What a week for F! The Falcons and the greatest F-QB since Frerotte, Gus – Flacco, Joe – both have a shot at the Super Bowl this weekend, Manti Te’o set us up beautifully for a Fake Friendships post, and Neatorama reported on a new species of flying frog. Whew, where to begin… Let’s start with the Te’o debacle.
Fake Friendships
You’re not going to believe this, but some people use the anonymity of the Internet to pass themselves off as something/someone they are not. I know right! Hard to believe. Notre Dame star Manti Te’o learned this lesson the hard way this week.
In a bizarre saga that has blown up like a wild luau gone wrong involving gunpowder-filled coconuts, it appears he has either fallen victim to an Internet fake friendship, or been exposed as a hoaxster. We’re not gonna get into speculating on the reasons behind all this. Lord knows we have enough ‘news outlets’ speculating on the situation, and we may never know what really happened. So let’s just use this event as a teachable moment to refresh ourselves on some World Wide Web basics.
1.) Assume the Worst – Internet rule #1, if you choose to engage with someone you do not know over the Web, it is best to just assume they look like Tony Siragusa.
No offense to The Goose, he’s actually looking pretty good these days
2.) Don’t Over-share – We have become a nation of over-sharers. We feel the need to tell everybody everything all of the time. Rule #2, don’t share things – that includes passwords, genuine feelings, or bank information – with people you don’t know.
3.) Get Confirmation – Before falling in love with a cyber someone or wiring your life savings to Barrister Zobo, Crown Prince of Ouagadougou, try to do your due diligence to at least get a visual on the person in real life. Also don’t do interviews with major outlets sharing your love for someone unless you are absolutely sure they exist.
Flying Frogs
Over at Neatorama this week, Miss Cellania wrote perhaps the greatest headline the world has ever seen. The “Fabulous Flappy Forearmed Flying Frog” post detailed the discovery of a new species of frog in Vietnam. Apparently the little guy is able to float through the air a little bit, thus adding him to the ranks of the world’s 80 known flying frogs. All in all, it’s an amazing win for frogs, the letter F, and for science too I guess. Wonders never cease!
Falcons, Flacco
I just realized that the 49’ers also technically start with F, but we F purists have to go with the Falcons this week in a squeaker.
In the AFC game, the F community is solidly behind Flacco, Joe and the Ravens as they take on the Patriots and their legions of sunburned, loud talking, south Florida traffic-clogging fans.
Regardless of what happens, it has been a banner week for F. Let’s hope next week is just as fruitful!
Filed under: F Athletics, F Commentary Tagged: falcons, football, friendship, frogs, Manti Te'o, nature, news, sports, Super Bowl
