Are You Ready For Some Football?

Most people that know me know that I am not a football fan, so this post's title is probably a bit confusing. Well, we watched The Blind Side over the weekend and I'm now a little obsessed. If you haven't watched this movie, you really should. I don't often write about movies but this one deserves a mention.

It's the true story of Michael Oher and it's such a great feel-good story. I won't get into tremendous detail, but he is the son of a crack-addict mom and a dad who spends most of Michael's life in prison. He's taken away from his mom and goes from foster home to foster home for much of his teen years. While he's staying with a friend, his friend's dad actually manages to get him enrolled in a private Christian high school (the dad was trying to enroll his own son and managed to persuade the football coach to work to enroll Michael as well).


One day Michael meets little SJ at school and ultimately meets his mom, Leigh Anne Tuohy. Well, this woman is a dynamo. She and the Tuohy family take Michael in and help him find his way. They're the only people he feels comfortable with and trusts and through that trust he's able to believe in himself. They're the only people that take Michael seriously and see what a wonderful boy he is.

So much happens for Michael and the Tuohy family in such a short time. He is able to raise his grades (through teachers actually taking time to teach him in a way he understands and well as with the help of a tutor the Tuohy's hire), play football and ultimately graduate from high school. He earns a scholarship to several colleges and decides on Ole Miss. The movie ends with him being drafted by the Baltimore Ravens.

I left a lot out, so you're just going to see it now. It's such a good story. I wish there were more people like Michael and the Tuohys in the world. If people could just see past what's on the surface and actually get to know someone, really know them, lives could change. Perhaps it's the pregnancy hormones fueling this fire here, but chances are I'd be obsessing about this even without the hormones. There's a part in the movie where they read The Story of Ferdinand and it's one of my all-time favorite children's books. See, Ferdinand is a bull in Spain; he has a peaceful soul and does not want to fight like his other bull friends. He wants to sit under a cork tree as he smells the nearby flowers. Michael is Ferdinand the Bull. You should read that book too :)

I was so moved I actually watched the Baltimore Ravens game yesterday. And within minutes of me turning it on, Michael Oher gets hurt (sprained knee) and is out for the rest of the game. I'm such a good luck charm. This is why I don't watch football ;)

Watch the movie! If you aren't moved, you have a heart of stone.