Jackson Free Press

The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum (1152 Lakeland Drive, 601-982-8264) has always showcased the state's greatest naturally gifted athletes, but from March 18 through April 30, the museum will help visitors discover what those players really mean to Mississippi when it hosts the traveling exhibit, "Hometown Teams: How Sports Shape America."

"Hometown Teams" highlights the impact of small-town teams on American culture in the United States and is the latest installment of the Smithsonian Institution's Museum on Main Street project, a Congress-supported collaboration with humanities councils nationwide, including the Mississippi Humanities Council. The exhibit covers topics such as how American companies use sports in advertising, the influence of booster and cheer clubs, and the popularity of sports movies based in rural settings, like "Field of Dreams" and "Remember the Titans."

"Hometown Teams" has also inspired a speaker series, which will take place weekly throughout the exhibit's stay. Speakers include stadium architect and Callaway High School graduate Janet Marie Smith, former Mississippi governors Haley Barbour, William Winter and Ronnie Musgrove, sportswriter Wright Thompson, Sports Hall of Fame historian Rick Cleveland, and professor Chuck Ross, the director of African American Studies at the University of Mississippi.

"We're very excited to showcase these unique small teams because Mississippi has such a unique sports history with much of that history emanating from small towns," Sports Hall of Fame Marketing Director Andrea Patterson says. "This exhibit fits very well with the larger themes present at the Hall of Fame."

For more information about the exhibit or speaker series dates, visit msfame.com.