How can we generate enthusiasm and interest in academics, and in particular science?

Following up on previous posts, I hope to explore ways to create, transfer, and maintain the excitement and interest we have in scholastic sports and parlay that into the same for academics, and in particular science and math. The first step, in my opinion, is to remove competitive athletics from the school day entirely. They should be in the after-school and weekend club format, like they use in Europe, for instance. This allows more actual class time for core subjects and electives. I remember in fifth grade at Cherokee Elementary in Tahlequah, Mr. Gary Kimball heightened our enthusiasm for arithmetic by having competitive "races" involving problem solving on the chalkboard, with prizes going to winners. Of course more emphasis on science fairs and symposia, quiz bowls, academic teams, writing contests, speech and debate and so on could incorporate our competitive nature into learning science and math as well. Another possibility would be what I call "science expositions" wherein students individually or in small groups demonstrate a concept from life or physical science in a booth. Parents, other students, and community members are invited to see and hear the students explain and demonstrate a relevant and interesting scientific topic. This could evolve from Learning Cycle based lessons in that the students would have developed their understanding of said topic through experience. Prizes could be awarded, and other schools could be invited to participate and compete as well. This idea also falls from the old axiom that I found to be true from personal experience, and that is you don't really understand something yourself until you teach it to someone else. I will research and post some related references on these ideas as well.