JT Treats Area Kids To Premiere Of The Blind Side

November 12, 2009              

By Andy Kent
MiamiDolphins.com

What a night at the movies it was on Thursday for about 300 area kids ranging in age from elementary school to high school, courtesy of Miami Dolphins veteran outside linebacker Jason Taylor and the Jason Taylor Foundation.
 
This is the fifth year that Taylor has hosted the "Big Screens-Big Dreams" movie night, at which he gives these kids a chance to see a private screening of an inspirational movie before the rest of the general public, and this time it was the premiere of "The Blind Side." Movie theaters around the country will be premiering the true-life story of Baltimore Ravens rookie left tackle Michael Oher one week from today, 
 
"We do have a good time with this and it's a program that we've been doing for a few years now with the foundation," Taylor said before the screening. "We've done it a bunch of times here, once in Washington, D.C., and the kids have always enjoyed it. They get a chance to see the movie before it comes out. They get some free popcorn and sodas on us and really learn a good lesson from the movie I think. It gives them a chance to see the movie in a different atmosphere than I think they would in public where they can watch it and then we talk to them after the movie a little bit. Every movie we've done we've tried to think of something to say and it's been inevitable that the movie always speaks for itself."
 
In previous years Taylor has taken the kids to see "Friday Night Lights," "Coach Carter," "Glory Road," "We are Marshall," "Pride," "The Great Debaters" and "The Express." Among the football teams that were in attendance was Hollywood Hills, and head coach Dave Wetzel was eager to see how his players would react to the movie and what lessons they can take from it.
 
Wetzel's team is playing archrival MacArthur tonight and Miramar and Dillard, two of the other schools in attendance, are playing each other so there's a chance "The Blind Side" can give them some motivation. He has been a part of these movie premiers in the past and has always seen his kids get something productive out of it.
 
"I think it really a means a lot. These kids, some of them don't have the same opportunity to make it to the theater or to get a night out and enjoy it with their friends," said Wetzel, who took his kids several years ago to see "Invincible" with Taylor. "It's great for us to be able to this as a team and to hear a real good story of a kid who grew up with a hard life but he made it happen for himself because of hard work and dedication. I think it's a great message and Jason Taylor has really helped us out and it's great that he's giving back to the community and he's letting all these young kids right now see that no matter what adversity is thrown your way you can definitely succeed."
 
Hollywood Hills and MacArthur will meet for the Mayor's Cup tonight and Wetzel hopes this movie will fire up his team after seeing success and what it takes to achieve it, and Taylor is hoping the kids will take a lot more out of the movie and the experience.
 
"I think it can serve as motivation more so in life than it does for a game, and by tomorrow I'm sure the entertainment part of the movie will be over, but at some point they'll think back on this kid's life and the story that the movie provides and I'm sure they'll draw off of it at some point."
 
When the movie ended, Taylor took the microphone and touched on some of the important lessons that came out of the film and he visibly got a kick out of seeing one of his old Dolphins head coach, Nick Saban, make a cameo as himself in the movie trying to recruit Oher to LSU. Taylor reminded the kids how tough it is to make it to the NFL or any of the other top professional sports organizations, pointing out that the chances of winning the Power Ball lottery with a $1 ticket are better. He ended the night by handing out some raffle prizes that included some signed footballs by himself and fullback Lousaka Polite.