As summer turns to autumn and the leaves begin to change, there always seems to be a mood swing among the masses. Excitement lingers for those who look forward to fall attire, Halloween fanatics and those who appreciate homemade pumpkin pie, but one of the most greatly anticipated features of fall is football. With college football on every weekend and the NFL getting into full swing, how could anyone not be enthusiastic about the change in the weather? Fall is all around a feel-good time, so to start off the school year and transition into the illustrious season of football and candy corn, everyone should take the time to watch a feel-good football movie in “The Blind Side.”

For those who have not seen “The Blind Side,” the movie is based on a true story of NFL football player Michael Oher. It encompasses a runaway teenage boy named Michael, or “Big Mike,” played by Quinton Aaron, taken in by a wealthy Caucasian family in Memphis, TN. The Tuohy’s (played by Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw) buy Big Mike clothes, give him a bed to sleep in and enter him in Wingate Christian School. From there, the story follows Oher in his struggles both on the field and academically to succeed in a challenging school. Eventually he becomes one of the most widely recruited high school football players in the nation and must make the decision where to attend college. The decision to follow in the Tuohy’s footsteps by going to the family alma mater of the University of Mississippi, or “Ole Miss,” or to pave his own path by attending the University of Tennessee proves to be more difficult than he thought.

Although football obviously plays a huge role in “The Blind Side,” the movie also goes in depth with how Oher lived in the projects. His mother was a drug addict and had more children than she could remember, so Oher grew up in a very broken home. The film depicts a young Oher in foster care several times and how he always would run away to find his mother, just to be taken from her again. Once he moved in with the Tuohy’s, controversy about race arose because he was African-American and they were white. People felt that they were only taking him in so that they could try to convince him to play football at Ole Miss, where they were generous boosters. Oher felt as if he would never fit in their world and that they did not understand his, but both sides gained a new appreciation for the other side.

Sandra Bullock was flooded with praise after her performance in the movie, earning the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress among others. Her strong-willed character Leigh Anne Tuohy is best remembered for teaching Oher how to play football better than any man could. “The Blind Side” is a perfect mix of humor and family-friendliness; one moment viewers are laughing, and the next they might tear up. The only disappointing part of the movie is that Oher has stated in real-life that he was always a talented football player and he never struggled at it like shown in the film. He now plays offensive tackle for the Carolina Panthers.

Overall, “The Blind Side” is an unforgettable movie about a wonderful family that takes in a boy in need. Although the film centers around the rise to football stardom of Oher, it is the quintessential heartwarming tale of family. Everyone, not just football fans, should make sure to watch “The Blind Side” this coming autumn because they will not regret it.