"It was through reading and arguing about sports that I learned what it felt like to propose a generalization, restate and respond to a counterargument, and the other complex operations that constitute what we call "intellectualizing," and these skills were there to be transferred when I eventually sought an academic career."-Gerald Graff

In an article by Gerald Graff, an excerpt recalling his early life allowed him to use sports as a means to make an argument by stating an idea or an observation that counted towards what society considers "intellectualizing," and with these acquired skills it propelled him towards success in an academic career.