Michael Oher - I Beat The Odds - Book Review

Everyone: He knew how to play football!

Of course he knew how to play football. Why did Hollywood put those ridiculous scenes in the movie with everyone trying to teach a teenage boy from Memphis the game of football?

Maybe if he was raised in a one-room cabin far away from civilization, we might believe he did not understand the game. But, he didn’t. He grew up in Southern football territory where people of all colors and walks of life consider watching football the equivalent of going to church.

Michael Oher wanted to set that record straight. But, he had a few other things he wanted to discuss.

Impact of The Blind Side As his story was told and retold around the country in the book and then the movie, The Blind Side, Oher started getting letters from around the country. He got letters from social workers, foster parents and the kids themselves thanking him for sharing his inspirational story. He wanted to make sure people knew that of course the Tuohy family, teachers, coaches, and tutors all helped him get where he is today, but there was one thing missing from his story told until now. His decision.

His determination At an early age of nine years old, Michael Oher made the decision to change his life. He knew his life could be different, he just didn’t know how to make it happen. There were no role models in his life, no one to offer any direction about anything. He was a kid looking for a path to a better life, but the only ones in front of him were dead ends. He had already made his decision and when the Tuohys crossed his path and showed him another way, he was ready.

His decision was the key to his entire story. Without it, he might have been another high school dropout. He may have become a reckless college athlete who dissolves into a puddle of nothing when hit with the realities of pro-football life. Instead, he writes about being conservative with his money and saving for the future. He writes about spending time with his family – the biological and adopted. Oher encourages others to become role models for kids who have none. He knows, because of the letters he has received, that there are other kids looking for a fresh start.

His success He had a lot of help getting his football career going, but he wasn’t just a kid floating around with no hope or dreams. He was floating, for sure, because no adults were around to keep him grounded. But, his heart was full of plans and dreams. He just needed the right people to show him how to achieve those dreams.

And, seriously, he knew how to play football.