In September 1970 the integrated USC Trojans, led by the legendary John McKay, traveled to Birmingham, Alabama to battle the Crimson Tide, led by the even-more-legendary Paul "Bear" Bryant. The game was played at Legion Field on a sweltering late-summer night. Normally, this event would not have been any more significant than other major inter-sectional confrontations. So why did Sports Illustrated rank it the most important sports competition of the 20th Century? Because being more than just a football game, this was a night when sports transcended societal differences. At a time when the only black man in a football stadium in Alabama was carrying the towels to the locker room, USC brought a powerful and integrated football team to compete at Legion Field. After USC won decisively, Bear Bryant congratulated his visitors in their locker room. He then asked if he could "borrow" outstanding African-American sophomore Sam "Bam" Cunningham for a few minutes. The shirtless, sweaty, and exhausted Cunningham went back to the Bama locker room with Coach Bryant where he stood in the middle of the room surrounded by dejected white players. "Boys," Bryant announced. "This here's what a football player looks like." This courageous gesture of respect ushered in a change in SEC football and in southern culture in general. Soon after this game SEC teams became integrated and Alabama was "welcomed back into the Union." This is a sports book that goes beyond the playing field, teaching stories about life and history, and at the same time informing people with "the rest of the story." Readers will not be able to put down The Turning of the Tide .