Lowell Lecture
JFK, Sporting Competition, and International Goodwill, Then and Now
Date & Time
July 10, 2025 at 7 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Location
John F. Kennedy Library
Columbia Point Boston, MA 02125
Driving Directions
Speaker(s)
Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Harvard Women’s Soccer, Victoria Jackson, and Andrés Martinez
Presenting Organization
Topics
Contact
Kennedy Library Forums (JFKPrograms@nara.gov, 617-514-1643)
Join the Kennedy Library and Arizona State University’s Great Game Lab to explore President Kennedy’s sporting legacy as Boston prepares to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup during the country’s 250th birthday. Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Professor at The New School and author of Fit Nation: The Gains and Pains of America’s Exercise Obsession, and members of Harvard Women’s Soccer join a wide-ranging discussion with Victoria Jackson and Andrés Martinez, Great Game Lab Co-Directors. Learn more about the lasting cultural and public health significance of Cold War-driven presidential physical fitness tests, the role of sport in geopolitical affairs, the rise of American intercollegiate athletics as a developer of Team USA and global Olympic talent, and the evolving relationship between JFK’s beloved American football and the world’s version of the game known to us as soccer.
A public reception will follow this Kennedy Library Forum.