K D Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 You guys are too quick to judge. This is a guy that has done everything right his whole life. He's an amazing leader, family oriented, devoutly religious, and an all around good guy. All signs point to a naive and trusting human being with a big heart being the target of a cruel scam. Why is it that the good guys like Te'o and Tebow get crapped on? It's sad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adkbills Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 Regarding his girlfriend...She was faking it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Avenger Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 You guys are too quick to judge. This is a guy that has done everything right his whole life. He's an amazing leader, family oriented, devoutly religious, and an all around good guy. All signs point to a naive and trusting human being with a big heart being the target of a cruel scam. Why is it that the good guys like Te'o and Tebow get crapped on? It's sad True that we don't know all the facts yet, but this whole thing is failing the smell test and that's what's got everyone talking. Te'o and his family saying or implying that he had actually met this girl at some point, the apparent hoaxster behind the Twitter accounts being a friend of Te'o - these are really not working to his favor. I'd love it if he was completely innocent, but like I said - it is starting to smell bad..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alphadawg7 Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 (edited) Well said, as were SJBF's posts upthread. I would add that even beyond the overt lies (we caught each other's eye after the Stanford game, vacationed in Hawaii, etc.), Te'o still comes across poorly in the scenario where he's the victim. His family thought he was going to marry this girl, Te'o talked about her as the love of his life, etc. Now the story is that this was an online-only (and also telephone) relationship. Those two accounts don't jibe well with one other, even though they could technically both be true. If Te'o's the victim, here's what he needs to do: First, provide the type of evidence SJBF is talking about. There should be mounds of it, since Te'o alleged that they would have 8-hour phone conversations and talk on the phone every night. Second, he needs to produce the female hoaxer who was talking on the phone with him every night. Deadspin has given us Tuiasasopo, who seems to be the principle hoaxer, but if Te'o's story is to be believed, there must've been a woman who was just as deeply involved. I'm guessing a mastermind hoaxer of this magnitude would've made all calls on a burner phone, but she would have to have some significant connection to Tuiasasopo. Maybe ND's private investigators already found this woman, and that's why ND is so willing to stand by Te'o? Maybe. But if that's the case, the info will be leaked sooner or later, or the press will find her on their own. Either way, if the female hoaxer exists, she can be found, and if Te'o wants to clear his name, she must be found. Those things would be enough to convince me that his current story is true, and that what he's guilty of is being an idiot and an embellisher. (I.e., embellishing the significance of his online-only relationship by lying about how often they talked on the phone and met in person.) EDIT: A couple people have mentioned this, but it bears repeating: If Te'o was so in love with this girl to the point his family thought they would marry, why didn't he ever visit her grave or her family? I get the reason he never went to the fake funeral, and it's possible that the hoaxers set up a fake address for him to send flowers to, but she fake died in September. He then went 3 months without paying a visit to the "love of [his] life"'s final resting place or family? ND even went to USC after the fake death, right? That's a pretty quick trip up the coast up to NoCal -- why didn't he take it? This doesn't prove anything -- everyone grieves in their own way -- but it seems odd to me, and it doesn't pass the smell test. Let me address a few points here...1) I personally know people who had a relationship almost entirely of phone or internet connection for a long time who are now married and very happily married. One example...One of my friends met a girl over sees in Europe on his last day there...they kept in touch via phone and internet for about 6 months and were already in love with each other before she flew out to see him. They are now married for 2 years and still are like newylyweds. Point is, its not unusual in todays society for a long distance relationship via phone, text, email etc to elevate to a position of love with little to no in person time. In fact, if you ask people who have done that, like my friends, they will tell you that you get to a know a person on a substantially deeper level because all you can do is talk and communicate in those early months. So I don't find it unusual at all that they dated long distance this way for 4 months, which isnt even that long. 2) Lets address not visiting her grave - November 2nd 1994 when I was 18, my father was murdered with a gun shot to his head executioner style in an orchard. A man loved by so many, this was an absolute shock, and I was very close to him. I could not get myself to go to the viewing, was terrified of what I might see. I went to the funeral but after that I could not bring myself to visit the grave until Fathers day the following June about 7 months later. I did not go for thanksgiving, Christmas, or his birthday in February. I wanted to, but it was too much reality at a time of my life I felt I couldn't take that reality. Teo was in the middle of an undefeated season, so maybe he felt he just couldn't handle that much reality, especially considering he also was grieving from the loss of his grandmother and he is so close to his family. And how one person deals with things has no relation to how you would deal with things. Maybe you would visit the grave of her or your deceased father every week, but that isn't how someone else would deal with it always. Or maybe you could never do a long distance relationship the way they had, doesn't mean others feel the same way. I definitely can relate to him not visiting the grave as I still have a hard time today 18 years later and I think its pretty silly to question him as to why he had not gone yet, especially considering he was engulfed in their football season, which I can tell you first hand provides an escape and distraction during such a heavy grieving period. Edited January 17, 2013 by Alphadawg7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magox Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 He's 22 years old, 22 year olds do stupid and unexplainable things at time.. I'm certainly not gonna brand the kid for the rest of his life because he did something stupid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReturnoftheBuffaloBeast23 Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 So teo never skyped or facetimed the love of his life ? FOH. HAHAHA!!! ^^^^ THIS^^^^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuntheDamnBall Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 Let me address a few points here...1) I personally know people who had a relationship almost entirely of phone or internet connection for a long time who are now married and very happily married. One example...One of my friends met a girl over sees in Europe on his last day there...they kept in touch via phone and internet for about 6 months until she flew out to see him. They are now married for 2 years and still are like newylyweds. Point is, its not unusual in todays society for a long distance relationship via phone, text, email etc to elevate to a position of love with little to no in person time. In fact, if you ask people who have done that, like my friends, they will tell you that you get to a know a person on a substantially deeper level because all you can do is talk and communicate in those early months. So I don't find it unusual at all that they dated long distance this way for 4 months, which isnt even that long. 2) Lets address not visiting her grave - November 2nd 1994 when I was 18, my father was murdered with a gun shot to his head executioner style in an orchard. A man loved by so many, this was an absolute shock, and I was very close to him. I could not get myself to go to the viewing, was terrified of what I might see. I went to the funeral but after that I could not bring myself to visit the grave until Fathers day the following June about 7 months later. I did not go for thanksgiving, Christmas, or his birthday in February. I wanted to, but it was too much reality at a time of my life I felt I couldn't take that reality. Teo was in the middle of an undefeated season, so maybe he felt he just couldn't handle that much reality, especially considering he also was grieving from the loss of his grandmother and he is so close to his family. And how one person deals with things has no relation to how you would deal with things. Maybe you would visit the grave of her or your deceased father every week, but that isn't how someone else would deal with it always. Or maybe you could never do a long distance relationship the way they had, doesn't mean others feel the same way. I definitely can relate to him not visiting the grave and I think its pretty silly to question him as to why he had not gone yet, especially considering he was engulfed in their football season, which I can tell you first hand provides an escape and distraction during such a heavy grieving period. First off, yours is a tragic story and it must remain painful to endure. I'm so sorry for your loss. And I do think the post you're responding to is far off in terms of the grief management questions. But for me those questions are just a little more fuel on the fire. I think what people are more baffled by here are the declarations that he had met this girl, that she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, that they talked on the phone for hours... these are things that are so elaborate that they suggest his being in on it. I know there are plenty of long distance relationships, but in this day and age for there to be no actual face time despite all the capabilities, seems extremely odd. And the backtracking on having seen her, after all the proclamations to the contrary, smells fishy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alphadawg7 Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 So teo never skyped or facetimed the love of his life ? FOH. We don't know if he did or did not...but if you think about it, what difference would that make? Story states they met in person...so she was a real person, just a real person lying about who she was. If the story is accurate, they were talking live on the phone nightly, so her doing it via skype or just regular phone doesn't maker her more or less real. They might have skyped every night, again...doesn't make her real in terms of the name she used or the stories she created. She was obviously a real person if his side of the story was true. Your comment about not skyping would be more relevant to this situation if they had never met or just met in some chat room or something. But not only has he allegedly met her in person, other people have claimed they have met her too and by the same name, including a football player for the Cardinals. Now, all of what I said assumes the stories are true about them meeting in person initially and all that jazz. I am just commenting on the info that is out there now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Hindsight Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 You guys are too quick to judge. This is a guy that has done everything right his whole life. He's an amazing leader, family oriented, devoutly religious, and an all around good guy. All signs point to a naive and trusting human being with a big heart being the target of a cruel scam. Why is it that the good guys like Te'o and Tebow get crapped on? It's sad Agreed. He may be in the wrong here but I get sick of people saying we should draft a criminal but not a good high character guy "just cuse" To me it sounds like a naive kid that may have been hoaxed or may have just made a really dumb decision that snowballed out of control Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerball Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 Bill Clinton @PimpBillClinton Manti Te'o's favorite Seasame Street character is Mr. Snuffleupagus I don't get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K D Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 True that we don't know all the facts yet, but this whole thing is failing the smell test and that's what's got everyone talking. Te'o and his family saying or implying that he had actually met this girl at some point, the apparent hoaxster behind the Twitter accounts being a friend of Te'o - these are really not working to his favor. I'd love it if he was completely innocent, but like I said - it is starting to smell bad..... Where did he say he met her? Would love to see a quote from his mouth saying he met up with her. I have a feeling it's heresay. Someone thought he was seeing her but they just didn't know and were talking out their butt. So much conflicting information out there in the media. And even if he did meet her, is it possible he thought he was talking to her online but it was actually someone pretending to be her? That guy from the Cards says this girl did exist. Someone could have made a fake profile saying this is (whatever her name is) and he believed it. I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. Having seen that tv show Catfish, it's obvious there are some really naive people out there that are easily duped like this. I find it hard to believe that someone so devout and someone who has done the right thing his whole life is going to go off the deep end and make something like this up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Poojer Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 Mr. Snuffleupagus was Big Birds imaginary friend...he was the only one that could see him...course that could be different now.. I don't get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuntheDamnBall Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 I don't get it. Nobody else besides Big Bird sees or talks to Mr. Snuffleupagus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevestojan Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 I don't get it. If I recall, Snuffalupagus was Big Birds imaginary friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alphadawg7 Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 First off, yours is a tragic story and it must remain painful to endure. I'm so sorry for your loss. And I do think the post you're responding to is far off in terms of the grief management questions. But for me those questions are just a little more fuel on the fire. I think what people are more baffled by here are the declarations that he had met this girl, that she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, that they talked on the phone for hours... these are things that are so elaborate that they suggest his being in on it. I know there are plenty of long distance relationships, but in this day and age for there to be no actual face time despite all the capabilities, seems extremely odd. And the backtracking on having seen her, after all the proclamations to the contrary, smells fishy. Thanks for your thoughts first off. Second, I understand what you are saying about all that, but remember, he said they have met in person. So if true, this isnt a question of her existing or not...this is a question of a real life girl allegedly pretending to be a girl of another name according to what is known right now. Whether or not Teo really met her is questionable, but the information as it sits today is that he did. So that becomes more of a story about a girl lying about who she is and faking her stories. And apparently a player for the Cardinals allegedly met her by the same name before she ever got involved with Teo too and had a similar relationship. So for me, this is starting to sound a lot more like a girl trying to scam people...assuming what we know to be true which its probably too early to determine that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevestojan Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 3 responses using the word Snuffalupagus posted in the same minute. Normally that would be weird. Given the topic, it's status quo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 His girlfriend was intangible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alphadawg7 Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 Where did he say he met her? Would love to see a quote from his mouth saying he met up with her. I have a feeling it's heresay. Someone thought he was seeing her but they just didn't know and were talking out their butt. So much conflicting information out there in the media. And even if he did meet her, is it possible he thought he was talking to her online but it was actually someone pretending to be her? That guy from the Cards says this girl did exist. Someone could have made a fake profile saying this is (whatever her name is) and he believed it. I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. Having seen that tv show Catfish, it's obvious there are some really naive people out there that are easily duped like this. I find it hard to believe that someone so devout and someone who has done the right thing his whole life is going to go off the deep end and make something like this up He said out of his mouth that they met after a football game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Doug Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 (edited) First off, yours is a tragic story and it must remain painful to endure. I'm so sorry for your loss. And I do think the post you're responding to is far off in terms of the grief management questions. But for me those questions are just a little more fuel on the fire. I think what people are more baffled by here are the declarations that he had met this girl, that she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, that they talked on the phone for hours... these are things that are so elaborate that they suggest his being in on it. I know there are plenty of long distance relationships, but in this day and age for there to be no actual face time despite all the capabilities, seems extremely odd. And the backtracking on having seen her, after all the proclamations to the contrary, smells fishy. Agreed. This has nothing to do with whether or not Internet dating works or not. That's immaterial. The fact remains, he spoke to her on the phone apparently every night, he admitted to seeing her in person at least once, and apparently she visited his parents home in Hawaii. Now, who was this girl that met his parents, he met at least once, spoke to on the phone for obscene amounts of hours? A girl did exist. In fact, a fullback on the Cardinals is saying he was close friends with her. Again, this girl existed and it was not that dude. So, who was this girl? And if she was part of a hoax, I can't imagine a human being going through such extremes to keep playing her part. Visiting the parents? Staying on the phone all night? Come on. Btw, does anyone know the record for the longest thread on TBD? I think we may have a winner in the making. This is certainly going to pass the hiring of Marrone. Edited January 17, 2013 by kas23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4merper4mer Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 I don't get it. Mr. Snuffleupagus was an elephant which means he had a big nose which means he was a liar like Pinnochio. Te'o's gf was also a liar. Bill Clinton should have just said that he is Mati's favorite president since Clinton was known for lying, especially about women. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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