The Case Of Thad Matta's Imaginary Son

You may have heard the shocking story of Thad Matta's trash-talking son, accused of slandering most of the greater Albany area last week. There's just one problem with this tale—Thad Matta doesn't have a son.

According to these anonymous posted fliers—always a reliable source of information— Colin Matta, the son of Ohio State's head coach, was badmouthing Siena College and pretty much all of upstate New York in the lead up to Friday's 8-9 game between the Saints and Buckeyes. The fliers gave out "Colin's" phone number and instructed all lovers of steamed hams to call the young man and give him a piece of their vulgar minds. The only flaw in this otherwise brilliant plan is that the coach doesn't have a son named Colin, or any son at all for that matter.

The official Ohio State bio on Matta, who is 41, states that he has two daughters. The oldest one is ten years old, so I'm going to guess we're not talking about a son-in-law. Matta himself graduated from Butler in 1990, which would also make it highly unlikely (though still possible I suppose) that he would have fathered a illegitimate child who would graduate from Northeastern University 16 years later. So this whole thing raises several questions that would no doubt lead to disturbing answers you can never unknow.

Does this Colin Matta even exist? If so, has he been telling all his college buddies that the Ohio State coach is his father? If he doesn't exist, then who does the phone number belong too? Just an extremely unlucky Buckeye fan? Is it a prank? A hoax? A fevered dream? The plot of an upcoming Nicholas Cage movie? Where is Carl Monday when you really need him? Update: Yep, just some good old fashioned ball-busting. (Probably.) Thad Matta Biography [ Ohio State Buckeyes] You Have No One To Blame But Yourself, Young Man [Deadspin]