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Football Family Values

The Blind Side of faith and sports.

Review by Collin Hansen | posted 3/29/2007 08:35AM

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The National Collegiate Athletic Association smelled something fishy when the rich, white, evangelical Touhy family invested a lot of time and money in raising Michael Oher, a poor and socially backward black from Memphis. Oher stands 6'5" and weighs at least 330 pounds. The NCAA investigated whether Ole Miss alumnus Sean Touhy gave Oher a home in exchange for playing football at his alma mater.

Ultimately, the NCAA did not punish Ole Miss or the Touhy family. Michael Lewis, the bestselling author of Moneyball, brilliantly recounts how the Touhys and Briarcrest Christian School worked together to salvage Oher from the streets.

The Blind Side is a gripping tour through the world of college recruiting, professional football strategy, and the volatile mix of faith and sports. Noting the swearing and cheap shots during the "Jesus Bowl" between Briarcrest and Evangelical Christian School, Lewis writes, "[I]t didn't take long to see that Jesus was keeping his distance."

Related Elsewhere:

The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game is available from ChristianBook.com, Amazon.com, and other retailers.

An audiobook excerpt is available from Random House.

The New York Times published an article on how Mike Oher became a football player.

NPR's All Things Considered has a profile of Oher and an interview (audio) with Michael Lewis.

IdentityTheory.com also interviewed Michael Lewis.

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April 2007, Vol. 51, No. 4

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[Reader Reviews]

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Vince

Posted: March 29, 2007 11:04 AM

As a former athletic director and a Christian HS and a varsity basketball coach. I disliked competing against some Chrisitan schools as they were prone to cheat and be disrepsectful to our players. Christian friends coaching in public schools also disliked competing against Christian schools for the same reason. It saddens me that because we have a relationship w/ Christ some Christian schools instead of being grateful for the God's Grace feel they have a market on the Truth and arrogance and that it is their "right" to have victory at all cost (cheating, demeaning others, deny the image of Christ in others, etc. etc. Why have some Christians behave without any dignity, honor or humility when it comes to athletics? I've listened to this book on tape and it turned my stomach when it came to the recruiting, trust in God's leading was absent, manipulation, personal interest etc. became the driving force. I stopped listening at that point.

Wade	Posted: March 29, 2007 10:26 AM


I've read this book, and while I agree that the football teams weren't always the best examples of Christ, there were plenty of people in Michael Oher's book who definately were. This is a book about Christians loving someone they didn't even know as themselves. They're not perfect people, but what they did in the young man's life is amazing. It's a great read.

Rob	Posted: March 29, 2007 11:48 AM

CT- If you want to be respected for good literary criticism, I'd like to suggest that your contirbutors do a little better than the review of The Blind Side. I would have hoped for more. The Jesus Bowl is a mere blip in a great story on grace and redemption. The Blind Side is not a Christian book, but it is an incredible witness to anyone about what Chrisitanity is. The Tuohys are introduced to a young man destined for failure, but spare no expense to pull this young man out of the mire of inner city Memphis and give him the opportunity for a new life. He is 'accepted' and 'adopted' into their family in much the same way Christ saves us from the mire of our own lives. It is indeed a great read, and a wonderful story. Your review of it is disappointing.