No longer blinded by limelight
Panthers’ Oher now comfortable with his fame, on and off field
Michael Oher’s life story was made into a Hollywood movie seven years ago, but the Super Bowl- bound Carolina Panthers offensive tackle says he has only watched it once.
Fortunately, film critics thought more of The Blind Side than Oher does. Despite the subject matter, he doesn’t give the feel- good drama two thumbs up. “It was OK,” he says. Oher’s inspiring journey from poverty to what will be a second Super Bowl appearance on Sunday when the Panthers take on the Denver Broncos, has lifted him from obscurity.
“I always tell people that everybody has a story; mine just got told,” Oher said on Wednesday. “Everybody probably has a worse story than I had. Mine just got told. I’m fine with that.”
To the bigger world outside the NFL, Oher’s life story is better known than that of either of the star players in Super Bowl 50, quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Cam Newton.
In The Blind Side, a home- less black teenager is taken in by a wealthy Memphis family who introduce him to football, a sport that paves the way for him go to college and ultimately become a first- round NFL draft pick.
Now in his seventh NFL season, Oher continues to be better known as “that guy they made a movie about” rather than for his skill and success on the field, which includes a Super Bowl triumph with the Baltimore Ravens.
The movie had overshadowed his real life. It was as if The Blind Side provided the inspiration for a football career, and not the other way around.
But recently Oher has become more comfortable with his celebrity, and while he might not fully embrace Hollywood fame he has accepted that the messages delivered in the film are valuable.
“It’s about doing something positive with your life,” said Oher, a hint of shyness still evi- dent despite years in the spotlight.
“It was always a dream of mine to be successful, not only in sports but as long as you are successful in life.
“Just having drive ... not letting your environment, circumstances around you hold you back.”