I thoroughly enjoyed the movie The
Blind Side. I think it is among
one of my favourite movies of all time. It is based on a true story.
Almost all Hollywood true stories have a number of discrepancies with
the truth. This one seemed to come pretty close.
From some online articles about The Blind Side
Why
is the movie called The
Blind Side?
As
diagrammed with the Joe Theismann/Lawrence Taylor footage at the
beginning of the movie (see below), Michael Oher's position on the
football field is left tackle. It is the left tackle's job to protect
the quarterback's blind side.
What
happened to Michael's father? Like
in The
Blind Side movie,
Michael Oher's birth father was murdered. He was shot and killed,
then thrown off an overpass on the west side of Memphis. Michael
didn't learn of his father's death until three months after it
happened, partially because it took time for his father to be
identified. Tony Henderson, who helped Michael get into Briarcrest,
called the school office with the news of Michael's father's death.
Michael's father hadn't been around when he was growing up.
Why
did the filmmakers change the name of the school to Wingate for the
film? In
the movie, the Christian school that Michael attends is named Wingate
and is the home of the Wingate Crusaders football team. Through our
research into the Michael Oher true story we discovered that the real
name of the school is Briarcrest, home of the Briarcrest Saints. "It
wasn't adversarial, there were just concerns," Briarcrest
president Mark Merrill said. He noted that there were several school
administrators who were concerned over instances of "artistic
license" in the original script that stretched the truth.
Did
Michael Oher really encounter Leigh Anne Tuohy on the side of the
road? "There
were a few artistic liberties taken in that scene," the real
Leigh Anne Tuohy told Mike Huckabee during a Fox
News Channel interview.
Unlike the rainy nighttime scene in the movie, The
Blind Side true
story reveals that Leigh Anne's encounter with Michael on the side of
the road really happened on a cold morning during Thanksgiving break.
She and her husband watched Michael get off a city bus in the snow
wearing only cutoff blue jeans and a t-shirt. Like in the movie,
Michael was on his way to the school gym in order to escape the
weather and find warmth. In reality, Leigh Anne didn't offer Michael
a place to stay immediately. Instead, their encounter on the side of
the road on that snowy November morning in 2002, prompted her to pick
Michael up at Briarcrest the next day and take him shopping.
Was
the Tuohy family the only family that Michael Oher stayed with while
attending Briarcrest? No.
In reality, it took months after the roadside encounter before the
Tuohy family welcomed Michael into their home. For months, Michael
actually continued staying with Tony Henderson (aka Big Tony), the
mechanic whose son also attended Briarcrest Christian School. And for
months after that, at least five different families, both white and
black, provided Michael with a place to stay after his coaches
realized that he didn't have a home. This eventually included the
Tuohy family. "He'd stay here once in a while and then he'd
leave," says Sean Tuohy, "and then he seemed more
comfortable to stay." (20/20)
With regard to the Tuohy family, the real Michael Oher said, "When
I moved in with Leigh Anne and Sean, I felt loved, like part of a
family. In the other houses I didn't feel like part of the family. I
didn't feel like they wanted me there."
Did
Michael Oher really have to learn to play football when he first
joined the high school team? No.
This was grossly exaggerated in the movie. Michael did not have to
learn how to play football, and Leigh Anne never walked onto the
practice field to inspire Michael by telling him to protect his team
as if he was protecting their family. The film's suggestion that he
needed to be taught how to play football upset the real Michael Oher,
Did
the Tuohy's son S.J. really help teach Michael about football? No.
As the real Michael Oher stated above, he already knew how to play
football. When Michael Oher was taken in by the Tuohy family, the
Tuohy's son S.J. (Sean Jr.) was 8-years-old at the time. Michael and
S.J. did play sports together recreationally, but S.J. didn't have to
teach him anything.
Did
the library scene really happen with Leigh Anne's daughter Collins?
No.
The real Collins Tuohy never had to overcome taunting at school
because of Michael staying with her family. "My friends were
very open to Michael," Collins said. "They were very sweet
to him and we all got along really well." After
investigating The
Blind Side true
story, we discovered that the reality of Collin's support of Michael
was actually much more profound than what is seen onscreen. Collins
Tuohy, an honor student, rearranged her entire class schedule in
order to help Michael. She dropped all of her AP (advanced placement)
classes to be in Michael's English and math classes, so that she
could understand what his assignments were. She spent several hours
at night helping him with his homework.
Did
a gang member really taunt Leigh Anne when she visited Michael's
mother? No.
Gang members never taunted Leigh Anne. However, once when she was
dropping Michael off after taking him clothes shopping, he did tell
her to stay in the car like his character does in the movie.
The
real Tuohy family Christmas card photo vs. the movie photo (inset).
Was
Michael really included in the family Christmas card like in the
movie? Yes.
The actual photo is shown above. Like in the movie, Leigh Anne
says that her cousin called her to ask her about the photo. "He
said, 'I'm not trying to be rude or anything. Who's the black boy in
the Christmas card?'"
Did
Michael really get in a fight when he was waiting to see his mom? No.
Michael did not get into a fight with gang members in his old
neighborhood. However, after researchingThe
Blind Side true
story, we discovered that while he was in college at Ole Miss,
Michael got into a fight with teammate Antonio Turner who had visited
the Tuohy's home. At some point after his visit, Turner called
Michael a cracker for living with a white family. Antonio also made
comments to Michael suggesting that he was going to have sex with
Michael's white sister and white mother (similar to the comments made
by the gang member in the movie). This infuriated Michael who chased
after Antonio and eventually tracked him down hiding at the study
hall where the football players studied with their tutors. Michael
threw the 230 pound Antonio into the ground, picked him up by the
throat, beat him in the face and threw him across the room. In the
process, the 3-year-old son of one of the tutors was knocked to the
floor and suffered a bad head wound.. At Sean Tuohy's urging, Michael
eventually turned himself in to the campus police. Michael ended up
making apologies and was given ten hours of community service.
Did
Michael Oher ever graduate college? Yes.
Michael graduated from the University of Mississippi (aka Ole Miss)
after playing football for the Ole Miss Rebels for four years. While
attending Ole Miss, Michael made the dean's list.
How
long did Michael live with the Tuohy family? Michael
was a sophomore when he came to Briarcrest. He began staying
regularly at the Tuohy's in the fall of his junior year, 2003. He
remained with the Tuohys until he left for college at Ole Miss.
Officially adopted by the family, Michael returned often to visit,
sometimes bringing players from the Ole Miss team with him (Evolution
of a Game).
Leigh
Anne Tuohy congratulates Michael Oher at the 2009 NFL Draft.
When
did Michael Oher enter the NFL? In
2009, Michael was selected as the 23rd pick in the first round of the
NFL draft by the Baltimore Ravens. The entire Tuohy family was with
him at the draft, in addition to his tutor Miss Sue and his older
brother Marcus. He entered the league as a starting lineman on the
Ravens team.
On
April 26, 2009, he was assigned the No. 74 jersey,
which
was his jersey number at Ole Miss. On July 30, 2009, he signed a
five-year, $13.8 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens.
Michael
Ohr played in
the Superbowl on Feb
3, 2013
and helped
the Baltimore Ravens to a 34-31
win
against the San
Fransisco 49ers.
On
March
14, 2014 Oher signed a 4
year,
$20 million contract with Tennessee
Titans.
The
Blind Side: Evolution of a Game
Tackle
the real story as author Michael Lewis presents Oher's journey
without the Hollywood sugarcoating, revealing certain less flattering
details about Oher's path to college football and eventually the NFL.
This isn't to say his experience isn't inspiring; the book just does
a better job at disclosing every aspect of the story.
Maybe this book is one that should be
on my 'to read' list.
Along with the other 3,000 that I will
get to one day : )
