Compare/Contrast

BrueCrew3

BrueCrew3

Well-Known Member
I'm not sure where to post this, but since it's basketball season and it does, in part, concern a former basketball player, I thought I would post it here.

This just popped into my head and I was wondering what the rest of you think, so here goes:
Compare/Contrast the legacies of Chris Street and Nile Kinnick.

I really don't have any concrete thoughts and/or opinion. I was wondering what the rest of you thought.

GO HAWKS!!!
 


I may get blasted by the faithful, but Chris Street was never going to be one of the very top players in the country the way Kinnick was.

Street was a great Hawk who's life was tragically cut short, but the comparisons end there.
 


sioux34 said:
I may get blasted by the faithful, but Chris Street was never going to be one of the very top players in the country the way Kinnick was.

Street was a great Hawk who's life was tragically cut short, but the comparisons end there.
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I certainly won't blast you, but bear in mind that Chris was averaging 15 and 10 midway through his junior year. With his personality, and the way that he played, he easily could have made some serious waves if he put up 20 and 10 his senior year. The Duke game before he died was already a coming out party of sorts...Dickie V. plugs went a long way in those days and he received more than his share of those on that night.
 


wundergrape said:
I certainly won't blast you, but bear in mind that Chris was averaging 15 and 10 midway through his junior year. With his personality, and the way that he played, he easily could have made some serious waves if he put up 20 and 10 his senior year. The Duke game before he died was already a coming out party of sorts...Dickie V. plugs went a long way in those days and he received more than his share of those on that night.
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A lot of this is true. Iowa just didnt get a lot of nationally televised games 20 years ago and for Street to play like he did on one of the biggest stages of the year could have been the start of something special for him.

Tragic.
 


The difference is Kinnick didn't need plugs from the media outlets of the day, he just dominated.
 




sioux34 said:
I may get blasted by the faithful, but Chris Street was never going to be one of the very top players in the country the way Kinnick was.

Street was a great Hawk who's life was tragically cut short, but the comparisons end there.
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Agreed. His life was tragically cut short, but his legend has grown because of it.
 


There were a lot of similarities but I think Kinnick was a bigger personality at the time of death, for the following reason: Kinnick was a Phi Beta Kappa student and considered one of the most articulate, thoughtful young people of his generation. His letters and other writings reflected a brilliant mind with a bright future beyond football. Many people thought that he could become Governor of Iowa or even a U.S. Senator or President of the United States. Chris Street was also a bright young man, but I'm not sure he had the sparkling and truly unique intellectual gifts possessed by Kinnick. I actually think Chris Street was Kinnick's equal as an athlete; but Kinnick demonstrated other skills after he graduated that allowed him to achieve "legendary" status after death. Street may have reached those levels, but he died while still an undergraduate.
 




While Street's legacy has certainly been amplified by his untimely death, so has Kinnick's. "What could have been" stories have that effect.

And no, Kinnick didn't benefit from plugs from national commentators/analysts. But neither did anyone else; he was still on a level playing field with everyone else in that regard. Whereas with Street, if he wasn't getting the plugs in that game, it would have been someone else.

But, all that said, Kinnick's legacy has much more of a lasting impact, IMO.
 


GhostofBTT said:
Kinnick and it's not even close.
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I think we may be failing to grasp the idea behind "compare and contrast."

Nile Kinnick was the 1939 AP Male Athlete of the Year. So, even if you're Joe Dimaggio, Joe Louis or Jesse Owens, the argument "I am better than Nile Kinnick" is pretty much moot.
 


tm3308 said:
While Street's legacy has certainly been amplified by his untimely death, so has Kinnick's. "What could have been" stories have that effect.
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I think this is true, but Street's death certainly amplified his legacy more than Kinnick. Street's story is 100% "what could have been", and almost exclusively for what he did on the court. I mean, look at the argument here, "the Duke game before his death was his coming out party". Kinnick won the freaking Heisman and then signed up to join the war effort. His "what could have been" has nothing to do with sports.
 


GhostofBTT said:
I think this is true, but Street's death certainly amplified his legacy more than Kinnick. Street's story is 100% "what could have been", and almost exclusively for what he did on the court. I mean, look at the argument here, "the Duke game before his death was his coming out party". Kinnick won the freaking Heisman and then signed up to join the war effort. His "what could have been" has nothing to do with sports.
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That wasn't an argument, it was an observation. I didn't know that this was a competition at the time I posted.
 


GhostofBTT said:
I think this is true, but Street's death certainly amplified his legacy more than Kinnick. Street's story is 100% "what could have been", and almost exclusively for what he did on the court. I mean, look at the argument here, "the Duke game before his death was his coming out party". Kinnick won the freaking Heisman and then signed up to join the war effort. His "what could have been" has nothing to do with sports.
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I have no argument against this, and that's why I also agree that Kinnick's legacy has far more lasting power. Chris' legacy may forever stay with the basketball program, and I think it's important that it does so. But Kinnick's impact isn't even really felt with the football program. His affects the entire university, and is even held up by the Big Ten as one of its more important/inspiring figures.
 






Frankly, we do dishonor to Street to compare him to anyone else. He was a special young man and a great Hawk.

It would be so great to beat the hated Badgers Saturday night. It would be a wonderful tribute to him!!!!
 


Street was good before the Duke game. He played that day like he played all year up to that point, same with Acie Earl. Iowa dominated Duke on the glass like they did every opponent with earl and street in the paint. Just didn't have the perimeter scoring duke had.
 






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