announcer said “ladies and gentlemen” not realizing that he was addressing “all the Negroes around the world who sat sweating and praying” (485). Angelou portrays the importance of this one boxing match to the entire African American community. The unity of all African Americans across America on the day Joe Louis was crowned heavyweight champion shows that sports have become a huge part of

culture.
Non-supporters say that this wasn’t about the sport of boxing; it was about the racism and segregation in the United States at the time. These people do not want to admit that a black man being the champion of the world meant very much to the African American community that day and the sport of boxing was what unified the people in a time of trouble. Sports are very relevant and that is proved by the importance that African Americans placed on Joe Louis and on his title of heavyweight champion.
Solidarity Unity is created in many ways by sports. May El-Khalil describes her struggle after being hit by a bus and how she rallied to create Beirut International Marathon bringing peace for a day to Eastern Europe. In her TED talk, she describes how “the country has been divided between politics and religion. However, for one day a year, we truly stand united, and that's when the marathon takes place.” Countries participating in a civil war come together and unify for one day over a marathon race that supports a cause. El-Khalil’s goal to unify the countries has been a success for eleven years. The importance of sports in the world is evidenced by the unification of countries in a bloody battle, putting everything aside to participate and support charities and volunteers.
Sports continue to play a significant role in today’s culture.

The way that people identify with teams and celebrate sporting events such as the World Cup, the Olympics, the Super Bowl, and more express the impact of sports on our culture. Angelou’s narrator in “Champion of the World” recounts everyone in the Store knowing that “Louis going down” was her “people falling. It was another lynching, yet another Black man hanging on a tree. One more woman ambushed and raped…” (486). The entire race did not just support Louis; they counted on him to help them, relieve them of slavery, assure them that they were “higher than apes” (486). Angelou notes after Louis is crowned the heavyweight champion “we were the strongest people in the world” (488). Their reliance on one man, one African American boxer that they all identify with, exemplifies the impact that sports has on culture. Joe Louis’ boxing win meant everything to African Americans all around the United States. The importance of sports is only furthered by Felisa Rogers’ article “How I Learned to Love Football”. Rogers describes her husband Rich as being obsessed with the Green Bay Packers’ quarterback Brett Favre. After going through difficult times such as “ my grandmother [dying], our aged Honda broke down, Rich’s mom and grandmother suffered from serious health problems, we kept getting closer to broke”, Rich found an escape in watching and rooting for the Green Bay Packers. Favre and his team led Rich to happiness in

hard times. His Rich’s ability to identify with a winning team and feel a sense of solace when the Packers won a game saved can be credited with saving his marriage. as did Going through this difficult time, Felisa Rogers becoming became interested in football and shared her husband’s love of the game. The couple identified with and celebrated the winning Green Bay Packers and this created happiness in their otherwise depressing life. The influence that sports have on people is incredible and brings the importance of sports to a greater high than ever.
Many Some people may disagree and feel that sports does not play a role in their life at all. Felisa Rogers in fact, was one of these non-believers. She recalls being brought up by “a nerd” and “a beatnik” that taught her “football and baseball were the province of Neanderthal types” (530). Rogers hated sports and sports made her feel uncomfortable her entire adolescent life. It was not until her husband Rich introduced her to football and the Green Bay Packers, that she began to enjoy football. While she had started off as one of the people arguing that sports are unimportant, she ended up arguing the exact opposite; sports saved her marriage and her husband’s happiness. This is not always the case, but to the people that don’t care about American football, they may care about another sport, and to the select few who do not care about a single sport in the world, sports may not impact them at all. But overall sports do impact the majority of the world’s population making it a huge importance in our culture.
Sports provide an escape for some, an idol for others, and a learning experience for those participating in the sports. Any way you spin it, sports have become powerful in our culture. Those who identify with a team would say that sports are pivotal to their happiness. Those who have learned key values and life lessons would argue that they would not be who they are without playing their sport. People who are unified by a sport insist that sports are important to their community. Many fans will simply celebrate sporting events around the world as they shout and cheer and eat junk food and drink beer to their heart’s content. All of this is their way of celebrating and vocalizing how significant sports have become in our world.