Untold

I've never watched an NFL game (I watch real football!) nor heard of Manti T'eo before. That meant I could watch this without knowing the outcome first.

It was enjoyable, but it was also similar to an episode of Catfish. What made this for me was Manti himself. What a lovely chap. 7/10 for the programme. 10/10 for Manti.

Here's another entry in the Untold series that discusses a sporting controversy that forever changed the lives of Manti Te'o, Ronaiah 'Naya' Tuiasosopo, and their respective families. The private lives of sportspersons have always been in the limelight of the media. And back in 2013, the media did play a key role in blowing this story out of the water, because it was scoop and boy, do people love scoop! Netflix decided to walk back upon this story and present a more informed, well-rounded version of it, focusing on the two key folks mentioned.

It lets both Manti and Naya breathe easy, and take into consideration that they were young, naive, and vulnerable when it all played out. Of course, I'd have liked more accountability on Naya's part than merely admitting to her offense, but it also presents a more worldly and empathetic view. Manti, on the other hand, feels more relatable and unworried at this point, when he narrates his side of the story. The latter episode in this two-part documentary carries all the emotional impact, and it's definitely worth a viewing!

This was probably one of the most difficult things I have watched in a long time. It's so sad how it's usually the most kind hearted people that get cheated by life. This story really broke my heart.

What made this documentary worse, was the way the adults were going on about the dude being gay. That was such a shame.

Manti Te'o is a strong young man, very gifted, kind hearted and I wish you nothing but the best. All my love from South Africa.

This is a bit of a misnomer to put this under an "untold" category. It's all stuff that has been told. What I mean is they didn't go into any of the stuff that actually made this era of Florida football so intriguing. Other than Tebow. But the pouncey twins or aaron hernandez? Not mentioned. That 2009 sugar bowl surprise resignation or the carlos dunlap DUI Right before the SEC title game? Nope. Meyer's secret health issues? Any mention of Zach Smith? Anything that paints Urban in any light other than a maybe a little too tough old school but caring head coach? Nope. This was literally just a heavily doctored PR piece that I'm sure Urban's PR team saw as his chance to get back in public favor and Florida was at least okay with. So if you're a Florida fan who wants to reminisce on that national title run and see a picture painted of sunshine and rainbows, sure, this is fine. But if you're a college football fan who wanted to peer back the curtain and follow the main storyline we were hoping for - how chaotic, outrageous and captivating that Florida team was in the Urban era, with all of the controversies, scandals and surprises, then you're going to naturally end this series feeling more than a little disappointed. I understand if they included all the things we wanted to hear about, the series probably would have ended with "we reached out to urban Meyer and he declined to comment." But the fact that he's in it, and presented as the shining little star along with Tebow, is completely sweeping all of the UF controversies under his tenure under the rug. Which is especially jarring, knowing what we know now about his failure with the Jags. In short, it was a cop out and a missed opportunity.

I never heard of any of this before, so had no opinion going in.

Netflix did a good job showing Manti and how much he was a victim of someone who was not in a good space. He was a good person that got damaged by the actions of a toxic person.

It also outlines how mentally unfit the media is in its need to tear people apart without knowing the story. Journalism has died if it even existed. There is a clear agenda and drama sells and they bathe in it like psychos bathe in blood.

It's a real example of how judgemental people are in society when it comes to others. That need to hate someone for something that isn't relevant to who they are but will define how they are treated. The moment people felt Manti had lied they wanted to destroy him ... there was no escape no matter what the truth was. Either he was part of the hoax and was a terrible person; or he was catfished and a sucker; or that he was trying to hide he was gay and couldn't be a leader.

The only thing that should have mattered is if he could play football to the NFL. People will try to talk about being and outstanding person with impeccable morals and background but let's face it they are just football players and that league is full of scandalous people not saints.

In the end people persevere through adversity and it's clear that Manti has become stronger because of it and likely a lot more humble and empathetic than he would have been had he been a top pick NFL player worth hundreds of millions. That is probably his only saving grace ... he got destroyed by public opinion over falling for someone who lied to him instead of being destroyed by a life where the fame and wealth could have destroyed who he was as a person by making him think he was better than others and descended into that pit of destruction so many fall into when the commercial juggernaut takes over your life and exploits and chews you up until your worthless to them.

As for Lennay, they explained how it all went down. I don't know if they will ever truly understand the hurt they inflicted. They seem more interested in acknowledging their gender orientation than to discuss how wrong what they did was. I take this as Netflix wanting to humanize the story of them so that they are not vilified as a monster for what they did. I accept that given the aptitude of the average weirdo with social media who would probably make death threats to them. These are the same people who tore Manti apart for having feelings for someone that was a lie to begin with.

The end lesson is to be yourself when exploring relationships with someone else, lying about who you are or pretending to be something you are not is going to hurt someone when the real you becomes apparent. Be true to yourself and to others like Manti was.