No, it isn't regular. If it was, it wouldn't be getting all the attention it is receiving. It is, however, not unheard of. Especially in the "hoax" department. In the "prank" department, not so much. Of course, someone has to be willing to be fooled after a certain amount of time. Te'o may very well be that.
Basically. . . IF you like the guy . .. you bend over backwards to excuse his behavior and beleive his story If you don't. . . . then you bend over backwards to dismiss it I don't care for him one way or the other. . . . and I can say . .. I had a friend that sent through something similar and it lasted about 6 months . . .. and everyone. . . I MEAN EVERYONE of his friends told him the chick on the other end of the phone was a phony [this was about 7~10 yrs ago and skype was not around yet] He attempt to visit her on 4~5 occassions and she always had an excuse that he bought. . . . . .and no one else did. So I can say . . gullible happens. . . esp if you lonely and exceptionally wanting it to be real That said. . .3 years is a bit extreme to me Rocket River NO! It was truly a friend of mine and not me . .. hehehehehehehehehehee
Uhhh...so he would call her family before every game and talk to them? Riiiiiiight. This guy is hitting Royce White levels.
So strange... 1) If it was your "girlfriend" why not go to the funeral? 2) I find it extremely strange that you date someone for a year and you never meet them? I can see if you were talking for a few months that you guys don't meet but a year?? And he knew her for almost 3? If he's not part of this, he's an extremely gullible and an idiot.
I love that he would talk to her for up to 8 hours a day, but he didnt know what kind of injuries she sustained from the car accident. I would think, at the least, that would be one of the more pressing concerns/questions I would have.
OK, lets say he wasn't in on the hoax. Reading Flyer's link. She was in a coma and on her death bed - yet he flew to Hawaii for summer break and not California to see her despite her being in the hospital and coma for 2 months? How the **** do you not visit the love of your life when she's in a coma after being in a car accident? Let alone not follow up and find out what her injuries were?!? Does this guy have asperger syndrome?
Yep, it probably says more about some posters than it does Te'o. It's kind of jumping from point A to point Pink wrapped in rainbows.
Well one good thing about having a made-up girlfriend is that it will indeed leave a lad's pocket a bit more weighty, once February 14th comes around ...
http://danpatrick.directv.com.edgesuite.net/Podcast/DP-Hr1_01-17-2013_stream.mp3 Dan Patrick podcast on the issue & interview of the deadspin journalist, Tim Burke.
I don't think he was ever in love with her as he made it seem. I think he did love the attention tho.
Yep. This whole thing has a ridiculous amount of holes in it. At best (i.e. he isn't in on it) he's a moron; at worst (i.e. he orchestrated the whole thing) he's a sick human being. Whatever the truth is - Te'o needs serious psychological help.
It looks like you're writing this post from the point of view that being gay is something to be embarrassed about or ashamed of. I don't think hardly anyone here has made mention of the possibility of Te'o being gay in a negative light. It's a very plausible explanation that has shown to be the outcome in several cases very similar to this.
As an admittedly biased Notre Dame guy... I do not think Te'o was in on the hoax. I dismiss the inconsistencies in his story as him being ashamed of having an online girlfriend. He grew up on a small island; he was a mormon in South Bend friggin' Indiana -- there aren't exactly a lot of options for him. (Plus ND girls are not exactly the greatest..) Just sounds like he was embarrassed to me. What I do want to know is who the female voice on the other side of the phone calls were -- I believe several teammates/people around him said they talked to her on the phone as well. I do not think an institution like Notre Dame would hire a PI firm and risk its credibility by backing Te'o like Swarbrick did at the press conference. I might be wrong -- I'm only saying I do not think they would. In the end, I hope it hurts his draft stock enough to fall to the Texans!