Remembering Chris Street

[HawkI101]

That was an awesome article someone posted from the LA Times. When I read that it almost made me tear up a bit. One point really hit home in that article, it said how his dream and every kid in the state of Iowa's dream was to play for the Hawkeyes. My how times have changed.

 

[bradk6]

I met Chris the night before he died. Bumped into him around campus and just introduced myself. I was in the same high school class at another school in the state. Played ball in the same tournaments throughout high school. We spoke for probably 15 minutes or so, playing the usual who do you know. We played at the state tournament at the same time, reminisced about the Waterloo East/City High State Championship game that year, that was a classic. I'd love to get a video of that game. I'll never forget that conversation and exchange with Chris Street as long as I live. I had a lot of interactions with various athletes back in those days, but none of them compare to Chris Street. He was so genuine and true. His character in that brief time we spoke just exploded from his personality. He was so eager and happy to talk about those games and the experience of playing in the high school state tournament. The guy just went toe to toe with Duke, then he's talking to a nobody from Sioux City. Then that Michigan game. It was a roller coaster of terrible and terrific at the same time. What that team did against Michigan that day... was just unbelievable.

 

[BilikinHawk]

Wow I can't believe it has been that long. As an 11 year old kid growing up in Iowa City who religiously watched every Iowa basketball game and who played a lot of basketball. I still remember watching the the Duke game at my Grandmother's when he broke the free throw record and was so excited about the restof the season. Chris and a couple other Hawkeye basketball players had come to the local basketball gym where he had come down to help with a pass-dribble-shoot clinic for a short time. I think this was just a few weeks before he was killed. I remember being so excited to meet him and gave him a big high five. Chris Street was one of my heros.

I recall finding finding out the next morning when my mother rushed into my room early to woke me up to tell me me she had just heard on the Radio that Christ Street had been killed in a car accident. I buried my head into my pillow and sobbed for a long time. I didn't want to wake up.

Plus, as a dorkly little kid who loved politics but even then disliked Democratic politics, it was Inauguration Day and Bill Clinton was to be sworn in as President. I remember getting out of bed thinking that what would already be a bad day had had just become much more terrible: a new Democratic president and my favorite Hawkeye was now dead.

Thanks for sharing that Seattle Times article - great article brought back a lot of memories.

 

[DesMoinesHawki]

I echo the sentiments already posted by fellow Hawkeye fans. But it is rather poignant for me. My dad and mom were avid Hawk fans, they would watch every game together. Mom especially like Chris Street, so it hit her very hard when he died. She passed away the following fall. Today, I buried my father who died last week. This day will be a sad day for me for the rest of my life, a day to remember what was and what could have been.
R.I.P. Chris, R.I.P. mom and dad.

Sorry for the loss of your father.

 

[bowenfan]

I cried just reading that article, and remembering how tragic that day was. To this day, I hate driving through that intersection, and I always think that this was where Chris died. Chris will live forever as the epitome of what it means to be a Hawkeye. What an exemplary young man he was. His legacy will live forever.

 

[WindsorHawk]

I had to sit down and almost vomited when they flashed Street's picture on the screen after saying a Hawkeye basketball player had died.