Insider Rowing

This is the third Michael Lewis book I’ve read (Liar’s Poker, Moneyball) and The Blind Side is just as strong as those other two titles. This book starts off with the evolution of the NFL, and in particular the Bill Walsh West Coast Offense, the rise of the pass rusher, and then finally the importance of the left tackle, the seldom spotlighted position that also happens to be one of the most important, and highest paying, in the NFL.

Intertwined with the football story is the story of Michael Oher, an athletic prodigy from the poorest of poor sections of West Memphis who is identified and later adopted by a rich, white Christian family, the Tuohys. Through their kindness, Oher is educated at one of the best Christian private schools in Memphis and given a chance to play football and develop his enormous talents. After starting only one season at left tackle, Oher becomes one of the most sought after recruits in the country, and he eventually lands at Ole Miss and starting for the Bulldogs as a freshmen. It’s expected that Oher could be a first round draft pick in the ’07-’08 NFL draft.

I’m a big NFL fan and a sports fan in general, and I found Lewis’s treatment of the football information to be clear and engaging…even casual fans should be able to get into it. He writes about highly recognizable NFL icons, such as Lawrence Taylor, Joe Theismann, Joe Montana, and others, and he gives you a lot of insight into the modern game of professional football.

The Michael Oher story is also very compelling, and should be accessible by even non-sports fans. It’s almost a classic rags to riches tale that Disney would make into a movie, but with an eye opening dose of realism. Oher has 13 brothers and sisters from various fathers, his mother is addicted to crack, he lived for years in a gang run project called he “Hurt Village,” he spent years in and out of foster homes, and he’s socially and learning disabled. Despite all this, he falls in with a wonderful family and makes it to college.

From a crew standpoint, I got a lot out of this story when Oher started getting recruited for college. There are some excellent passages in there about the business of recruiting for big time SEC schools. You’ll get to spend some time with Philip Fulmer of Tennessee, Nick Saban of LSU, Ed Orgeron of Ole Miss, among others, and see what lengths these guys go to get a top recruit.

I also had a strong emotional reaction when I realized that Oher had “made it,” that in just two years he had been socialized by the Tuohys and been given every opportunity that comes with being a part of a white, upper class family. The first question I asked was, why this kid and not one of thousands of other poor black kids in Memphis? If Oher had been any less talented, or any more troubled, or simply in a different place, would they have found and nurtured him? I guess the only reaction I should have is admiration, because the Tuohys risked their entire family and way of life by doing what they did. At age 32, I’m trying to develop my social conscience, and I’d like to see more underprivileged kids get the same opportunities that Oher got, and not necessarily in the sporting arena. John Taylor Gatto says that “genius is as common as dirt,” and I truly believe that. You put kids in the right environments with the right guidance, and they can achieve brilliance. You put them in poor or even mediocre environments, and you most often get people with little or no social value.

Anyway, I highly recommend The Blind Side. It’s an insightful sports story and it should get you thinking about a few issues other than sports.