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(01/23/13 4:37pm)
The 2012 college football season has brought us some memorable stories: the first freshman to win the Heisman, Alabama’s third national championship under Nick Saban, Penn State rising from the ashes of a massive scandal. The biggest story of the season, though, comes to us courtesy of the off-season. The breaking news of the phantom girlfriend of Manti Te’o has dominated the airwaves of both sports outlets and traditional news coverage.
The story of Manti’s so-called relationship began in 2009 when he became friends with a person named Lennay Kekua on Facebook. The two exchanged Facebook messages and maintained an on-again/off-again relationship that grew to include texts and phone calls. What was missing from this? A face-to-face meeting between Te’o and Kekua.
After two years of their communication had passed, Kekua messaged Te’o, complaining that she and her boyfriend had gotten into difficult times. Her explicit request for Te’o to be there for her signaled a progressive step in their relationship. Te’o began hearing about Kekua’s family, including her cousin, Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, and how close the two were. Kekua and Te’o then began a dating relationship based exclusively on contact through Facebook and cell phones.
In April of 2012, Te’o was called by Lennay’s brother, Noa, informing him that she had been in a car crash and was in a hospital in Los Angeles. Just two months after this phone call, Kekua tells Te’o that she has leukemia. Further complicating the life of Manti Te’o, his grandmother passed away in September of 2012. On the same day, two hours after Kekua calls Te’o to tell him that she will do whatever she can to help him in his time of trouble, her supposed brother calls Manti sobbing and saying “she’s gone.”
Shortly thereafter, Manti is warned by a man from California of the Lennay Kekua hoax, saying that his cousin was in a similar position to that of Te’o. The California resident cited meetings with Tuiasosopo that were supposed to be with Kekua as the most sure sign that the entire relationship was a hoax. Two days after Te’o learns of the previous hoax, Lennay Kekua calls Manti to tell him that she is not, in fact, dead.
In late December, after being informed of the cruel joke by Te’o, Notre Dame officials launch a full investigation into the matter. As her last official act of business, Kekua calls Te’o to apologize and inform him that her real name is Leah, and that she will reveal the truth on January 16th, 2013. Upon the day of revelation, however, Tuiasosopo calls Manti to apologize for the prank. Later that day, Deadspin broke the story that was quickly picked up by every news outlet in the country. In immediate response to the spreading story, Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick held a press conference to reveal the findings of their investigation and clear Te’o from any blame.
Where are we left in the Te’o story as January winds down? Most believe that Te’o truly is innocent in the entire situation, while a few others gape in disbelief that someone could be so thick as to get sucked into something this appalling. Did Te’o really go four years in friendship and dating with someone he never met and come out blameless? Maybe. Did Te’o manufacture the story for attention? Maybe. The truth might even lie somewhere in between. Whatever the case may be, it remains certain that catfishing does not just live on MTV.
(11/28/12 11:00pm)
Texas A&M’s quarterback Johnny Manziel has put up absurd numbers this year. So absurd, that his play has garnered him the nickname “Johnny Football.”
Through 12 games this season, Manziel has 3,419 yards passing and 24 touchdowns to go with 1,181 yards and 19 touchdowns rushing. His 4,600 yards have set an SEC total offense record, eclipsing Cam Newton and Tim Tebow, who now rank second and third respectively in the category. Manziel has done it even though he sat out the second half of games for much of the season due to A&M’s large leads in games. And, by the way, he’s a freshman. Johnny Football—it has a nice ring to it. Johnny Heisman—it has a nicer ring to it.
In Newton and Tebow’s Heisman trophy-winning seasons (the seasons in which they set their aforementioned yardage records) they were the talk of college football. Analysts, commentators, and fans everywhere respected these two players and brushed aside any contemplation of a different player winning college football’s most prestigious award. But Johnny Manziel hasn’t received the same certainty.
Analysts now ask if his statistics are enough. The historic and unprecedented numbers are being compared to the less-impressive statistics of Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o and Kansas State quarterback, Collin Klein. Why might Manziel’s lore be brought into question? He is a freshman in line for an award that has never been given to a freshman, and an award that many voters have unfairly labeled as unable to be given to one. But before Tim Tebow’s Heisman year, a sophomore had never won the award. Johnny Manziel has better statistics than Tim Tebow. Johnny Manziel is a better showstopper. But, Johnny Manziel is a freshman.
Freshman Texas A&M football players, like Manziel, are off-limits to the media. While Collin Klein and Manti Te’o are in front of the cameras weekly after their games, putting their brand out into the world, Johnny Manziel is walking back to his dorm to watch them after his. Has this lack of exposure and promotion hurt him? Not a bit. Being hidden during the post-game festivities has helped Manziel.
The lore of Johnny Football has grown each week, as the nation outside of College Station doesn’t even know what this incredible quarterback’s voice sounds like, let alone a thing about how he carries himself and what he is like as a person.
Amidst an imminent trip to New York for the Heisman Trophy presentation, however, Kevin Sumlin has had to amend his policy. Johnny Manziel was open to the media via teleconference on Monday of this week, and held a live-streamed press conference in front of national cameras on Tuesday. The anticipation absolutely sent national sports outlets into a feeding frenzy. Since his two speaking engagements, ESPN has run a segment on Manziel during every edition of SportsCenter.
So, can a freshman win the Heisman? Yes. And he will. He has the best numbers in college football while playing against the top defenses and is the most electric player this year.
Johnny Manziel. Johnny Football. Johnny Heisman? You bet.
(10/10/12 4:00pm)
Texas A&M’s transition into the SEC over the summer was accompanied by innumerable questions about the Aggies’ ability to compete in the top conference in college football. A&M was coming off of an abysmally disappointing 2011 season that saw them fall from a preseason top 10 ranking into the depths of college football mediocrity (7-6, 4-5 Big XII). Moreover, the Ags ushered out former head coach Mike Sherman and his staff to make room for former University of Houston head coach and spread offense mastermind Kevin Sumlin, whose experience had yet to be tested on a weekly basis by powerhouse programs. The uncertainty of a new coaching staff and A&M’s entry into the most difficult conference in college football left fans with their heads in their hands.
Entering the loaded SEC West was thought to lead to A&M having a losing record and not reaching bowl eligibility. When the time came for speculation to make way for results, adversity struck College Station in the form of the postponement of the Aggies’ opening game versus Louisiana Tech due to Hurricane Isaac. This meant that the Ags would open their season with conference power (and current No. 4) Florida and lose their only bye week of the season due to rescheduling.
Week two in college football (Aggie Week 1) saw the historic tradition of the 12th Man rally behind their team as the spotlight of ESPN’s College Gameday shone on the inaugural SEC matchup at Kyle Field. Despite Florida coming away victorious, A&M led for the majority of the game and matched the Gators almost stride-for-stride. The following weeks saw A&M dispatching non-conference foes SMU and South Carolina State before returning to SEC games.
When the Aggies returned to league play, they left no doubt in fans’ minds about their qualifications to move away from the Big XII, pummeling former Southwest Conference opponent Arkansas 58-10 for their first ever SEC win. Just a week later, Texas A&M overcame an unthinkable six turnovers to beat Ole Miss on the road en route to a 2-1 conference record.
The keys to success have been found in the hands of Kevin Sumlin and redshirt freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel, who revoked his verbal commitment to Oregon for Texas A&M. Sumlin’s aerial attack, which was thought by many fans to be a sure ticket to losing every conference game, has paved the way for the Aggies to be a scoring threat on every play. Through the first five games of the season, Manziel has amassed 1,285 yards passing and a team-leading 495 yards rushing, placing him sixth in the country in total offense. As a team, the Aggies rank 12th nationally and first in the SEC in team offense. These numbers are even more impressive when taking into account that A&M has done this with three of its five games played against heralded SEC defenses.
Naysayers will point out that this season’s four wins have been against teams who have struggled all season and that the real test will be when A&M reaches the heart of its schedule; a stretch that sees them playing LSU at home before going on the road to face Auburn, Mississippi State and Alabama. These detractors may appear correct in the short term, but already this season the Aggies have outperformed Arkansas, Auburn, Ole Miss, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Missouri and Tennessee. The coming seven weeks will take every ounce of effort and skill in the Ags’ bodies, but college football fans can be certain that Texas A&M will beat the SEC learning curve and leave no doubt that they are well qualified to be among the ranks of the SEC and, sooner than one may think, at the leading edge. Gig ‘em.