Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Forge!!!]

http://deadspin.com/5976517/manti-teos-dead-girlfriend-the-most-heartbreaking-and-inspirational-story-of-the-college-football-season-is-a-hoax?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_twitter&utm_source=deadspin_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow


I can't remember reading a story this weird. This is so...strange.

[mith]

On one hand, I don't want to make light of this... I've had to deal with a couple of "fake identity" situations over the years running mafiascum, and also had an incident with some random guy using a picture of me on facebook/myspace.

On the other hand, "More like Nosuch Dame, amirite???" is one of the funniest comments I've ever seen.

[Obi Wan Bonogi]

Early contender for craziest story of the year.  Te'o's statement that he was an unknowing victim seems like a stretch, too many claims of real life meetings and phone calls for him to simply be a victim of an online hoax.  Shame on the dozens of major news outlets that reported pieces of this story as fact for months and months when fact checking Cancer deaths or Stanford students would have been easy.  A recurring theory is that he is gay and this was all an elaborate coverup that spiraled out of control, which seems to be completely unsubstantiated but is one of the few things that makes sense.

My favorite funny comment:  "Can we even be sure Manti Te'o existed? I never saw him during the championship game*"

*Te'o had a very poor performance during the BCS Championship game.

[Kirian]

That is some crazy-go-nuts shit right there.

[Tables]

On one hand, I don't want to make light of this... I've had to deal with a couple of "fake identity" situations over the years running mafiascum, and also had an incident with some random guy using a picture of me on facebook/myspace.

On the other hand, "More like Nosuch Dame, amirite???" is one of the funniest comments I've ever seen.

Waitwaitwait, you're the creator of Mafiascum?
...
Most interesting. Here I was thinking you were just another dominion player, just another regular in the non-mafia game section.

[werothegreat]

Given the often clandestine nature of the gay community, younger gay men will usually meet each other online, and when they meet a guy they like who lives far away, they'll sometimes start a "relationship."  I've talked to way too many guys who seriously believe that they can have a healthy, real relationship with someone they've never met in person (and often, have never even seen via webcam) to find this all that surprising.  There's nothing wrong with a long-distance relationship, as long as you've ACTUALLY MET IN THE FIRST PLACE.

On a related note, I've also talked to quite a few guys who have lied about their age or some other part of their life, usually in an attempt to titillate the guy they're chatting up.  One of them actually pulled a Lennay Kekua and stole pictures from someone else - I only figured that out because they guy he stole pictures from happened to have a mutual Facebook friend with me, and I happened upon him.  When I confronted the picture stealer, he stopped talking to me.

[Kuildeous]

There's nothing wrong with a long-distance relationship, as long as you've ACTUALLY MET IN THE FIRST PLACE.

I'm sure that some people could in fact have meaningful relationship online only.

But I think those are rare cases. Humans kind of crave intimacy. Although, when I count up my computer and smart phone time, I think I probably do interact with humans more digitally than in person. It's not too big of a stretch to imagine someone (or a few someones) who can feel comfortable having a relationship entirely online. I know I've had my fair share of net romances back in college; nothing long or meaningful, but they existed.

[Kirian]

[Ozle]

Come on guys, be fair. We have all had fake dead girlfriends before right?!

[Drab Emordnilap]

Fake-dead girlfriends, or fake dead-girlfriends... or dead fake-girl friends?

[Ozle]

Fake-dead girlfriends, or fake dead-girlfriends... or dead fake-girl friends?

This is one of those trick questions like my momma warned me the police would use....are any of them right?

[theory]

Bill Simmons' mailbag on Te'o is hilarious:

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8856794/the-all-teo-mailbag

Q: [What] would be the craziest possible ending to the Manti Te'o story?
—Greg, Philly

SG: Bill Belichick spending the past few years creating Manti's fake dead girl, then hiring someone to play her on the phone, with the ultimate intent of wounding Manti's draft stock enough that he'd fall to the bottom of the first round of the 2013 draft … right to the New England Patriots. Thank you and please drive through.[4]

[4]     For the record, I didn't think of this angle — at least 10 different readers did. He was the only NFL coach suggested for that scenario in all the e-mails I received. You gotta love the Bill Belichick era.

[michaeljb]

Apparently she faked her death:

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/lennay-kekau-told-manti-te-o-she-faked-222952624--ncaaf.html

[mith]

So now its a fake-dead fake-girlfriend?

[Ozle]

So now its a fake-dead fake-girlfriend?

Or its a fake girl as well?

No one else thinking he is in a relationship with the other guy?
How are US sports with gay players these days?

[Kirian]

So now its a fake-dead fake-girlfriend?

Or its a fake girl as well?

No one else thinking he is in a relationship with the other guy?
How are US sports with gay players these days?

Only a bare majority of Americans tolerate gay people to begin with.  People who are fans of violent bloodsport are not, on the whole, known for being particularly tolerant of "the other" in any form.  I'd suspect the number of football fans who would be OK with a gay player is under 40%.

[Ozle]

yeah, a fake dead girlfriend is much more pleasing to them than a bit of man lovin'

[theory]

From Simmons:

Q: The only way I see Manti Te'o redeeming himself now is if he announces he's gay. It would be the fastest fall from grace and subsequent redemption in sports history, with two possible outcomes: He is gay and he becomes the gay Jackie Robinson. Or, he isn't gay and still becomes the gay Jackie Robinson, but is forced to live the rest of his life pretending to be gay in the worst lie gone wrong ever. Either way, I think there may be enough here for a "Fourth-and-God Part III" movie.
—Kinshuk Rajan, Stamford

SG: Especially since the Fourth and God sequel went straight to video. I never thought of that wrinkle, though — Manti pretending he's gay because it's his only way out of this scandal? How long would he have to pretend? The rest of his life? Through the end of his playing career? This has all the makings of becoming the single worst romantic comedy ever made — it's like Jennifer Aniston lying about being engaged to Jay Mohr in Picture Perfect crossed with Al Pacino in Cruising, only if you threw in a healthy dash of Rudy, too. By the way, my wife would totally watch this movie.