By examining sports-related plots and motifs in the traditional study of literature, students can think deeply about the role(s) athletics should play in their education, the impact of sports on their ideas about character development, masculinity/femininity, race/ethnicity, and connections between sports and politics, economics, media, and religion. "In What's My Name, Fool? Sports and Resistance in the United States," Dave Zirin, sports editor of "The Nation" magazine, writes, "the very passion we invest in sports can transform it from a kind of mindless escape into a site of resistance. It can become an arena where the ideas of our society are not only present but also challenged" (qtd. in Morris 20). Thus, the author began to envision what would become the theme for her 2011-12 eleventh-grade English class: "The Games People Play: Sports in Society and Literature." In addition to broadening her teaching repertoire and forging collaborative partnerships with peers, the author's year of sports enhanced relevance of subject matter and stimulated engagement in the learning process for many students as they tackled creative projects and new approaches to connecting literature with life. This article presents the highlights.