tonight on "nightline," inside the revolution. a day after cop fronting the egyptian president, christiane amanpour joins us with another extraordinary dispatch from the front lines of a historic uprising. the other side. you think you know his story? >> we want to know if you would like to become part of this family. >> kind of thought i already was. >> but michael oher, whose rags to riches tale inspired "the blind side" says the film got things wrong. but the talented teen really saved by a wealthy white family? or did he save himself? plus, the art of the sell. while does every super bowl ad feature an amusing chimp, a cute

baby or a horse? it's a "sign of the times." >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," february 4th, 2011. >> good evening, i'm terry moran. and when the army took to the streets of cairo this morning, people feared the worst. a brutal crackdown. instead, the soldiers kept a precarious piece. but the protesters' demands remain the same. ousting president hosni mubarak. one day after an exclusive interview with the egyptian strongman, christiane amanpour returns to the chaotic streets, and brings us compelling dispatch. >> reporter: terry, it was called the day of departure. they wanted the president to go after this show of strength on the streets. but the night ended, the president still in his palace. though, his supporters, the mobs

that had charged the protesters earlier this week, melted away, disappeared. and the army, importantly, shifted gears from having been a neutral observer to now really keeping both sides apart. this was tahrir square this afternoon when a rumor swept through the crowd that president hosni mubarak had stepped down. he resigned, he resigned, they shouted. the euphoria practically lifting the anti-government protesters into the air. the mad joy lasted only about 30 seconds when it quickly became clear it was just a rumor. >> it's not true. it's not true. >> reporter: for two days, this contested piece of land was the scene of raging battles. today it's a completely different atmosphere. peaceful, because the army has taken a decision to expand the

buffer zone between the people who are protesting against the government and any pro-mubarak supporters who may come here. we came in over a bridge with tanks posted at either end. the checkpoints are up again and everyone is searched for weapons. for the first time in the last couple of days, we're walking freely on this bridge, which has been the site of clashes, of surrounding journalists, of being hostile. today, it's peaceful. there are also soldiers on foot manning armored barricades. the protesters themselves are forming line after line of defense to keep out troublemakers. the sense of pride in their nation, in their culture, is palpable. it makes the scene here all the more tragic. i walked in front of the national museum, it strewn with

rubble and burnt-out vehicles leading up to the 6th of october bridge where many of the clashes have taken place. it looked like something out of world war ii. the burnt-out vehicles, the rubble, and the walking wounded. complete with a sidewalk field hospital this was actually a triage center set up by the medical professionals among the protesters. many of them had heard about my meeting with president mubarak at the palace and they were eager to ask me questions. i spoke to him yesterday, i saw him at the palace and i said to him, there are people who tell me they don't trust you when you say you will step down. and he said, i've made my decision. >> what did he say exactly? >> he said that he felt that he met your demands. >> he's a big liar. we don't believe him at all. >> reporter: now, with the white house pushing publicly for a quicker political process to start and help the transition along, these protesters are growing impatient for just that.

>> the next election, we don't trust him. >> the war on the ground, the struggle has been achieved. we still have not achieved the political battle. >> reporter: but there are many egyptians who are just as impatient for these protests, which have brought the economy to a screeching halt, to end. >> go back to work and continue our lives. >> reporter: what do you think should happen now? >> we think it should stop. what has been offered by the government, what has been granted by the government and the concessions they made is enough for now. >> reporter: and there are real que questions about who will fill the vacuum if president mubarak just goes. there's a lot of answxiety thats muslim brotherhood is taking over the protests. >> this is not true. all types of people are here. muslims and christians and all types. >> reporter: but some of the youth leaders here told us they felt the brotherhood was hijacking their movement. >> they are talking about what they want to do.

not what we want to do. they're talking for us when we didn't ask them to stand for us. >> reporter: so, i asked a leader of the muslim brotherhood what they want. we spoke by phone, because it was too dangerous for him to meet us in public. what do you say to people who are afraid that the muslim brotherhood will take over and turn this into another iran? >> the people of egypt are taking over the power, not the muslim brotherhood. >> reporter: he says the brotherhood will not even field a presidential candidate in the next election. >> because we want to send a message to egyptians and to the region and to the whole world that we are aiming and targeting to have a civil state, democratic state. >> reporter: and despite the uncertainty about what's to come next, people here are looking forward to a future they can be proud of. >> that future remains uncertain, however. our thanks to christiane and her

team for another exceptional day of reporting out there. and for more on the crisis in egypt, be sure to tune in sunday to "this week." christiane will be reporting from there. when we return, we'll turn the page. the other side of "the blind side." football great michael oher, in his own words. curtis: welcome back to geico radio, it's savings, on the radio. gecko: kate from mill valley, it's al yours. kate: well, i'm shopping for my firs car. gecko: nice! i do hope you'll choose geico and save a good bit of cash... curtis: what color is the car? i et you'd look great in a blue car. kate: no...actually, i'm torn beween a fuel-injected inline-6 and a higher torque turbo diesel. gecko: yeah...now that's quite a quandary! umm, i mean of course you could save ether way. curtis: yeah but is one of them blue cause i'd go with the blue one. anncr: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insuance. [ male announcer ] you're at the age

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we turn now to a story you might think you already know. michael oher's amazing rise from homeless teen to nfl super star was told in last year's oscar-winning film "the blind side." but now oher has written his own memoir, setting the record straight on just who really is responsible for his success.

john donvan reports. >> reporter: there's something about number 74, michael oher, that people are always telling his story. >> the baltimore ravens select michael oher. >> reporter: the day he was a first round draft pick. >> tell the story. from homeless in memphis to a first round pick. >> not going to let them down. they're going to get everything i got. i can't wait to get started. >> reporter: a best-selling biography, and then, the movie that won an oscar for sandra bullock. >> we want to know if you would like to become part of this family. >> kind of thought i already was. >> reporter: and how they got him through school and on a path to the nfl. it's a real tear-jerker, with the added power of being based on real life. up to a point, anyway. because now michael oher is coming out with his own version

of the story. so, you watched the movie. you said, afterwards my feelings were mixed. i couldn't understand why people were snitching and blowing their noses at the end. i wanted to stand up and say, you realize that was a happy ending, right? >> yeah, i mean, it was. i went to college, you know, it was a great ending. and, you know, but it had a bunch of sad parts in it. >> reporter: but happy ending. >> yeah, very happy ending. >> sure it was. as happy as it was impossible. but it happened. the world that michael oher came from was not gentle. the rough side of memphis, where he grew up scourging for meals. until the private christian school briarcrest let him enroll. and leeann touhy took him in.

>> he takes great offense if people don't think he's apart of the family. >> reporter: and yes, michael oher really is that good, playing left tackle for the ravens where his job, protecting his quarterback's blind side from attacking opponents is considered so critical that it is one of the highest paid positions in football. this is the team's offensive coordinator, cam cameron. >> the quarterback's got to trust that his left tackle has got him covered. he's as good as i've been around. >> reporter: he's that good? >> he is. >> reporter: so, if the story is all true, why come out with yet another version of it? because obviously this guy doesn't need the money. who did you write the book for? >> i know there's a lot of kids out there, young teenagers out there that, you know, the olds of them making it are slim to none so i basically did it, you know, for them. >> reporter: so they get the message that it can be done? >> exactly. >> reporter: but michael's book functions as a footnote to the michael oher story we think we know. he wants to make clear that he's not some guy that sat around

waiting to be rescued and was lucky enough to have it happen. in fact, there's a part of the story that really bothers him. >> i felt that, you know, the book made me look like i didn't know what was going on, for instance, with the ketchup bottles. >> you show me what you're supposed to do. >> reporter: he means the scene where sean explains to michael how football works. cute kid, cute scene, never happened. because michael says he knew football. >> since i was 9, 10 years old. i always understood the game of football and basketball, so you know, when they showed, when they had that i didn't understand or anything like that, i didn't like that, but -- >> reporter: poetic license, i guess. >> yeah, no doubt. but it's -- it was all good hollywood. >> reporter: but what he wants kids to hear is that they have a part in their own rescue. that he himself, despite the olds, stayed away from drugs, kept himself together. never stopped believing in himself, long before he had met

the touhys. >> reporte you did a lot for yourself. you ironed your shirts to show up neat and clean long before you were discovered. >> oh, yeah, no doubt. i always was a, you know, neat guy, you know, getting up on my own time. i was determined to be something, you know, i probably wasn't going to be in the nba or nfl but i was going to make it in life. i was going to have a family, do, just -- >> reporter: so if you didn't have your talent, do you still think you would have gotten out of the inner city? >> no doubt. i was determined. no matter what it took. i was going to -- i was going to get out, because i knew there was something better. >> reporter: his something better turned out to be pretty rare. >> that's good work by michael oher. >> reporter: playing in the nfl, covering the blind side. but his point, to those who need help and to nose who can help, go for it, because the only time you're sure to lose is when you stop trying. i'm john donvan for "nightline" in washington. >> what a great story every time

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>> announcer: "nightline" continues from new york city with terry moran. >> every year, millimeters of americans gather to watch the super bowl. and for many of them, the game is secondary to the advertising, the commercials, given the millions of dollars spent on creating these ads, there are only a handful of themes that we see over and over. and for john berman, that is a "sign of the times." >> reporter: super bowl xlv.

all the seasoned veterans will take their positions. quarterbacks, guards, linebackers. horses, chimps, babies and naked ladies. >> go daddy.com -- >> reporter: because, really, what's a super bowl without them? >> a super bowl ad is the biggest advertising venue in the world. you know, it's like going to the oscars or something. >> reporter: sean brian is the group creative director of mccann worldwide. >> if you want to get in a plane, just see a hint of a woman's thigh because her skirt is just this much too short. >> welcome to the real "mad men." there's no smoking allowed, our personal lives are far less interesting. >> reporter: his trained eye gets to the essence of sweet super bowl ad, like go daddy. oh, look. you see legs. >> coming to set. >> everybody is staring.

>> sex sells. >> reporter: that's really hard to understand what that's about. >> reporter: budweiser. oh, the horses. do they make you thirsty? >> i don't know if they make you thirsty but they make you proud to be an american beer drinker? >> reporter: here we have the career builder chimps. you're laughing. you love chimps. >> i like them. >> reporter: he does like them. we all like them. even if we can't figure out what they have to do with a company like career builder. but remember -- a super bowl ad is a different animal than other ads. >> okay. >> nothing goes better with leftovers than some ice cold pepsi. >> it's less of an opportunity to inform people and tell them a whole bunch of details about your product. you want to entertain them and you want to have them remember your brand. >> reporter: at $3 million a pop, it had better be entertaining.

>> come on! >> reporter: and likable. >> you're playing like betty white out there. >> that's not what your girlfriend said. >> reporter: and it better be understandable for the some 100 million people watching the super bowl. >> it used to be, you would come down from the mountain with your message and announce it to the people with megaphones. >> reporter: back in the '80s, super bowl ads were like this from apple. >> on january 24th, apple computer will introduce macintosh. and you'll see why 1984 won't be like 1984. >> now, advertising is an ongoing dialogue. you want people to retweet your commercial, looking for web films about it and the super bowl is the very first part of it. >> reporter: after nearly 20 years in the business, sean has spent four months working on his very first super bowl ad. a top secret spot including nine days of shooting in thailand for

a new gaming phone from sony ericsson. why such a big secret? >> well, it's a launch of a new product. we want people to know that it's coming but we want them to see the phone. >> reporter: we are the very first people to see any of it. >> that's right. >> reporter: but not all of it. >> that's the rules. okay. here we go. >> you're supposed to be a little scared. >> reporter: i'm totally scared. i'm terrified. and here -- oh, my goodness. >> that's it. you've seen enough. >> reporter: what happens next in the ad? you'll have to watch the game. will it be the next baby or betty white? you'll have to watch the internet. will next year's game feature chimps and naked ladies? chances are better than super. they're certain. i'm john berman for "nightline" in new york. >> and thanks to