52 Weeks, 52 Books

Michael Lewis has already written my favorite book. Yes, I am very much a Moneyball aficionado (or geek, depending on your view of the book). It revolutionized my view on my favorite game and to this day is the book I have read the most (four re-reads after the initial and three audio listens during various car rides). It’s not that I see Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane’s view as the end-all, be-all for baseball, but I definitely side heavily with the principles he has employed to make his team a perennial contender on a very limited budget. As they enter the 2008 season, his team is clearly in full rebuild mode, but I have no doubt that the prospects he has accumulated for his top players in this offseason will grow to make them a contender in a few years again.

Lewis’ latest isn’t exactly the football version of Moneyball, but it’s close. When Moneyball came out, Beane’s stat-heavy focus for analysis of players was far from the norm, in The Blind Side, Lewis examines how the postion of left tackle has emerged into a bona fide skill position in the NFL and now sits as arguably the most important despite the fact that quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers continue to garner the bulk of attention. The difference is that Lewis’ story of the importance of left tackle is not groundbreaking within the industry whereas the focus on computer-derived statistics that fall outside of those featured prominently on a baseball card (batting average, runs batted in, earned run average) to judge baseball talent did cause a pretty large ripple effect in front offices across the country.

Side is the story of Ole Miss left tackle and future NFLer Michael Oher and his rise from introverted giant with a hopeless future in the slums of Memphis to silver spooned adoptee headed for millions of dollars at his game’s most prominent position. Lewis masterfully covers the rise of the passing game in Bill Walsh’s West-Coast Offense that specifically called for blind side protection of the quarterback in order to be effective against heavy pass rushes, notably from the likes of one Lawrence Taylor. But as I mentioned, the bulk of the story focuses on Oher’s assimilation into the Tuohy family of Memphis. Sean Tuohy, radio commentator for the Memphis Grizzlies and former hoops star at Ole Miss, and wife Leigh Anne undertake this reclamation project with a determination that you can’t help but get enjoy reading about. Oddly enough, Oher’s true love is basketball, but his immense size and impeccable footwork make him well-suited for football, and specifically, left tackle.

The Tuohys, though Leigh Anne mostly, spend tireless hours teaching Oher basics of life that any teenager should already know, but that he is without. Not only does he lack any discernible common sense and real-world skills, but he also seems to have a grade-school level of intelligence, through little to no fault of his own mind you. As his handlers work harder with Oher, they learn that he actually isn’t as far behind the curve as originally thought, rather he learns much differently. They take Oher from a disastrous failure of a student to a passing pupil with a thirst for knowledge.

Despite his perfect look as a football player, he starts off here as a disaster, too. However, from the time he was taken under the expansive wing of the Tuohys to the present-day, he has morphed into a sizeable kid that hadn’t played a down of football prior to the middle of his high school career, to the 2nd-rated junior left tackle on Mel Kiper’s ESPN rankings.

As with Moneyball, Lewis once again travels brilliantly through a series of stories with remarkable ability to keep you deeply engrossed in each one. It took me awhile to get the book started after purchasing it, but once I got to it, I simply couldn’t put it down. The book functions on many levels and it most certainly isn’t relegated to just football fans. The sociological aspects of Oher’s story and rise from severe poverty is extremely captivating. Not everything done for Oher by those involved in his life is entirely benevolent, but his best interests are generally at the forefront of the actions.

Though released in 2006, Side is in serious contention for book of the year in 2007 for my personal rankings (a list that will be released before the month is out and hopefully within the next week). I absolutely loved it and after another smash hit from Lewis, I was prompted to buy both Coach & Liar’s Poker by him. I aim to read both in 2008.