This Sunday’s Super Bowl will be watched by millions, and with eyes on the Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, it’s sure to be an enjoyable game.
But I will be on the lookout for a different player — the man behind “The Blind Side.”
“The Blind Side,” the movie based on a true story that came out in 2009, was certainly as described—a blind side of how many emotions I could feel in two hours and nine minutes. I had to alternate between the Kleenex box for the moments when Michael was homeless and was faced with a difficult life I could not imagine and the popcorn bowl because those intense moments cannot be overcome without a snack.
This movie told the incredible story of Michael Oher and the hand he was dealt in life. He fought for his future on and off the field. Luckily, he had the Tuohys, a family who took him in and gave him the life he deserved. They were the cheerleaders and the coaches of his life, and with them he could not be defeated.
In the opening scene, Leigh Anne Tuohy said it best:
“Now, yall would guess that more often than not, the highest paid player on an NFL team is the quarterback. And you’d be right. But what you probably don’t know is that more often than not, the second highest paid player is a left tackle. Because, as every housewife knows, the first check you write is for the mortgage, but the second is for the insurance. The left tackle’s job is to protect the quarterback from what he can’t see coming. To protect his blind side.”
Michael went on to graduate high school and attend Ole Miss. That is when the movie ends and you realize you have cried for two hours and nine minutes. During the happy moments and the sad moments, tears formed.
Later, after Oher attended Ole Miss, the Baltimore Ravens picked him in the first round of the NFL Draft; the Ravens won the Super Bowl in the 2012 season with Michael protecting them.
Oher has admitted he was not a fan of the Hollywood movie that depicted his life. In an ESPN interview Oher said, “People look at me, and they take things away from me because of a movie. They don’t really see the skills and the kind of player I am. That’s why I get downgraded so much because of something off the field.”
Michael Oher is now playing for the Carolina Panthers, and the Tuohys are still cheering for their son each step of the way. With the impending Super Bowl 50, not only will I watch for the Budweiser commercials that make my heart happy with puppies, but I will also watch for Michael Oher because I will always have a soft spot for the “Blind Side” player.
I must confess I am not a football fanatic to say the least. I don’t watch football because I do not understand the concepts, and I would rather watch “Grey’s Anatomy,” to be perfectly honest.
I may not know a good football game when I see one, but I know a good movie and a good man when I see them. So no, I will not watch Super Bowl 50 for the football plays and the strategic plans of the defense. I will watch the game because I’m a fan of this man.
To Michael Oher, I hope you take the Broncos all the way to the bus because it’s time for them to go home.
