I’ve been thinking some more about why I did not find The Blind Side quite as satisfying a read as I had hoped for. I think it is because the story does not really fit together as well as it could have, and thus the ending was a bit of an anticlimax.
The early part of the book set out a clear narrative. The NFL was taking up to the fact that left tackle was a really important position while simultaneously Michael Oher but a quark of fate was both huge and nimble. It was a fairy tale story ready to be put to paper.
Unfortunately, it did not pan out that way.
The NFL had in fact woken up to the value of left tackle well before Michael Oher arrived on the scene. Far from being unique, the league had already sourced a collection of elegant giants to protect their quarterbacks.
He was drafted in 2009 by the Baltimore Ravens and despite trying him out at left tackle, he has spent most of his time on the right. That is not to say he is not an excellent player. The Ravens won the Super Bowl (after the officials refused to call blatant pass interference on what would have been the 49ers winning drive – I’m not bitter about it though) with him in the offensive line. However, re-write the book he did not. Bryant McKinnie was their left tackle.
That is not to detract anything from what is a wonderful story. It was a very moving tale and an enjoyable read.
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Tags: american football, left tackle, michael lewis, michael oher, nfl
This entry was posted on Sunday, June 8th, 2014 at 10:47 am and is filed under Books. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.