There is no doubt that football is one of the most popular sports to watch during the fall season. So what better way to get into football than to watch some movies that can also broadcast the connection between football and family? Junior Cowan Myers, current player on Millbrook’s Varsity Football team, compares the two by saying, “Football and family kind of run across the same lines, like your brothers you make a bond with for the entire year, and those memories and achievements last forever. That is your family inside school.” Two movies, both based on true stories, that represent this comparison are The Blind Side and Safety. 

  The Blind Side, featuring Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw, presents a movie about a homeless African-American teenager, Michael Oher, who suffers from a traumatizing past. Growing up in a rough area of town with a drug-addicted mother and an absent father, Michael never had a stable life. However, when Michael enters a new high school, he meets a young boy and his family, the Tuohy’s, who later offer an invitation to spend the night at their house. After spending time with the Tuohy’s, Michael discovers the true meaning of family, and is introduced to the life of football. Michael begins playing football with the help of his new family, and shortly becomes one of the star players on the team, while building relationships with his teammates that he would not have had before football. In Cowan’s words, “Outside of school, those are the guys who you get really close with and they almost become like a second family to you.” The Blind Side shows that family is a key part of life, but you can have different forms of it in various parts of your life. 

  Even when there are obstacles in every part of life, choosing family will always produce better outcomes. Safety, featuring Jay Reeves, introduces the connection between family and football with the story of Ray McElrathbey, a student at Clemson University with a football scholarship. As his football career is taking off, his mother is being placed into another rehab facility, leaving his 11-year-old brother, Fahmarr, to be left alone. In order to keep his brother safe, Ray decides to secretly bring Fahmarr along with him to college to take care of him. However, with all the secrets that Ray is keeping, he puts his entire future on the line to do what is right for his brother. With many powerful obstacles, Ray is able to raise his brother with help from every teammate whenever they can offer it, while also creating bonds with his teammates. Cowan explains this by saying, “The bond between teammates becomes extremely strong just from the game of football, by being close enough to where you remember them for the rest of your life.” Safety introduces the audience to how football can bring different types of people together to work towards one goal and create relationships along the way. 

  Family is one of the most important things in life, and football has the ability to bring people together in multiple ways. The Blind Side and Safety both exemplify how a team can work together to break through their pasts and become part of a family. Enjoy watching these football filled movies this season, and experience the important connection between football and family.