He was there, and then he was not there - a figment of reality, perhaps, or a juicy side dish for a fan base's wishful thinking. He was at the Northeastern game, except nobody spoke with him. He was in Manley Field House early last week, except nobody confirms seeing him. He was walking on the Quad on Friday, except nobody took a picture of him.
He was, of course, Lloyd Carr, the former Michigan head coach, whose face is as recognizable as any in college football, and whose appearance on Syracuse's campus has turned the blog scene abuzz with theories ranging from here to Ann Arbor, Mich.
Yet the truth remains shrouded in a veil of conspiracy - no one has yet to reliably prove he took a step anywhere near Central New York. Syracuse's Director of Athletics Daryl Gross was out of town all last week. And on the Internet, where anonymity masks accountability, rash exclamations stand where the truth may falter.
If he did stroll through the Quad, did rain blur the focus of any picture-phone photography? If he did sit in the press box, did no reporter feel the need to check his credentials?
The Syracuse-centric sports blog Web site, Orange44.blogspot.com, was the first to report online about Carr's apparent sightings based off "three separate and independent sources" on Friday. The post sent off a firestorm of activity on chat rooms and forums around the Internet.
By mid-afternoon, the rumor was on the airwaves. Brent Axe reported on his show "On the Block" on ESPN Radio 1260 that he'd heard rumblings. By 5:30 that evening, Axe felt confident enough, after speaking with several sources, to say Carr was in Syracuse.
"Before I got off the air at 6 p.m., I had eight or nine text messages," Axe said in a telephone conversation. "When I got home and checked my e-mail that night, my e-mail box was flooded. The reaction was out there."
Axe said he was stunned at how quickly the rumor soared through the community, and message boards lit up with theories about why Carr was in town. Posters jumped on the opportunity to reveal their inside info: he's friends with the chancellor; he's here to play golf; he's never seen the university; he's been offered the head coaching job.
Meanwhile, SU athletics officials continue to deny any reports.
Brian Harrison, who runs the Orange44 blog site, is the first to admit he's not a journalist or in the business of regularly breaking news. So he initially had some hesitation before posting hearsay.
"I didn't want to put it out there and have 90 million people leave a comment like 'no, you're an idiot,'" Harrison said. "I really wanted to make sure that it was at least being talked about and something that I thought was pretty valid. So after thinking about it and checking with several people, I went ahead and posted it.
"I didn't even think it was going to blow up like it did on the Syracuse blogs, let alone the Michigan blogs picking it up. I honestly didn't have an idea that would happen. But I guess it was legitimate enough."
Yet like that, Syracuse had its "Deadspin" moment, with a 63-year-old ex-coach acting as the Playboy party crasher. As message boards took the news and ran with it, the truth - however much of it ever existed - became distorted behind a consortium of overzealous self-promotion.
Everybody wants to be the "inside guy" - with no strings attached. Clever screen names hide the liars from the liable. And a rumor can be born from spontaneous generation or colorful imagination.
"And it's tough, it's really tough," Axe said. "You don't know who's making stuff up just to stir the pot. You don't know who is legit trying to get their message out there."
Thus, while Lloyd Carr may be more interested in Michelangelo than coaching at Syracuse, the news was only that he was here. Or was he?
Some 10 days after Axe said he first heard Carr's name mentioned around SU, still nothing substantial has confirmed he was ever around. Like a ghost, he vanished without trace. Or the fabrication's legs have worn down.
It's worth a question: have we all been duped?
"We're in a time with Syracuse football where anything like that is at least interesting," Harrison said.
A jumpy fan base can't be blamed for following leads. Just ask Lloyd Carr. It was only last year that Michigan was supposed to have a new head coach - named Les Miles - after a rumor made its way onto ESPN.
The Wolverines settled, after an embarrassing apology by the Worldwide Leader, for Rich Rodriguez. But not before the rumor was exposed as an apparent prank call.
The joke's on us, fans and media alike, who gobble up gossip without a touch of sensibility, constantly blurring the boundary between news and nonsense. It's only to be expected that a phone call and an "insider" can throw a world out of whack.
Such is sports and entertainment these days: nothing comes cheap. Just keep a handful of salt at your side at all times.
Was Lloyd Carr really here? I don't really care. Until he's on the sidelines, it's no news to me.