Week 4: Birth of a Star

Summary:
   Last week's post ended with Michael choosing to play for the Ole Miss Rebels. This week's reading started with an investigator,Joyce Thompson, from the NCAA coming to the Tuohy's house to interview Michael. Leigh Anne felt that the investigation was unnecessary and refused to be apart of it, leaving Sean to handle Michael and the investigator. Miss Thompson asked Michael to state all of his siblings, besides SJ and Collins, which ended up being a total of thirteen. He said that he hadn't been close to most of his siblings because they all shared different fathers. Miss Thompson questioned Michael about his living arrangements before the Tuohy's and asked how he had met them . Sean corrected Michael on dates numerous times and asked the NCAA lady to loosen up a bit because Michael was very anxious. Their first visit together ended with Michael in tears and him asking Leigh Anne to never let the lady back in the house again. In order for Michael to go to college, he needed to improve his GPA to meet the NCAA's requirements. Miss Sue, Michael's tutor, helped him take BYU online English classes to replace his former failing grades. Michael received an A in each course, but his cumulative GPA still did not meet NCAA standards. Sean decided to have Michael tested for a learning disability, which he ended up having. Michael was never taught the basics; how to pronounce words, reading comprehension, or basic math, he memorized everything he was taught. Michael didn't know why 2+2=4, but he knew that the answer was four because he had memorized it. Michael was officially classified as learning disabled, and was admitted into the NCAA. The second time the NCAA investigator came to to Tuohy's, Sean spoke to her alone. He informed her that Michael was scared after their first interview and that he doesn't generally open up to people he just met. Miss Thompson understood and asked Sean one final question- if anything was promised to Sean or his family for getting Michael to go to Ole Miss. Sean said that he and his family already had everything that they wanted, which they did. Michael and Collins graduated high school together and would both be going off to Ole Miss in the fall. Chapter 9 was about the San Francisco 49ers left tackle, Bubba Paris, and how the position of left tackle needed someone wide and strong to protect the quarterback's blind side . Bubba was the 49ers first draft pick and won them three super bowl titles, by protecting Joe Montana's blind side. 

Review:

   I really enjoyed this week's reading, apart from the chapter on Bubba Paris, which took away from the story again. Chapter eight ended with Michael graduating high school, leaving me with questions about what would happen next, only to find that chapter nine had absolutely no meaning to the story. I just don't understand why Michael Lewis would include these solely football chapters, because they are plain boring and you end up wanting to skip them. I found the interview with the NCAA investigator really interesting because it made me question if people really would do such a thing. Reading about Michael's reactions to the investigator's questions makes it clear that he doesn't like thinking about his past and shows how insecure he is as a person. Sean's character really shines when he supports Michael through the interviews and makes him seem like Michael's real father. I think it was a good thing that Michael was tested for a learning disorder, because he struggles so much in school. Hopefully now, Michael will receive the proper help he needs in college to get the best grades that he can. As the story is coming to end, I hope to read about Michael's college life and football career. 
   

                                        Michael Oher talking about his new book I Beat the Odds

Focus Question  Consider being Michael's NCAA investigator. Analyze the Tuohy family's motive for taking Michael in. Was it out of the love in their hearts, or did they see football potential in Michael and wanted him to play for their alma mater school?

Joyce Thompson, NCAA

        If I were the NCAA investigator, I would question the Tuohy's motive for helping Michael. It is very rare that an all white, christian, rich family would go into one of the poorest neighborhoods and help out a black kid on the street. Sean had been watching Michael play at basketball games and could have brought his friends from Ole Miss to recruit Michael. Michael received numerous offers from colleges all over the country and really wanted to go to the University of Tennessee, Ole Miss's biggest rival, but in the end he picked Ole Miss. He said it was because he wanted to be like his family, but if Michael had chosen UT would he still be living with the Tuohys? Though Sean and Leigh Anne are very wealthy and fortunate, they could have made a deal to insure Collins acceptance to Ole Miss or be receiving numerous payments for Michael. While interviewing I would take into account Michael's behavior; is he nervous, does he look at Sean every time before he answers a question, is he afraid of the Tuohys, is he afraid of me? After hearing Michael and Sean's responses(the same ones from the book), I would come to the conclusion that the Tuohy family took Michael in because of the love in their heart. Sean answers each question with confidence, and though Michael is nervous he feels comforted by Sean. The Tuohy's created a stable environment for Michael to live in, they helped him improve his grades greatly, and they kept him from drugs and alcohol. If I were the NCAA investigator, I would make sure that Michael was admitted to the NCAA and deny any allegations that the Tuohy family took Michael in so that Ole Miss would have a star left tackle.