"The Blind Side" earns 4/5 Stars
Michael Lewis blends in the true story of a poor kid from Memphis with a heavy emphasis on football history and information to create a truly stunning novel. “The Blind Side” is one of the best sports books of the past several years.
“The Blind Side” starts out giving the reader an overview of the different changes in the game of football that led to one position – left tackle (offensive line) – becoming a spot of huge need for any football team with championship aspirations (at the college and pro levels). It details that to keep a great quarterback healthy, you must also have a great left tackle in order to stop edge-rushing defenders like Lawrence Taylor or Dwight Freeney.
Enter the focal point of the book, Michael Oher. Oher is a poor black kid living in one of the poorest zip codes in the entire country. Oher’s likely to drop out of school before his luck changes and he lands at Briarcrest Christian School (way on the other side of Memphis from “Hurt Village”, Oher’s old neighborhood) and soon is spotted by Leigh Anne Tuohy.
Tuohy takes Oher in, teaches him about the things he missed out on as a kid, and it is at Briarcrest that Oher is noticed by college football recruiters.
Oher’s body type is the prototypical left tackle. Oher is extremely wide, tall and bulky, with long arms and gigantic hands. This body frame, along with his surprising agility for his size, make Oher ideally suited for the left tackle position. And the left tackle position makes Michael Oher ideally suited for being a millionaire.
Oher is now playing for the Baltimore Ravens of the NFL, where he was selected as a first round draft pick in the 2009 NFL draft.
Despite the intriguing story of Oher’s journey to fame and fortune, the books does have its flaws. Lewis writes the biography in a way that only those with prior knowledge of football can fully enjoy it. There are other times when events are brought up that seem life-changing for Oher but end up being just another bump in the road.
I would give the book 4 out of 5 stars and would definitely recommend it to anyone who is a fan of football, or likes a compelling story with memorable moments.
“The Blind Side” also has a movie rendition coming out on November 20, with special appearances by Michael Oher and former University of Tennessee head football coach Phillip Fulmer.
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