Michael Oher's story is enough to melt the heart of even the most NFL-averse among us -- there's a best-selling book and a hit movie to prove it.
But he's not just a feel-good tale. Oher -- the left tackle from the hardscrabble background who is the subject of The Blind Side -- is doing quite well on the field, too. Better yet, the family that took him in and helped steer him to success has stuck with him to this day -- they even celebrated with Oher after his Carolina Panthers booked a trip to Super Bowl 50.
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Oher was made famous when Michael Lewis published The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game in 2006. The book spotlighted the evolution and increased importance of the left tackle position, but became hit a thanks to Lewis's detailing of Oher's poignant personal story.
Oher was born to a broken home and bounced between foster care setups as a kid, even missing school altogether for about 18 months straight when he was 10 years old. Then Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy -- a high school classmate of Lewis -- took Oher into their own home, nurturing him along a path of stability and success.
The formerly lost boy became a prodigy at the left tackle position -- but as he's ascended, he and the Tuohys certainly haven't lost touch. Oher's Carolina Panthers beat the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Championship on Sunday to reach Super Bowl 50. After the game, Sean and Leigh Anne celebrated on the field with him, a moment Oher shared via Instagram on Monday.
A photo posted by @michaeloher on Jan 25, 2016 at 11:04am PST
This won't be Oher's first Super Bowl trip. He was drafted out of the University of Mississippi by the Baltimore Ravens in 2009. In 2013, he and the Ravens beat the San Francisco 49ers to win Super Bowl XLVII. From there, however, Oher's career nearly fizzled out.
Despite that Super Bowl win, Oher's time in Baltimore was ultimately disappointing due to the massive amount of hype that preceded him. In 2014, he signed a four-year deal with the Tennessee Titans, who cut him a year later. Then, prior to this season, the Panthers signed Oher to a two-year, $7 million deal.
The move was hardly seen as a blockbuster signing following Oher's aborted tenure in Tennessee.
"We did our homework on Michael, and we feel very strongly that he can be an answer for us," Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman said before the season. "He'll be inserted at left tackle, and we'll go from there."
Fast-forward several months, and here's the picture now: Oher started all 16 regular season games and both playoff wins, and the Panthers have made it to the Super Bowl.
It almost sounds like a Hollywood tale.