OT: Former ND QB Blair Kiel, RIP
For those of us getting a bit long in the tooth, the name Blair Kiel needs no explanation. To you young whipper snappers, he's Gunner Kiel's uncle. He was only 50 years old, and he seems to have died of natural causes, possibly a heart attack. RIP Blair Kiel.
Missed the thread.
I guess on topic, I wonder if this would have been any news if his nephew wasn't famous? Sad story, and really young to die...but I wonder how many would have picked up on an ex-athlete's death if not for the recruiting of a relative.
More a comment on the media than the man, I guess.
Tom Rinaldi is revising his Gunner Kiel piece as we speak.
I guess it just goes to show what a difference age and new media can make. Blair was a four year starter at QB for ND (and one of the top high school prospects before that). But now, a kid who hasn't played a single down of college football is better known among many college football fans than he is.
Considering he played at ND before I was even born, it would make sense for me to know Gunner more than his uncle.
Blair Kiel is much better known than Gunner.
That's unnatural...I'll be 50 next year , noooo!
Mike Wallace was 93 when he died. The life expectancy for a male in the US is ~75. So 50 isn't that far away from the low end of totally natural range.
I know this is true because 6 years is a long time; that was the length of my naval enlistment and that definitely lasted a long time.
6 year enlistment? Nuke program? I'm sure there are other programs with 6 yr enlistments, I just don't know what they are.
Fortunately we knew what we're doing, unlike some navies back in the day; I should die of natural causes, versus natural decay.
Dying from natural causes just means you didn't die from something artificial (Like a gunshot or stab wound). Almost all major forms of death are natural
attack being described as "natural causes." If someone dies of of a rare blood disorder or brain tumor is that a natural cause?
While I'm at it, in the context of 75 years being the life expectancy, 25 years IS a long time.
"Natural Causes" is usually the phrase for non-accident/gunshot/medical-malpractice/misc-horrible-event until the specific medical cause is determined. A sudden death absent empty pill bottle or syringe is often assumed to be heart attack; "after a long illness" is usually added/substituted when said known illness has taken its expected natural course.
Gentlemen, take your statins, get on the bike, and limit your buffalo wings at gametime.
There is a MIke Wallace thread that was created Sat or Sun. I wouldn't normally post something this obscure, but it is the off season, and it's already 10:30 and there hasn't been a new post yet today. Things seem kind of slow right now.
This is sad and scary. I remember watching this guy play. He had popeye-sized forearms. He's only a few years older than me.
Wow. It sucks watching guys at or near your age that you watched play, or worse, played [i]with[/i] passing away.
RIP
To hell with Notre Dame.
Seriously though, 50 is far too young to die, especially for someone with an athletic background. RIP.
Let's have an RIP post for the Notre Dame football program.I hate me some golden domers.
Yes, for those of us who were around in the early 80s. Kiel had a 1-1 record against us, and had the misfortune of having Gerry Faust as his HC for the final three years. Faust, like Charlie Weis, came in with a huge amount of fanfare despite the fact he'd never been a head coach in college.
of bad HC picks by ND. They thought just because he was a big success in H.S. coaching at Cinci Moeller that it would translate to Div. 1 college success. Wrongo.
Can you imagine the apocolyptic meldown that would occur today if a BCS school chose a high school coach to take over the program?
What the hell was Fr. Hesburgh thinking?
I am sure that most people outside of college recruiting have not heard of Gunnar. Blair was famous all on his own.
Someone from Iowa that was 1-1 against us passed as well. Please create a post. RIP Mr. Kiel.
Much too young.
23-17 in South Bend.
It was a game played at prime time and was actually the first night game of the series (not 2011).
I remember Kiel to have been quite small for QB. He could have been only 6'0.
This is not a sad story. This also not a scary story. This also is not a story about a poor man who died of natural causes. On an unrelated note: " To hell with Notre Dame."