Notre Dame's girl friend was a hoax

[JerryBobCo]

http://espn.go.com/college-football/...pparently-hoax

For those who follow this sort of stuff, a lot was made earlier in the year about Manti T'eo's girlfriend dying the same day as his grandmother died. T'eo was the Notre Dame lineback who finished second in the Heisman voting, as well as won a number of national awards for being one of the top college players this year.

He was interviewed and expressed a lot of grief and remorse, and told the world how much he loved her. It was a pretty big story.

Now, it turns out that the gf didn't really exist. He had only talked to her over the internet and phone, and claims he is also the victim of the hoax. Even when he realized what was happening, and reported it to his coach on the day after Christmas, ND officials decided to keep it quiet.

As with most things sports related, it appears that this story is being blown out of proportion, in my humble opinion. I don't know why T'eo would make this up, but it does seem he's guilty of being very naive. I guess that time will tell.

Probably the one to benefit the most from it is Lance Armstrong.

[rbsivley]

So he was deeply in love with a girl he didn't know?

[JerryBobCo]

So he was deeply in love with a girl he didn't know?

Apparently so. Or, at least he was deeply in love with a girl he had never met face to face.

[bullsi1911]

Buddy sent me these today:



A little more obscure, but hilarious if you know who Kaiser Souse is:

[breamfisher]

[cpj]

The smile on his face says it all. I'll refrain from describing what it says, but it says it all.

[Buffco]

[Buffco]

You've heard of Tebowing?

Now we have T'eoing.

[cpj]

You've heard of Tebowing?

Now we have T'eoing.

That's goll durn frikkin hilarious.

[knitepoet]

Jerry, look at some of his previous things about her, he has painted himself into a corner, and it looks like he wasn't the "victim", he was quite possibly the perpetrator of the hoax.

He said when his grandmother died, he spent hours on the phone with her, but she died 6 hours after his grandmother.
So she felt like talking, and comforting him from her death bed?

He said how much her family comforted him after his grandmother's death.
But her family had their own funeral to plan.

I have a feeling that eventually it's going to come out that Te'o was an accomplice to this, and it's going to hurt him in the long run

[JerryBobCo]

Yeah, Paul. It's beginning to look like Manti was the perpetrator and not the victim. In addition to what you posted above, someone from Fox reported yesterday that one of his team mates said that everyone on the team knew all along that the gf did not exist, including Manti. To this, add the fact that Manti reported the hoax to his coach 11-12 days prior to the national championship game, and it starts to reek.

As for Manti's standing in the upcoming NFL draft, I don't know which will hurt him the most. Will it be this hoax, or his inability to tackle Alabama running backs. Regardless of all else, he played pretty poorly for such a highly touted player.

[alphasigmookie]

One theory I've heard is that he's gay and since he's Mormon and the most high profile football player for a Catholic university that was definitely not ok. The fake gf was possibly a way to deflect all the questions about why he never dated. Killing her off was a way to keep people from going to search for her when he started to get more famous.

[JerryBobCo]

One theory I've heard is that he's gay and since he's Mormon and the most high profile football player for a Catholic university that was definitely not ok. The fake gf was possibly a way to deflect all the questions about why he never dated.

So we have a gay Mormon from Hawaii attending a Catholic university in Indiana who invents a fake girlfriend to hide his sexual orientation?

Makes as much sense as anything else I've heard.

[knitepoet]

So we have a gay Mormon from Hawaii attending a Catholic university in Indiana who invents a fake girlfriend to hide his sexual orientation?

Makes as much sense as anything else I've heard.

Makes my head

[Gene L]

Why T'eo would make it up? How about the Heisman trophy run? His granny died and his girlfriend died within hours of each other. Sounds like a lot of sympathy to me.

[JerryBobCo]

Why T'eo would make it up? How about the Heisman trophy run? His granny died and his girlfriend died within hours of each other. Sounds like a lot of sympathy to me.

There's also the aspect of high market value. If he's a well recognized public figure with a positive and sympathetic image, the advertizing dollars could be huge.

[tennmike]

Well, all I can say about this sad situation is that he's way too old to be having imaginary friends. That crap needs to be nipped in the bud before one reaches the age of double digits.

[Gene L]

The other thing is, fantasy or not, gay or straight, he's the best linebacker I've seen on a college level.

[JerryBobCo]

The other thing is, fantasy or not, gay or straight, he's the best linebacker I've seen on a college level.

Are you serious? Did you see all the tackles he missed during the national title game? I remember one where he had the running back nailed in the back field, and somehow didn't finish it off. Maybe that was that was just a bad game for him, as it seemed like the whole ND defense was missing tackles. Regardless, he had a lousy game.

[Razorbacker]

Are you serious? Did you see all the tackles he missed during the national title game? I remember one where he had the running back nailed in the back field, and somehow didn't finish it off. Maybe that was that was just a bad game for him, as it seemed like the whole ND defense was missing tackles. Regardless, he had a lousy game.

He was completely exposed in that game. Late to the ball nearly every play. This doesn't make him a bad player. It just ads him to the long list of players who are humbled by their first game against an SEC school, particularly BAMA

[JerryBobCo]

He was completely exposed in that game. Late to the ball nearly every play. This doesn't make him a bad player. It just ads him to the long list of players who are humbled by their first game against an SEC school, particularly BAMA

As good a bama is, they don't stack up to the worst NFL team, which is where Manti will want to be playing next year. If he can't cut it against the best college team, I have my doubts that he'll do well in the pros.

[alphasigmookie]

As good a bama is, they don't stack up to the worst NFL team, which is where Manti will want to be playing next year. If he can't cut it against the best college team, I have my doubts that he'll do well in the pros.

Every player can have a bad game. That said, his talent seems to be more in coverage and running down small speedy guys than as a pass rusher or run stuffer. Had ND played a team like Oregon he may have had a better game, but he seemed to be exposed by getting punched in the mouth by Alabama's power run game. Lucky for him middle linebackers who can cover big tight ends and speedy slot receivers are more important in the NFL than guys who can stuff the run as the NFL is a pass first league. I'd bet he'll be a solid starter for many years, but not a pro bowler or anything.