This paperback has been SACKED!
I got to yell out "DONE!" last night, launching my newly-finished copy of The Blind Side across the room.
People might try to tell you that you don't need to know anything about football to like this one (and by "people", I mean the back cover of the book), but it sure as hell helps. The true (aka "non-fiction") story of a poor black kid named Michael Oher who was taken in by a wealthy white family and came to be one of the most sought-after left tackles in the nation contains a lot of analysis on how left tackles came to be sought after in the first place. If you don't have a good concept of the weight around names like Walter Jones, Orlando Pace, Lawrence Taylor and Dwight Freeney, a lot of the book is going to go right by you like Chris Doleman.
But if you have the patience to try and understand the game a little more, and especially if you have any kind of understanding of the game, you should read this book. Now. No, no. There's no time for that. Just start it now. The dramatic moments are incredible, the analysis of the value rise of the left tackle is something that should educate even the most die-hard football fan, and the story of how a kid with barely any school, a fractured family and absolutely no money could have such a dramatic life change at fifteen. Very highly recommended.
Last Saturday, my good friend TV was nice enough to show the LSU/Ole Miss game, where I could watch Michael Oher in action. Now, I've seen plenty of football in my time, but I can't claim to be well-versed in what makes a good left tackle, but I tells ya: no LSU defensive player got past Oher on the left side. He was a wall. I didn't watch the whole game, so maybe he's inconsistent, but he was perfectly consistent when I was watching him. I can't wait to see him in the pros.
If you want my copy of the book, talk to Christian. He has first dibs.
4 comments:
Interestingly, the one who recommended the book to me was Cory, who absolutely loved it, and she has very little interest in things of the football nature. But yeah, it helps to know at least who Lawrence Taylor is. It is pretty cool to watch a game after you read it though - you start watching away from the football, which pretty much a whole different game in itself. Man, I love that sport.
Amen. I loved that Michael Lewis put in a little bit about how, in football, there's so much going on away from the ball. I don't want to take anything away from any of the other sports, but that's the brilliant thing about it: there's so much going on besides where the ball is.
I started trying to watch away from the ball when I read an article around the time when Peyton Manning first came into the NFL about how his dad had told him, "Don't watch the ball. Fans watch the ball. Players watch the defense." But really, I'm a fan, so there's only so much I can stay away from the action. Most of the time, I just want to watch me some football.
My favorite thing to watch away from the ball is the set up for a screen pass. What you'll see is the entire offensive line give way to the dline. It looks like a jailbreak and immenent disaster for the offense...until the qb waits for the precise right moment to dump the ball off to the Brian Westbrook, I mean, the running back. ;)
Yeah, just about every season I have a favorite thing. Thanks to reading The Blind Side, I've been watching the o-line a lot this season, but one of my all-time favorites is watching that moment after an interception as the role of EVERY SINGLE PLAYER ON THE FIELD changes in an instant. Linebackers are suddenly blockers and wide recievers are tacklers. Not to mention the comedy gold of the center trying to chase down a cornerback.
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