Manti Te'o didn't really have a dead girlfriend

[Caveat Emperor]

Originally Posted by Nathan

Honestly, is this really THAT big of a deal? So, he made up a girlfriend, WHOOP DE DOO! Is that really a reason to throw him down the gutter? Did he commit a cardinal sin? Was anyone really negatively affected by this, and if so, why? I can't believe people will think adversely of him just because of this, even if it comes out that he knew all along. There's nothing illegal that he's done. Odd, yes, but, not a huge deal.

We talked about this at work today.

Lots of stuff you can easily move past because, while you may not agree with the decision or like the decision, you at least understand why it happened. Peter Warrick and Laveranues Coles scammed Dillards to get free stuff -- you might not LIKE the behavior, but you can least understand someone wanting to get some free stuff when they're in college. Donte Stallworth killed a dude while driving drunk -- that makes most people upset and they rightly criticize his decision to drive, but most people can at least understand how someone drives drunk (and many, in fact, have experience driving drunk).

This, though, is really hard to understand. Making up (if he, indeed, was complicit in this fraud) a fake girlfriend and then killing her off to attract attention or publicity is just weird. Having an online relationship with someone, referring to her as the "love of your life," having never met her in person (if he WASN'T complicit in this and just got duped) is similarly weird.

It's a big deal because it's tough for people to understand why the hell he made any of the decisions he did in this case. When people don't understand why you did things, it makes it hard for them to trust you or view you as reliable.

[Raisor]

I love this story and can't wait to find out what happens next.

[RedsBaron]

Originally Posted by Raisor

I love this story and can't wait to find out what happens next.

yeah. It is a bizzare train wreck of a story that I can't take my eyes off of.

[Redhook]

Originally Posted by Raisor

I love this story and can't wait to find out what happens next.

Me too. It's fantastically bizarre. I really don't care that he made this stuff up nor do I think less of him because of it. I'm just so intrigued by how strange it is. More please....

[Homer Bailey]

Originally Posted by Redhook

Me too. It's fantastically bizarre. I really don't care that he made this stuff up nor do I think less of him because of it. I'm just so intrigued by how strange it is. More please....

I'm glad I'm not the only one that feels this way. I have no idea why I'm so incredibly fascinated by this story.

[Superdude]

Originally Posted by Raisor

I love this story and can't wait to find out what happens next.

I am transfixed. Everything about this just makes no sense. Whoever said he just lost a lot of endorsement opportunities is 100% right IMO. Hard to see him ever living this down.

[REDblooded]

Originally Posted by wolfboy

Just curious, why do you think ESPN sat on the story for ten days?

Same reason they were one of the most gentle news sources when the kid died while filming practice...

ND contract with NBC expires in 2015...

[Wonderful Monds]

Originally Posted by Raisor

I love this story and can't wait to find out what happens next.

It really is the best.

I also have the weirdest premonition that this guy will seriously be playing for the Bengals next year.

[camisadelgolf]

Here's a great football lie: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=7528784

[Roy Tucker]

Originally Posted by Nathan

Honestly, is this really THAT big of a deal? So, he made up a girlfriend, WHOOP DE DOO! Is that really a reason to throw him down the gutter? Did he commit a cardinal sin? Was anyone really negatively affected by this, and if so, why? I can't believe people will think adversely of him just because of this, even if it comes out that he knew all along. There's nothing illegal that he's done. Odd, yes, but, not a huge deal.

I'm of the same opinion. I mean, who cares, really? The guy and the university just come off as looking like either a.) blithering unaware idiots, or b.) deceiving liar idiots.

But who got hurt and what law got broken? Nobody got killed and nobody got robbed (I think). The media is just mad because they got totally duped so now they are going to pile on like you've never seen before.

But its just a tawdry story that doesn't affect any of us, really. People lied and did stupid things. Gosh, whoda thunk it? Besides all the wasted time at the water cooler talking about this, that is.

Who cares? Bah. There are bigger problems that deserve some time and discussion and thought. This doesn't.

[15fan]

You know what team should draft Te'o?

The Lions.

[Stray]

Okay so I haven't followed that that closely, and I don't know if I have the facts right, but this is what I think I know.

- The girlfriend never existed
- He did interviews (or they aired?) about her after he ultimately found out
- Notre Dame allowed the BCS Championship Game pregame interview to go on while they knew
- Several people knew she wasn't real and it was a running joke among them and their friends
- Te'o and his father both said he had met her in person, which we know to be untrue
- 3 years in a relationship without any proof that the person was even real
- His fake girlfriend who he was in love with was in a serious car accident with injuries, got cancer, got a promising diagnosis, went back to the hospital, then ultimately died and he never once went to see her

I dunno. I know that people are into online flings and relationships, but understanding that this is still impossible for me to believe. Nobody can possibly be this big of a sucker, and even if he was, it doesn't explain him embellishing the story after finding out it was a hoax.

At this point it can't get any worse for him. He's already a punchline, but he should at least learn a little something from Lance Armstrong. Out of sight is out of mind. Come clean and give people the truth, eventually another story will come along and people will stop caring about his.

[Boston Red]

Originally Posted by camisadelgolf

Here's a great football lie: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=7528784

Not sure how it is possible, but that kid is going to be a junior offensive lineman at Missouri Western NEXT SEASON. He left high school and enrolled in JUCO in 2008.

[Boston Red]

I need to make it to the Florence Freedom game to collect my Manti Te'o girlfriend bobblehead.

[19braves77]

I laughed at this quote:

"This whole thing is so nutsy that I believe it only could have happened at Notre Dame, where mythology trumps common sense on a daily basis. ... Given the choice between reality and fiction, Notre Dame always will choose fiction," sports writer Rick Telander said in the Chicago Sun-Times.

Notre Dame should be glad how small this is.... How would they handle a serious matter like the Penn State event ?