This story is so weird. Te’o is either complicit in this or he is just dumber than a box of rocks. Probably both.
Damn, has it been a decade already, almost?
The funniest thing about this thread is there was a dude here with the initials FJB. In 2013.
Just watched it. He just got completely fooled. Then lied about it at points because he didn’t know what else to do.
We all read way too much into it.
He was burned and confused and that’s it.
His agent/Notre Dame should have done a better job helping him.
It’s incredible how much we crush this guy for a foolish mistake that didn’t hurt anyone except himself. Then we have a guy like Deshaun Watson who did dozens of deliberate acts (not mistakes) against women.
Just watched part two. Wow, that was heavy. Well worth watching to the end. Manti seems like a really good person who has been through the ringer.
Just watched the episodes back to back and agree he came across as very genuine and someone who lost a lot.
The program suggested his first few years went nowhere due to ongoing anxiety. Did he ever come good - I know nothing of the NFL - or is it quite common for people not to make the transition to the pros?
Interesting too was seeing some of the early treatment he got here.
Agree. Crazy. The voice thing was nuts too. I remember thinking he was totally in on it just to get attention. Wish he sat down with someone legit for an interview to let the whole story be told. Hopefully would have saved him some face, and hopefully we would have believed him.
Just watched the episodes back to back and agree he came across as very genuine and someone who lost a lot.
The program suggested his first few years went nowhere due to ongoing anxiety. Did he ever come good - I know nothing of the NFL - or is it quite common for people not to make the transition to the pros?
Interesting too was seeing some of the early treatment he got here.
He played 5 seasons I think. Never lived up to his college game.
Just watched the episodes back to back and agree he came across as very genuine and someone who lost a lot.
The program suggested his first few years went nowhere due to ongoing anxiety. Did he ever come good - I know nothing of the NFL - or is it quite common for people not to make the transition to the pros?
Interesting too was seeing some of the early treatment he got here.
He played a very difficult, and violent, position. It is not unusual for even the best college players to struggle in the NFL. The speed, strength, and skill level of all players is much higher than college.
He Played 7 Seasons in the NFL. Although maybe not All Pro and etc. That is a dang good run, All American Heisman Candidate or not (BTW he was 2nd to Johnny Manzel). For a 7 year run he should have had at least 1 or 2 contract negotiations after his rookie contract, so if he sucked he would not have made it that long.
Remember the average NFL career is less than 3 years. In addition there is a new crop of “once in a generation” players coming into the league every year. I do not know why he walked away from the game (injuries, lost a step, or just tired of playing football), but I would say as a guy who did not make in the NFL, I would have been happy with his career.
I watched the documentary, and thought it was very well done. Remember household name or not, he was a 20 year kid. The fantasy of the perfect girl (the right race, looked right, went to the right school etc.) made him vulnerable.
I just did a search and found a site that said that he earned $10.4M in the NFL. That seems lower than I would expect for someone who played 7 years - but that’s darn good money for a young guy. It probably means that he was more of a backup which also means less wear and tear on his body.
Well he fell from a sure top 10 pick to the 2nd round. That was $everal million lost right there.
$10m, so lets call it $5m post taxes in NFL salary is a pretty dang good financial start. As long as he does not do anything stupid that can setup a pretty solid life. Plus I am sure there was
other income during this time as well from sponsorships and appearance fees.
Not bad indeed.
I watched the documentary last night for the first time. What a crazy tragic story. It was interesting reading back through the thread about to see what was included and left out of the film, and our perception of things before the details came out. Te’o was essentially undone by his trusting nature and gentle giant demeanor feeding into the homosexual narrative. Truly a sad story unlike anything we’ve seen before or since in sport.
He’s married now with two kids, works as an analyst on NFL Network. The catfisher is now living as a transgender woman, which I hadn’t heard before.
Thanks for the update. I had forgotten about this. It is good to see that he seems to have a happy life. I agree with you that trusting gentle people can be misread.
Years ago I went to a small church. The pastor had a kind of mousy/squeaky voice and came across as a timid person. I got to know him as I took him fishing a few times and he helped me with some songwriting. While he came across as timid, he was very strong in his beliefs and I’m pretty sure would have died boldly for his faith. Compare him to trump who talks big, acts like a bully and has no core beliefs - and I know who the real man is.
One funny story about the pastor. One day he was preaching and he got off on a tangent about models or movie stars or something. He said “I love that my wife is squishy”. She wasn’t fat, but was plump. My wife and I still talk about him calling her squishy.
Another quick one. Some times he would get really excited in his sermons. One day he was building up and said “…and Jesus said… I forgot what Jesus said”.