2013 College Football off-season

[wolf stansson]

The story is trending in the Te'o is a pathetic weirdo who got played but still lied for some mystifying reasons to his parents, the media and ND.

 

twitter.com/justinrmegahan

 

That guy is on it.

[Magnetic Curses]

Don't project the crazy in this thread on.

 

Yeah, everyone is crazy except for the guy with the made up dead girlfriend and you.

 

Yeah. It's not the people that are willfully ignorant and then drawing conclusions like "why didn't he just call her? What an idiot!" Those people aren't crazy.

 

Nope, not crazy at all. Just enjoying the hilarity.

 

No, he's right. The people laughing at teo are crazy and married to a concept that they must protect at all cost for some reason.

 

my god. laugh at te'o all you want. he's likely gullible and foolish. but i don't think he's a psychopath, which is what he'd have to be.

 

I think you should extricate yourself from this and get away for a few days.

Edited January 17, 2013 by Stannis

[E.J.]

Reading irish envy right now is like watching porn. It's so amazing. This whole story has been just made for a wonderful Wednesday. I hope it never ends.

[Sammy Sofa]

I mean, I didn't want it to be true that Chris Benoit was a murderer, but you have to let go at some point

 

Crying Benoit needs to make some appearances.

[SpongeWorthy]

Okay, let's try laying out some statements and try to construct a narrative, because I'm weird and that's fun. Let's take Te'o's word except for where he's admitted or it's been proven that he lied.

 

Te'o's claims:

- He met a girl online, and best we can tell started interacting with her via twitter in late 2011(remember Lennay's twitter)

- They became close and became a couple. They never met in person, but would often have extensive phone calls, meaning that Te'o was hearing a female voice.

- She gets in a car crash, and shortly thereafter is diagnosed with cancer and dies not long thereafter. He maintains contact but doesn't attempt to go see her or visit her funeral according to her wishes.

- He previously had told stories of meeting her for the first time in person at a game and exchanging numbers, which we now understand to be untrue.

- He had made arrangements to meet Lennay on more than one occasion, but those plans fell through.

 

- Te'o is both Samoan and a Mormon, and from what I'm told led a sheltered life that would make him susceptible to this type of con.

 

Other people's claims:

Swarbrick - Says that the relationship was "exclusively online"

 

Reagan Mauia (Samoan NFLer) - Says he met someone claiming to be Lennay Kekua in 2011 before she met Manti, and that Ronaiah Tuiasosopo introduced them

 

Matthew Masifilo (former Stanford player from Hawaii) - Says Te'o would "always ask us(Stanford players) if they knew [Lennay]". Masifilo's last Stanford/ND game is 11/26/11, and the quote seems to imply that this happened more than once.

 

Deadspin composite - Lennay's twitter avatar is a picture that only Tuiasosopo would have access to. Others claim that Tuiasosopo invented Lennay. re: Tuiasosopo, he and Manti talk via twitter with some frequency, he's considered a family friend of Manti's, and on Manti's one trip to the west coast this season, Tuiasosopo spent the evening before the game in Manti's company. He then supposedly had on-field passes to the ND/USC game, possibly from Manti.

 

So the thing that I struggle the most with about Te'o as a victim, is why he's so close to the guy who seems to be very closely tied to the fake girl that is embarrassing him now? Is it some sort of epic backstabbing? Even if we take Te'o at his word, assume that what he says now is the true sequence of events, and believe him capable of being duped to this level, even if we take Masifilo's comment narrowly and that Te'o referenced Lennay the one time after they supposedly had struck up a relationship, and even if we believe that there are people who would go through the effort to put together such a hoax. Why is it the guy he's hanging out with when he goes back near his home? The theory that seems to fill in the most blanks is that Tuiasosopo created Lennay a long time ago, possibly as a fake beard, and he and Te'o co-opted it as he became a big man on campus as a way to keep up with appearances. It doesn't answer it 100%(why does Te'o tell ND about it when he does, for example?), but I find it far more fitting with what we do know than Te'o falling for a year-long hoax of a girlfriend that is being perpetrated by someone he appears to be pretty close to.

 

I was gonna submit that Tuiasosopo had a falling out with Te'o more than a year ago and decided to get some revenge...but obviously that doesn't jive with Te'o promoting the guy's music on twitter and hanging out with him. Good breakdown though.

[USSoccer]

MR, I think reading TT's post makes a whole hell of a lot of sense about this mess.

 

All kidding aside, simply applying Occam's Razor to the facts makes it really unlikely that someone could fall for this kind of crap on this level. I don't buy he was behind it, because that would make him a [expletive] sociopath of the highest order, and I kind of doubt that it would manifest himself in the form of the Canadian Girlfriend bit.

 

It's far simpler to reach the conclusion that this chick was a beard to cover for why he didn't have some on campus girlfriend and was never seen getting his swerve on in South Bend, they had to say she died to cover their tracks when T'eo blew up this year in terms of visibility, and now he's hip deep in [expletive] because culturally and religiously it was impossible in his mind to just be an openly gay, really good college football player.

 

Which is fine; you don't have to defend it though. Either way, this guy monumentally fucked up and made himself look like an immense fool.

[Tracer Bullet]

Okay, let's try laying out some statements and try to construct a narrative, because I'm weird and that's fun. Let's take Te'o's word except for where he's admitted or it's been proven that he lied.

 

Te'o's claims:

- He met a girl online, and best we can tell started interacting with her via twitter in late 2011(remember Lennay's twitter)

- They became close and became a couple. They never met in person, but would often have extensive phone calls, meaning that Te'o was hearing a female voice.

- She gets in a car crash, and shortly thereafter is diagnosed with cancer and dies not long thereafter. He maintains contact but doesn't attempt to go see her or visit her funeral according to her wishes.

- He previously had told stories of meeting her for the first time in person at a game and exchanging numbers, which we now understand to be untrue.

- He had made arrangements to meet Lennay on more than one occasion, but those plans fell through.

 

- Te'o is both Samoan and a Mormon, and from what I'm told led a sheltered life that would make him susceptible to this type of con.

 

Other people's claims:

Swarbrick - Says that the relationship was "exclusively online"

 

Reagan Mauia (Samoan NFLer) - Says he met someone claiming to be Lennay Kekua in 2011 before she met Manti, and that Ronaiah Tuiasosopo introduced them

 

Matthew Masifilo (former Stanford player from Hawaii) - Says Te'o would "always ask us(Stanford players) if they knew [Lennay]". Masifilo's last Stanford/ND game is 11/26/11, and the quote seems to imply that this happened more than once.

 

Deadspin composite - Lennay's twitter avatar is a picture that only Tuiasosopo would have access to. Others claim that Tuiasosopo invented Lennay. re: Tuiasosopo, he and Manti talk via twitter with some frequency, he's considered a family friend of Manti's, and on Manti's one trip to the west coast this season, Tuiasosopo spent the evening before the game in Manti's company. He then supposedly had on-field passes to the ND/USC game, possibly from Manti.

 

So the thing that I struggle the most with about Te'o as a victim, is why he's so close to the guy who seems to be very closely tied to the fake girl that is embarrassing him now? Is it some sort of epic backstabbing? Even if we take Te'o at his word, assume that what he says now is the true sequence of events, and believe him capable of being duped to this level, even if we take Masifilo's comment narrowly and that Te'o referenced Lennay the one time after they supposedly had struck up a relationship, and even if we believe that there are people who would go through the effort to put together such a hoax. Why is it the guy he's hanging out with when he goes back near his home? The theory that seems to fill in the most blanks is that Tuiasosopo created Lennay a long time ago, possibly as a fake beard, and he and Te'o co-opted it as he became a big man on campus as a way to keep up with appearances. It doesn't answer it 100%(why does Te'o tell ND about it when he does, for example?), but I find it far more fitting with what we do know than Te'o falling for a year-long hoax of a girlfriend that is being perpetrated by someone he appears to be pretty close to.

 

you forgot the date of the last part. assuming this kid is behind it or involved, manti didn't know about it until 12/26 at the earliest (if the girl told him when she called) or January 4 when ND got the investigator's report.

 

The USC game happened Thanksgiving weekend. So he would continue hanging out with and tweeting the guy b/c he didn't know he had been duped until 3 weeks ago and didn't know of this guy's possible involvement until then or even 10 days later.

[wolf stansson]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaaf--legend-of-manti-te-o-s-girlfriend--a-tall-tale-everyone-wanted-to-believe-052534925.html

"I lost two, you know, women that I truly love," Te'o said after the game. "But I had my family around me, I had my football family around me, I had my girlfriend's football family around me. And at the end of the day families are forever. I'm going to see them again and it's going to be a very happy day when I do."

I love table. I love lamp. Manti, are you just looking around the room and saying you love things?

[wolf stansson]

Hey bro where do I send these flowers for my gf's funeral?

Name?

Kekua.

I'm sorry I don't have a Kekua funeral on the books. Are you sure her services are here?

Cool so ill just send them to you then. Thanks bro.

[USSoccer]

 

you forgot the date of the last part. assuming this kid is behind it or involved, manti didn't know about it until 12/26 at the earliest (if the girl told him when she called) or January 4 when ND got the investigator's report.

 

The USC game happened Thanksgiving weekend. So he would continue hanging out with and tweeting the guy b/c he didn't know he had been duped until 3 weeks ago and didn't know of this guy's possible involvement until then or even 10 days later.

 

Or he's gay and made it up because he doesn't want to deal with the Homophobia Trifecta of the Mormon Church, the Catholic Church and the NFL?

 

Which, honestly, makes me feel worse for him than if he was suckered into believing some Canadian girlfriend scam.

[Sammy Sofa]

Hey bro where do I send these flowers for my gf's funeral?

Name?

Kekua.

I'm sorry I don't have a Kekua funeral on the books. Are you sure her services are here?

Cool so ill just send them to you then. Thanks bro.

 

Hahahahaah!

[Tracer Bullet]

MR, I think reading TT's post makes a whole hell of a lot of sense about this mess.

 

All kidding aside, simply applying Occam's Razor to the facts makes it really unlikely that someone could fall for this kind of crap on this level. I don't buy he was behind it, because that would make him a [expletive] sociopath of the highest order, and I kind of doubt that it would manifest himself in the form of the Canadian Girlfriend bit.

 

It's far simpler to reach the conclusion that this chick was a beard to cover for why he didn't have some on campus girlfriend and was never seen getting his swerve on in South Bend, they had to say she died to cover their tracks when T'eo blew up this year in terms of visibility, and now he's hip deep in [expletive] because culturally and religiously it was impossible in his mind to just be an openly gay, really good college football player.

 

Which is fine; you don't have to defend it though. Either way, this guy monumentally [expletive] up and made himself look like an immense fool.

 

So it's simpler to:

 

A. assume that an NFL prospect kills off a fake gf (rather than admitting to his family that he lied and then telling his teammates they broke up) and risks ruining his career

 

rather than

 

B. Te'o is one of a bunch of people that have fallen victim to these scams.

 

It's possible that A is right. I don't think that's more likely nor simpler.

[Guest]

you forgot the date of the last part. assuming this kid is behind it or involved, manti didn't know about it until 12/26 at the earliest (if the girl told him when she called) or January 4 when ND got the investigator's report.

 

The USC game happened Thanksgiving weekend. So he would continue hanging out with and tweeting the guy b/c he didn't know he had been duped until 3 weeks ago and didn't know of this guy's possible involvement until then or even 10 days later.

 

Right, I'm not saying that Te'o is buddies with the guy after he finds out he's been duped, I'm saying why is he being duped by a guy he's still buddies with a year into the hoax?

[wolf stansson]

Can't wait for this guy's wonderlic score.

[Outshined_One]

 

you forgot the date of the last part. assuming this kid is behind it or involved, manti didn't know about it until 12/26 at the earliest (if the girl told him when she called) or January 4 when ND got the investigator's report.

 

The USC game happened Thanksgiving weekend. So he would continue hanging out with and tweeting the guy b/c he didn't know he had been duped until 3 weeks ago and didn't know of this guy's possible involvement until then or even 10 days later.

 

Or he's gay and made it up because he doesn't want to deal with the Homophobia Trifecta of the Mormon Church, the Catholic Church and the NFL?

 

Which, honestly, makes me feel worse for him than if he was suckered into believing some Canadian girlfriend scam.

 

What if it turns out that Te'o was actually pulling off an epic troll that spiraled out of control? The NFL Draft analysis of that alone would be incredible.

[Sammy Sofa]

MR, I think reading TT's post makes a whole hell of a lot of sense about this mess.

 

All kidding aside, simply applying Occam's Razor to the facts makes it really unlikely that someone could fall for this kind of crap on this level. I don't buy he was behind it, because that would make him a [expletive] sociopath of the highest order, and I kind of doubt that it would manifest himself in the form of the Canadian Girlfriend bit.

 

It's far simpler to reach the conclusion that this chick was a beard to cover for why he didn't have some on campus girlfriend and was never seen getting his swerve on in South Bend, they had to say she died to cover their tracks when T'eo blew up this year in terms of visibility, and now he's hip deep in [expletive] because culturally and religiously it was impossible in his mind to just be an openly gay, really good college football player.

 

Which is fine; you don't have to defend it though. Either way, this guy monumentally [expletive] up and made himself look like an immense fool.

 

So it's simpler to:

 

A. assume that an NFL prospect kills off a fake gf (rather than admitting to his family that he lied and then telling his teammates they broke up) and risks ruining his career

 

rather than

 

B. Te'o is one of a bunch of people that have fallen victim to these scams.

 

It's possible that A is right. I don't think that's more likely nor simpler.

 

Again, what about the stuff like his story about how they met? Do you think he decided to make that up on his own or did the Catfishes tell him to use that story?

[USSoccer]

 

So it's simpler to:

 

A. assume that an NFL prospect kills off a fake gf (rather than admitting to his family that he lied and then telling his teammates they broke up) and risks ruining his career

 

rather than

 

B. Te'o is one of a bunch of people that have fallen victim to these scams.

 

It's possible that A is right. I don't think that's more likely nor simpler.

 

I think, given the analytic leaps of faith for each possibility, I find it easier to believe that his fear of being outed as gay, but no longer being able to plausibly cover your ass with the fake beard trumps the likelihood of him getting scammed. There are far more gaps in story B than in story A to fill in.

 

I mean....like I said; he's a Mormon football player at a Catholic university. I cannot fault him for being afraid to come out.

[rocket]

So how did he find out she died if she never existed? Someone pretending to be her mother or sibling?

[Sammy Sofa]

Hey bro where do I send these flowers for my gf's funeral?

Name?

Kekua.

I'm sorry I don't have a Kekua funeral on the books. Are you sure her services are here?

Cool so ill just send them to you then. Thanks bro.

 

"VANDELAY!!! SAY 'VANDELAY FUNERAL HOME'!!!!!!"

Edited January 17, 2013 by Sammy Sofa

[Guest]

http://www.barstoolsports.com/m/boston/super-page/play-like-you-had-a-fake-dead-girlfriend-shirts-now-on-sale/

http://boston.barstoolsports.com/files/2013/01/ND_angle-NAVY_Green-480x480.jpg

I'm getting that shirt.

[davell]

All this stuff that AwfulAnnouncing is tweeting now is starting to make me believe he really was duped. Then tried to cover it up.

[imb]

And you want to be my middle linebacker

[USSoccer]

Also, MR, I'm really not trying to pile on, but to believe Te'o was duped given the inconsistencies and variables and gaps to fill in....I mean, he might as well say he was distracted by the aurora borealis in Brian Kelly's kitchen. It's really not believable considering the alternatives.

[Tracer Bullet]

MR, I think reading TT's post makes a whole hell of a lot of sense about this mess.

 

All kidding aside, simply applying Occam's Razor to the facts makes it really unlikely that someone could fall for this kind of crap on this level. I don't buy he was behind it, because that would make him a [expletive] sociopath of the highest order, and I kind of doubt that it would manifest himself in the form of the Canadian Girlfriend bit.

 

It's far simpler to reach the conclusion that this chick was a beard to cover for why he didn't have some on campus girlfriend and was never seen getting his swerve on in South Bend, they had to say she died to cover their tracks when T'eo blew up this year in terms of visibility, and now he's hip deep in [expletive] because culturally and religiously it was impossible in his mind to just be an openly gay, really good college football player.

 

Which is fine; you don't have to defend it though. Either way, this guy monumentally [expletive] up and made himself look like an immense fool.

 

So it's simpler to:

 

A. assume that an NFL prospect kills off a fake gf (rather than admitting to his family that he lied and then telling his teammates they broke up) and risks ruining his career

 

rather than

 

B. Te'o is one of a bunch of people that have fallen victim to these scams.

 

It's possible that A is right. I don't think that's more likely nor simpler.

 

Again, what about the stuff like his story about how they met? Do you think he decided to make that up on his own or did the Catfishes tell him to use that story?

 

Are we talking Stanford 2009?

 

Stanford 2009: te'o and a woman exchange numbers

 

--unclear if any contact--

 

sometime in 2011: woman contacts te'o claiming to be woman he gave his number to.

 

...bunch of [expletive] happens leading to today...

 

that seems pretty logically consistent.

[Tracer Bullet]

So how did he find out she died if she never existed? Someone pretending to be her mother or sibling?

 

her "brother" who he had spoken to called him. gave him an address to send flowers to, which he did.