A Tale of Ifs
By Kyle Egan
Jan 7, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker Manti Te
Manti Te’o. Where can I start? This is literally the story that has shocked the sporting world and all people with simple common sense. Released by Deadspin, millions of people have taken the opportunity to sift through the mammoth report compiled by Timothy Burke and Jack Dickey. Their relentless patrol of the Internet uncovered that the “girlfriend” of the superstar Notre Dame linebacker who was said to have died from complications of leukemia on September 12th, only hours after the passing of his grandmother(which has been confirmed).
In the lead up to the Notre Dame-Michigan State game that week, America held sorrow in their hearts for Te’o, who played despite the obvious grief he displayed on the field, racking up 12 tackles, leading the Irish to the upset over the Spartans (ranked tenth in the nation at that point). But that valiant performance is now clouded over by the non-existence of his girlfriend Lennay Kekua.
Yes, Notre Dame and Manti Te’o have both released statements declaring that they found out about the hoax in late December and that the All American linebacker is a victim of a cruel prank over social media. Some of the Deadspin writers, along with many fans, find this explanation to be faulty and believe that Te’o made up the sob story about the girlfriend for extra publicity.
I’m not going to broach an opinion on who’s right in this situation. The information is out there for all you to examine and make a decision on. Anyways, it’s still unraveling and anything can change. I don’t happen to share the same disdain that Joe has for the Domers, and am willing to get Manti a decent shot at explaining himself before continuing the “fake girlfriend” jokes.
What I really want to examine is what would happen if something like this happened at Boston College. Let’s say right after the BC victory in Coral Gables at the end of the 2011 regular season, it came out that Luke Kuechly had a fake girlfriend. Let’s say she “died” around the Duke game.
We first have to presume that since Kuechly doesn’t have as much popularity due to the minimal stature of the Eagles football program, but the obsessed writers at Deadspin figure out the plot. The Boston College administration follows the same steps as Notre Dame and our star linebacker releases a Te’o-like statement.
At this point, Twitter and social media are starting to make the same wisecracks that we are giggling at right about now and maybe even some of the Boston College students, trying to display that they are unfazed by the news, join in the frenzy.
Yet on the whole, the reaction on campus would most likely be grim. I’d compare it to the silence from New Englanders that shrowded the mornings after the Red Sox collapse and the Patriots’ Super Bowl loss. There wouldn’t be much laughter and probably no audible conversation about the matter. Luke Kuechly has been the brightest spot for Boston College Football since Matt Ryan.
The now-fallen star from a damaged season would completely devastate us, unlike anything that 4-8 2011 Eagles could have done.
If you have any thoughts, opinions on this scenario or just want to rant about Manti Te’o just leave them in the comments section below.