Going to see the movie "The Blind Side" already was on my want-to-do list. The life story of Baltimore Ravens rookie tackle Michael Oher, the 23rd pick in April's NFL draft, sounded plenty compelling.
Then I noticed that Carolina Panthers linebacker Jon Beason posted this on his Twitter account Monday night: "'blind side' a must see! There's so much potential in ppl ... Some just need a lil love and support.'"
Beason doesn't say much on Twitter. It was his first post in 16 days.
I was significantly motivated, and my wife and daughter were in agreement, so we saw the movie Tuesday.
We all left deeply touched, challenged and inspired.
Based on a book by the same name, it's the true story of a homeless young man whose life appeared headed nowhere until a wealthy family of a different race reached out and eventually made him one of their own.
It's a story of love in action - not to mention the cool feature of having current or former college coaches such as Nick Saban, Phil Fulmer, Lou Holtz and Tommy Tuberville playing the actual roles they lived out during Oher's recruitment. (He chose Mississippi.)
The day after seeing it, I asked Beason to tell me more about what he liked about the film.
"Everybody needs help at some point," he said. "Anytime somebody steps out of their comfort zone and lends a helping hand is a good thing. There are a lot of players in the league who have had crazy predicaments like that, and there's been somebody [to] help them out. Just to see him overcoming, and it being a true story, it was a feel-good story. ... It was funny, it was entertaining and it had that holiday spirit of giving thanks."
Beason and the Panthers faced the Ravens in the exhibition season. After the game, Oher talked about how much he learned from playing against Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers.
"He taught me to be technique-sound [and to] be on the top of your craft at all times," Oher told The Baltimore Sun.
Oher has started every game for the Ravens during the regular season. His future looks bright. There's a lot for all of us to learn from his journey.
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