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Netflix Series on Manti Te'o's Girlfriend

12,085 Views | 99 Replies | Last: 2 yr ago by Mort Rainey
double aught
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He was a dumb college kid who made a mistake and was duped. Then he tried to lie his way out of it in the hopes of avoiding greater embarrassment. I'm glad no one was documenting the dumb stuff I did in college.

I'm not sure why some of y'all want so badly to vilify him other than the fact that he was a media darling who competed with Manziel for the Heisman and the spotlight. And those seem like pretty silly reasons.
HoustonAg2106
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double aught said:

He was a dumb college kid who made a mistake and was duped. Then he tried to lie his way out of it in the hopes of avoiding greater embarrassment. I'm glad no one was documenting the dumb stuff I did in college.

I'm not sure why some of y'all want so badly to vilify him other than the fact that he was a media darling who competed with Manziel for the Heisman and the spotlight. And those seem like pretty silly reasons.


At the time it was easy to mock and vilify him, now there is no reason to. Let it go is what I say
20ag07
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Quote:

This documentary is just taking advantage that almost 10 years have passed now, and most people have forgotten about all the details now
Quote:

I haven't watched the documentary, but the gist I get from other posts
This talking is dumber than Manti was at 19 when he got duped.
HoustonAg2106
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20ag07 said:

Quote:

This documentary is just taking advantage that almost 10 years have passed now, and most people have forgotten about all the details now
Quote:

I haven't watched the documentary, but the gist I get from other posts
This talking is dumber than Manti was at 19 when he got duped.


LOL
fightinag
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riverrataggie said:



That guy had tail waiting at his door and he goes online?
or did he ?
Leander - Ag
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Not buying it. No one is that stupid. Used the story to boost his brand.

If he did get "catfished", she was one of many of his girls.
cevans_40
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So she was the love of his life and he never touched her boobs?

Not buying it.
20ag07
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Unlike aggieair, I actually watched the thing. I had laughed as hard as anybody at him in 2012.

That was a 21 year old kid, who, as he discusses in the doc, was being handled by professional "crisis managers" hired by ND. Nobody at 21 has the maturity to deal with that. Yeah, he did a really dumb thing for awhile. As kids do. The aftermath…

He sat on a national talk show, next to his parents, having to respond to Katie Couric asking: "there's a popular theory out there that you might be gay. So are you, Manti?" While he sits next to his parents. On a nationally televised interview.

Regardless of whatever, that's brutal to a 21 yo kid.
rootube
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It did bring to light that some people think if Tao had not been distracted ND could have beaten Alabama which made me laugh so hard I spit something out of my mouth which qualifies this Netflix special as a comedy.
20ag07
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The other thing you'll notice- his parents sat next to him on the Katie Couric show.

Not on the doc.

Totally separate. You can either read between the lines, or make bad assumptions. I probably did both.
ccolley68
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I don't know. The guy is a dip****, and got duped hard. That was the fact then, and the doc doesn't try to steer the narrative otherwise. I watched it more interested in how it all went down. And from that angle, they made some pretty compelling arguments.

He was LDS, apparently a big thing for the Hawaiians, I didn't know. He goes off to notre dame and is immersed in a Catholic environment he isn't used to, in a white midwesterner world he knows no one in, and a climate so far removed from where he came it's hard to fathom. He meets a chick online who's pretty hot, from his region, shares his beliefs, and he allows himself to get sucked in to the only thing that resembles home he's seen in a long time.

Yeah, the not ever seeing her stuff, not going to the hospital, etc is pretty flimsy, but there were reasonable explanations behind it in the doc. It did sound like prior to her supposed car wreck, it was a relationship on thin ice because of the lack of in person, and the wreck and hospitalization was a desperate attempt to lure him back in, and it worked.

And while not leaving to go to the funeral is a bit suspect, it's not unprecedented. Favre played a Monday Night game the day of or right around when his dad died and played arguably the best game of his career.

I still think Teo is a moron, but I do think he got screwed over by the he/she, then it was so deep and so bad on the surface, I think everyone just hoped if they didn't say anything it would all just fade away, but it only burned hotter, and that's what got them the worst. The he/she to their credit was a GD master at playing that catfishing game before it was even a thing. I gotta hand it to him, he probably could have tricked most of the people on this board too. The ability to change voices, covering the tracks by approaching Teo's connections prior so when he did ask people about her they would tell him they knew her. Especially that rabbit out of a hat trick to go and approach the girl to make the date stamped and hand signal pic Teo demanded to prove she was real. That's deep fake type stuff.
Whatthefunyo
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cevans_40 said:

So she was the love of his life and he never touched her boobs?

Not buying it.


POTD
20ag07
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Quote:

I still think Teo is a moron, but I do think he got screwed over by the he/she, then it was so deep and so bad on the surface, I think everyone just hoped if they didn't say anything it would all just fade away, but it only burned hotter, and that's what got them the worst.
The doc is very fair that he was stupid. Other than publicity, he got nothing out of it. No Heisman. No national championship, probably did plunge his draft stock. Had to discuss his sexuality with many potential employers.

The doc leans into his stupidity.

You see a lot of these, and there is a narcissist in the camera. Not here.

Manti comes across as nothing but a dumbass.
BadgerAggie
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I can't stand NDame as much as the next non-fan and I am certain I piled on when the story broke but after watching the documentary, I believe he was naive and I believe he was 100% duped. Should he have been smarter, of course. Was he lonely for something "home like" and found that in a hot girl, of course. Should he have met her somewhere along the way, of course! I'm always amazed these things still happen in 2022 but in 2012 the whole catfish thing wasn't even known about. The guy lost millions in compensation by falling to the 2nd round and I'm sure his confidence took a huge hit as players and fans threw a ton of shade at him. Put me in the camp of those who feel bad for the guy.
jonb02
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Can someone post a brief synopsis of the story from start to finish in a sentence or two? I remember this guys name but not the story. TIA
Onionman
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BadgerAggie said:

I can't stand NDame as much as the next non-fan and I am certain I piled on when the story broke but after watching the documentary, I believe he was naive and I believe he was 100% duped. Should he have been smarter, of course. Was he lonely for something "home like" and found that in a hot girl, of course. Should he have met her somewhere along the way, of course! I'm always amazed these things still happen in 2022 but in 2012 the whole catfish thing wasn't even known about. The guy lost millions in compensation by falling to the 2nd round and I'm sure his confidence took a huge hit as players and fans threw a ton of shade at him. Put me in the camp of those who feel bad for the guy.
I think his draft plunge had much more to do with his sluggish 40 time and Bama manhandling him in the championship game than the whole 'catfish' thing.

Don't kid yourself into thinking the NFL puts character above actually being able to contribute on the field.
Pet Sounds
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Great documentary, the media apparatus unfortunately got away with their amazing "fact checking" even after Deadspin exposed the false story.

As for Manti, the kid he was then and the man he is now is still a better role model than Johnny is or was.
txaggies07
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My problem with Teo is that if you watch the tape of his interceptions he was almost always horribly out of position. He ended up getting a lot of tips to him (very few were clean interceptions).
HoustonAg2106
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txaggies07 said:

My problem with Teo is that if you watch the tape of his interceptions he was almost always horribly out of position. He ended up getting a lot of tips to him (very few were clean interceptions).


How can you possibly know what defensive scheme was called and if he was out of position?
Ag Tag
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So, dumbass AND dishonest, too.
Jarrin' Jay
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Doesn't matter if he was catfished, You don't claim to have a girlfriend when you have not ever even met said person...
Z Team
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He was an idiot that got played and then tried to cover it up with lies that he couldn't reel back in, rather than own it.
Gump 02
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I am somewhat interested in watching, but there is no way I want to inflate viewership for any ND programming. May they dissolve in a hot pit of sulfuric acid and fade out of existence.
Fuzzbutt
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Finished watching it last night.

Personally, I believe he was catfished....at first. He was fooled and built up that story for his brand. If you look back at that season, he really played that relationship up in a huge way because it benefitted him. That's the part that I won't ever believe - the whole 'love of his life' thing. Best case, if he believed the love of his life was in a wreck, had cancer, or died he used that as part of his brand. I don't think he actually cared about this relationship and it was someone fun for him to talk to that made him comfortable or felt like home. For such a private, standoffish guy he sure didn't shut down those interview questions. He knew about it in the weeks/months coming into the Heisman, but knew that would shatter his chances.

I'm not here to tear down the guy, but he learned the lesson of the media. Similar to Newton's third law, equal and opposite reactions occur. There was a huge build up. When there's an issue, there's going to be an equal and opposite reaction.
agdaddy04
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Just read this thread and you'll get the gist.
20ag07
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I am somewhat interested in watching, but there is no way I want to inflate viewership for any ND programming. May they dissolve in a hot pit of sulfuric acid and fade out of existence.
ND doesn't come off well here.

I'm stunned Jack Swarbrick sat down for this, given he is still the sitting AD. I could see it if he was retired. But there was no benefit to him or the school to do that.

It's made very clear that they had no idea what was going on, didn't try to, and pushed paid professional media trainers on an absolutely clueless 21 yo kid.

In no way does anything about this doc "inflate ND".
AstroAggie15
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Onionman said:

I think he is a nice guy and kind of feel bad for him.

But it still doesn't make any sense to me. He kept calling her the love of his life even though he never met her. Love of his life but didn't go see her when he thought she was in a bad car accident. Love of his life, but didn't go see her when she was battling cancer. Love of his life, but didn't go to her funeral when he was told she died.

The guy was Mr. Notre Dame. Could have had many 'real' girlfriends on campus. But instead falls for a fake one only consisting of phone calls and texts and never bothers to go see her when he thought she was dying or dead.



Had a lot do with him thinking she was if the same culture
wcb
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Onionman said:

BadgerAggie said:

I can't stand NDame as much as the next non-fan and I am certain I piled on when the story broke but after watching the documentary, I believe he was naive and I believe he was 100% duped. Should he have been smarter, of course. Was he lonely for something "home like" and found that in a hot girl, of course. Should he have met her somewhere along the way, of course! I'm always amazed these things still happen in 2022 but in 2012 the whole catfish thing wasn't even known about. The guy lost millions in compensation by falling to the 2nd round and I'm sure his confidence took a huge hit as players and fans threw a ton of shade at him. Put me in the camp of those who feel bad for the guy.
I think his draft plunge had much more to do with his sluggish 40 time and Bama manhandling him in the championship game than the whole 'catfish' thing.

Don't kid yourself into thinking the NFL puts character above actually being able to contribute on the field.
Keep in mind the Bama manhandling, per Teo, was largely due to what was going on in the 'catfish' thing at the moment. He definitely looked different in that game.
deer corn
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I don't even care about the fake gf anymore. The fact that his name is pronounced "Man-tie" is just ridiculous.
ABATTBQ11
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wcb said:

Onionman said:

BadgerAggie said:

I can't stand NDame as much as the next non-fan and I am certain I piled on when the story broke but after watching the documentary, I believe he was naive and I believe he was 100% duped. Should he have been smarter, of course. Was he lonely for something "home like" and found that in a hot girl, of course. Should he have met her somewhere along the way, of course! I'm always amazed these things still happen in 2022 but in 2012 the whole catfish thing wasn't even known about. The guy lost millions in compensation by falling to the 2nd round and I'm sure his confidence took a huge hit as players and fans threw a ton of shade at him. Put me in the camp of those who feel bad for the guy.
I think his draft plunge had much more to do with his sluggish 40 time and Bama manhandling him in the championship game than the whole 'catfish' thing.

Don't kid yourself into thinking the NFL puts character above actually being able to contribute on the field.
Keep in mind the Bama manhandling, per Teo, was largely due to what was going on in the 'catfish' thing at the moment. He definitely looked different in that game.


Probably because they played Alabama instead of ****ty second tier schools. Their only good opponents were Stanford and OU, and they went to OT against a terrible Pitt.
Know Your Enemy
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Gump 02 said:

I am somewhat interested in watching, but there is no way I want to inflate viewership for any ND programming. May they dissolve in a hot pit of sulfuric acid and fade out of existence.
I'm sure your one viewing would put them over the top. Better not watch just to be safe.
HoustonAg2106
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Know Your Enemy said:

Gump 02 said:

I am somewhat interested in watching, but there is no way I want to inflate viewership for any ND programming. May they dissolve in a hot pit of sulfuric acid and fade out of existence.
I'm sure your one viewing would put them over the top. Better not watch just to be safe.


Plus this isn't a Notre Dame production, they just happen to be the subject and as others have pointed out they don't look great in it.
JohnClark929
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Great documentary; definitely worth watching. There is a lot of stuff in it, but for me it really shows how the sports media and ND played up a fake story without any vetting whatsoever. The power of believing what you want with some incompetence mixed in should never be underestimated.
HoustonAg2106
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JohnClark929 said:

Great documentary; definitely worth watching. There is a lot of stuff in it, but for me it really shows how the sports media and ND played up a fake story without any vetting whatsoever. The power of believing what you want with some incompetence mixed in should never be underestimated.
What kind of vetting was Notre Dame supposed to do when Manti Te'o told them his girlfriend died? I don't think anyone at ND or in the media even fathomed at that time that she didn't exist at all. Deadspin getting an anonymous tip and Manti Te'o informing ND that December are the only reasons the true story even came out at all.
Fuzzbutt
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It's more media than anything else, but they quickly showed how the media was inconsistent at best including how they met, days that they died, etc. That's where I think the documentary was lacking because they didn't really do a good job hammering that type of point
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