The Blind Side

I did not grow up watching a lot of football and therefore did not find a great deal of interest in it. As I got older, the interest I did take in it was mostly just because I noticed everyone else around me taking interest. I can vividly remember sitting in sixth grade science, the teacher being a Tennessee football fan, reviewing by way of a game set up to be a lot like the way a football game works: each team had four chances to get the answer right before having to forfeit their turn. And I could just not wrap my head around what a 'down' was. Even after several people in the class, the teacher included, tried to explain it.

Football for me was just something that would allow, every once in a while, a bunch of people to get together and hang out. Even in high school Friday night football was just to go and hang out. I paid attention mostly my junior year when we made it to the state championship, but it was hard not to get caught up in that excitement. I don't think I really started to really pay attention to football until sometime in college and it was an off and on thing.

After I started dating my husband my concept of football really changed. College was really all I watched. And it was really just Tennessee football. Pro football became something I loved to watch because my husband plays fantasy football. I think if I had to choose between college and pro, I'd choose pro.

If you don't like football, this book might be a tough read. It is a great story about a black kid from one of the poorest parts of the country who finds his way into the home of rich, white family and how it changes his life. It will tug at your heart strings. What makes this book interesting (and probably pretty boring to some people) is that it seems to take two entirely different pathways: the first being history and evolution of pro football, the second Michael Oher's (pronounced 'oar') life and shows how, against all odds, they happen to converge into one.

If you can muddle through the history side of it, the story of Michael Oher's life is truly worth reading about. And if muddling through the boring stuff doesn't sound appealing, then definitely check out the movie: The Blind Side.