By Justin Fedich | The Selma Times-Journal

Leigh Anne Tuohy stepped into an elevator with Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco in San Diego during a September game in 2009. She had just moments to speak to the man who was being protected by her adopted son, NFL left tackle Michael Oher.

Tuohy wasted no time speaking her mind to the Ravens’ quarterback.

“You have got to get rid of the ball quicker,” Tuohy said to Flacco. “You hold the ball entirely too long. One Mississippi’s good, two Mississippi’s good, you’re on three and four Mississippi son, that ball needs to be out of your hands.”

Tuohy, whose story was featured in the hit movie “The Blind Side,” had no trouble speaking her mind and getting her message across at the Selma Convention Center Thursday night in front of a sold out crowd. Her story was made famous for stopping on the side of the street and adopting a 16-year-old, Oher, who is now a NFL lineman for the Carolina Panthers.

On Thursday night, Tuohy inspired the crowd to step out of its comfort zone and reminded it that there are plenty of other future success stories like Oher wandering the streets without a home.

“We really just think that this is the story that God wanted to be told and really and truly, we need to learn to love people that don’t look like us, and families don’t have to match,” Tuohy said.

At 16 years old, Tuohy said no one had ever told Oher they loved him. When she found Oher walking alone on the side of the street, she knew she had to do something.

“I said, ‘You’re not staying here and we’re not leaving until I figure out what we’re doing,’” Tuohy said.

Nick Saban, then the head coach at LSU, was the first to realize the potential in Oher. He saw Oher play before any colleges were looking at him. Saban told Tuohy something that has stuck with her to this day.

“Michael Oher has got to be the most obvious success story that there is walking the streets of Memphis, Tennesee,” Tuohy recalls Saban saying.

Tuohy said that if Oher can find success in the NFL, there must be plenty of other success stories waiting to be told.

She told the audience Tuesday night that there are two types of people in the world: givers and takers.

“There isn’t a person in this world, not one, that wants to be raised in foster care. There’s not a person in this world that would choose to be homeless. There’s not a person in this world that wants to go to bed hungry,” Tuohy said.

“What I am challenging you to do is to get out of your comfort zone and make a difference,” Tuohy said.