Michael Oher has long said The Blind Side is a Hollywood exaggeration of his upbringing. "I always knew how to play football growing up," he scoffed at Super Bowl XLVII.
What The Blind Side did get right is the Tuohy family's mega-fandom of the Ole Miss Rebels. In the early hours of Sunday morning, Leigh Anne Tuohy, Oher's adoptive mother, portrayed in an Oscar-winnning performance by Sandra Bullock, started unloading on ESPN commentators Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler. The then-No. 15 Rebels beat then-No. 2 Alabama 43-37.
I agree! I'm so sick of @KirkHerbstreit and @cbfowler acting like we were just lucky to be on the same field as Bama https://t.co/YRFjkg7L6s
— Leigh Anne Tuohy (@LeighAnneTuohy) September 20, 2015
The tweet that Tuohy is referring to here is no longer available, but her response is about Herbstreit:
I know it. I wanted to smack him and say "How about a little of how Ole Miss could continue to score points" https://t.co/MjxxsBdRR0
— Leigh Anne Tuohy (@LeighAnneTuohy) September 20, 2015
Herbstreit, a former Ohio State quarterback, has been part of the College GameDay crew since 1996 and is color commentator for college football coverage on ESPN and ABC. Herbstreit engages with fans, sometimes during games he is broadcasting, and fought Tuohy's fire with fire.
You're embarrassing yourself. Please stop and enjoy your victory. And to think I was a fan of Blindside. https://t.co/ObzPSTiCnn
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) September 20, 2015
Herbstreit stayed online deep into the morning, as his patience dwindled and the partying raged on in Oxford.
Wow, didn't realize Ole Miss had a lunatic fringe that was so vocal. Think they'd be happy they just beat Bama in T-Town. #EmbarrassingFans
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) September 20, 2015
After the dust settled in the morning, Herbstreit and Tuohy issued apologies.
Like to apologize to @LeighAnneTuohy Its never my intent to be disrespectful to any1-just surprised to see some comments on my TL. Good luck
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) September 20, 2015
Thank You! Lord knows I need a filter ever now & then. I'm just passionate about Hugh & OleMiss. Hope to see u soon https://t.co/kcddggB11x
— Leigh Anne Tuohy (@LeighAnneTuohy) September 20, 2015
Twitter can be a dangerous outlet for broadcasters. Curt Schilling is currently sidelined by ESPN due to a controversial political tweet he sent last month.
Even before the Herbstreit-Tuohy spat, during College GameDay, a fan mocked the Rebels with a Nick Saban sign inspired by The Blind Side. The Alabama head coach, who was then at LSU, played himself in the film on the recruiting trail for Oher, who chose Mississippi.
The Rebels jumped all the way to No. 3 in the AP poll, while the Crimson Tide fell to No. 12.
The Tuohys, who looked a lot older than their actor-counterparts in The Blind Side spent Sunday in Charlotte where Oher and the Panthers beat the Texans, 24-17.
Here is Tuohy chatting with Bullock about her role:
-- Follow Jeffrey Eisenband on Twitter @JeffEisenband.