Fans of Notre Dame, and sports fans in general were shocked to learn on Wednesday that the allegedly dead girlfriend of Manti Te'o was in fact a total lie. So why did American sports fans latch onto this story like a baby to a mother's breast?
Many people felt for Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o when he lost both his grandmother, and his girlfriend in a span of just a few hours. As it turns out, the whole girlfriend thing was totally made up.
In early September, Notre Dame linebacker and Heisman Trophy candidate Manti Te’o—just days after learning of the death of his girlfriend—led the Fighting Irish to an emotional upset of then-#10 Michigan State. However, in one of the most bizarre twists we’ve seen in college football, it now appears that the whole story about a dying girlfriend was a hoax.