Untold

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!

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.

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.

Why did they put so much focus on the actual catfisher? Nobody, wants to hear about that evil human being. Giving said person a spotlight is counterproductive!