Saturday Night Lights

Courtesy Ole Miss

The upcoming movie “The Blind Side,” based on the book by Michael Lewis, tells the story of former Ole Miss player Michael Oher.

by Doctor S
September 23, 2009

“Yaw bee baw,” then-Ole Miss football coach Ed Orgeron told offensive tackle Michael Oher when he was recruiting him.

In English, that means, “You’re a big boy,” according to Michael Lewis, author of “The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game.” Lewis rendered some of what Orgeron said phonetically, turning it into amusing Orgeron-speak. The recruiting of Oher is one of the high points of Lewis’ book.

Oher signed with Ole Miss and went on to become an All-American left tackle. He was the Baltimore Ravens’ first-round pick in this year’s NFL draft.

Lewis’ book tells two stories. One is about how important the left tackle has become in football, especially in pro football. Thanks to the rise of fast, violent defenders like Lawrence Taylor, the left tackle is now the second highest-paid player on many NFL teams. The other, more interesting story is about how Michael Oher went from being a Memphis street kid to one of the nation’s top college-football prospects.

Along the way, a rich white couple, Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, basically adopted Oher. Sean Tuohy is a former Ole Miss basketball player who turned himself into a millionaire. Oher isn’t the first poor black kid that the Tuohys have helped. But Oher was the first one they took into their home. And he was the first one who became an NFL prospect.

Now Lewis’ book is getting the Hollywood treatment. “The Blind Side” will be released Nov. 20. But if the trailer is any indication, it won’t be a movie about football. It won’t even be a movie about Michael Oher. It will be a movie about its star, Sandra Bullock, who plays Leigh Anne Tuohy. (Tim McGraw plays Sean Tuohy, and Quinton Aaron plays Michael Oher.)

In the trailer, Bullock carries her white woman’s burden magnificently. Here’s Sandra in the worst part of the city threatening to kick the ass of a thug who threatens Oher. (“If you threaten mah son, you threaten me!”) Next Sandra is on the field (uh huh) during practice urging Oher to kick the ass of that defender. (“Michael, are you going to protect the family?”)

Hollywood doesn’t do football well, anyway. It’s not a cinematic game like baseball, or track and field, which focus on individual performances. In football, the players wear helmets and are almost always in the middle of a crowd on the field.

Maybe “The Blind Side” won’t be a complete bust. The three schools that recruited Oher the hardest were Ole Miss, Tennessee and LSU. Orgeron, former Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer and former LSU coach Nick Saban (now at Alabama) will play themselves in the movie. That could make for some laughs, however unintentional. Do you think Orgeron’s dialogue will be dubbed, or will the movie have subtitles? If this movie is a hit, Orgeron could win a role in Hollywood’s next caveman flick.


What We Learned
Ole Miss 52, Southeastern Louisiana 6: The Rebels’ non-conference schedule is absolute garbage. We know the Rebels are good, but how will they fare in the SEC? Suddenly, Auburn and Arkansas look a lot better than they did going into the season.

Mississippi State 15, Vanderbilt 3: The Bulldog defense turned in a big-time performance in Nashville. So did running back Anthony Dixon.

Southern Miss 37, Virginia 34: Special teams sparked the Golden Eagles as they rallied from a 34-17 deficit in the third quarter. These slow starts could catch up with USM down the line.

Grambling State 27, Jackson State 17: The Tigers are 0-3 and still searching for a quarterback. But the Tigers are still the favorites to win the SWAC East.

Millsaps 31, Austin 30: The Majors are still kings of the road in the SCAC. Thank goodness for all-conference kicker Taylor Russolino.

Belhaven 41, Kentucky Christian 14: Alex Williams returned from an injury and finally got the Blazers’ offense moving.

Mississippi College 61, McMurry 14: Choctaws quarterback Adam Shaffer (311 yards and four touchdowns passing) can play, can’t he?

Saints 48, Eagles 22: Before I put the Saints in the Super Bowl, I want to see them beat a decent team. Sorry, but I don’t think the two clubs New Orleans has routed, Detroit and Philadelphia, have a shot at the playoffs.


This Week’s Winners
These schools’ fans will be celebrating this weekend: Ole Miss, Millsaps, Mississippi College, Belhaven and Delta State.

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