(Please note: I welcome anyone's thoughts and opinons as well, however I do reserve the right to remove any offensive or off color comments.)
Manti grew up in the state of Hawii. It is a different culture there, very laid back, "everyone knows everyone" kind of atmosphere. Similar to that of a small town. This alone gives me somewhat of an understanding as to his own mindset.
Let me explain for those of you who may not know me, I grew up in a small "everyone knows everyone" town in the 1990's. We didn't lock our doors at night, we trusted people when they said something or gave us their word. The world was not the least bit scary to me. I could play outside all day, well on into the evening, without the worry that someone was going to kidnap me. Life was innocent and carefree. It wasn't until my later college years & after moving to "the big city" of South Bend that I felt a need to lock my door at all time, be wary of anyone who just approached me or to even consider knowing how to shoot a gun in case someone tried to break into my home and hurt me. Naive? Maybe I was, but when you grow up how I did maybe you can understand why.
That being said, I believe that Manti has the same mindset. He's a good kid & a great athlete. I find it shocking that some Notre Dame fans have turned their back on one of the best players to ever play for Notre Dame over something that we don't have all of the facts on. This is a time when we, as fans, need to stand behind him & not judge until both sides of the story have been heard. Then make your judgments based on all of the facts, not just by the hearsay.
I, myself am a big ND sports fan. After hearing this news my reaction was mixed. At first I was shocked, then angry & yes, I too was quick to judge. However, after taking a step back from the situation, I realized that before I judge, I want to know his side of the story, just like everyone else in the country.
There is no denying that there are a lot of holes in this story, holes that can only be filled by one person. Manti Te'o. Te’o filled in some of those holes when he spoke last night to ESPN reporter Jeremy Schaap. (you can read the full interview here: http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8859077/manti-teo-notre-dame-fighting-irish-denies-being-part-hoax-late-girlfriend)
In this interview, Te’o does own up to the fact that he lied to his parents about meeting Kekua. It does not surprise me that he owned up to his mistake, he has always been an honest person. If you want to turn your back on him because he lied to his dad, then you need to take a long hard look at yourself, would your family had turned their back on you if you were in this situation? For one minute, remember back to your 21 year old self. You didn't always make the best decisions either. In today's society with social media, the internet and other various forms of technology, a lot has changed in not only the dating world, but the world in general. Put yourself in his shoes.
So why did he tailor his story to make us all think he met her? Most likely because he didn’t want anyone to know he was having an online relationship because he would be judged and labeled as “weird.” I too am inquisitive as to why on earth would such a good looking guy, who could most likely have any woman he wanted would have an online relationship. Maybe he was shy, maybe he was insecure, maybe there was pressure from his parents to get married, maybe his Morman faith scared away women. Who knows, but I am sure there is a reason that he fell in love with this "person".
Manti Te'o is an exceptional athlete, but above all of that I believe in my heart that he is a good person. He has shown us that from day one, don't forget that. He trusted and started a relationship with someone that he met (briefly) on November 28, 2009, which became an online relationship & phone relationship. In today's technologically advanced society, it is very easy to "catfish" someone. It happens all the time, otherwise why would there be a tv series about it? Many people that are the victim of "catfishing" don't make the news because they are not in the spotlight like Te'o is.
To think that a person would want to "catfish" another person is so unbelievable to me that I comprehend it. The emotional toll that it takes on the victim is horrendous. This is what we are seeing in the media today. Not only did it take an emotional toll on Te'o when he thought he had lost his girlfriend to leukemia, but it is taking a toll on him now because of the embarrassment.
I first thought something was bothering Manti after his performance against
Alabama at the BCS championship game on January 7th. After all of the adversity he had faced &
played through, what was going on? Was it nerves? Now we know why he played
such a horrible game. (side note: it wasn’t just him, it was a rough game to
watch!) Maybe that is part of the reason these people did what they did, when
they did it. Maybe it was so ND would lose in the BCS national championship
game. We will never know.
The most flabbergasting example of this bullying is that the Florense (Ky.) Freedom, a minor league baseball team, is going to had out Manti Te'o girlfriend bobble heads on may 23rd. . . Don't believe me? Here's the link to the news article: http://www.wsbt.com/news/sns-rt-fbc-notredame-newssx6e34ea1-20130118,0,3452681.story
We teach our kids not to bully each other. I myself was bullied growing up (thank goodness that was back before the age of social media). I don't stand for it. What is most disgusting is that adults are doing the same thing by sharing this photo and other crude remarks. I have learned to live by the golden rule " If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." Now it is time for people to practice what they preach and stop bullying this poor kid who has had his heart ripped out & is now being scrutinized by the entire country.
So why does everyone else in America feel like they have also been hoaxed? Because we (including myself) wanted to believe this story, it was a beautiful young love story strait from the pages of any romance novel. We wanted our hero to overcome this adversity and show us how amazing he was. I would like to believe that this story isn’t over, Manti will win, if he wants to (And I am sure he does, now I might sound like the crazy one.). He will win if he takes all of the anger, and emotion he is feeling about this situation and do what he did in September. Throw himself into what he loves. Football.
I think Jack Swarbrick summed up the situation best at his news conference on January 16th:  The thing I am most affected by, is that the single most trusting human being I've ever met will never be able to trust in the same way again." When Jack said this, I had tears in my eyes, because he is right.
I commend Mantii for what he told Jeremy Schaap in his interview when asked what he thought should happen to Tuiasosopo (one of the men behind the catfishing)
"I hope he learns," Te'o said. "I hope he understands what he's done. I don't wish an ill thing to somebody. I just hope he learns. I think embarrassment is big enough."
He added: "I'll be OK. As long
as my family's OK, I'll be fine."
That, my friends, is the type of response I expected from Te’o. Not “I’m
going to sue all of them for what they have done to me.” (ect, ect, ect.) Manti Te’o’s family should be proud. They have raised an amazing young man who is an incredibly talented athlete. Even in the wake of this, I hope he knows that he is still a great role model. After all at the end of the day he was scammed, many other athletes have done far worse things. (Lance Armstrong & Michael Vick to name 2 off the top of my head)
Manti, don’t let this break your spirit, focus on what you love & surround yourself with people who love you, and encourage you. Do not pay attention to those who are quick to judge & have turned their back on you. At the end of the day they only cared for #5, Not Manti Te’o.
-Tia
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