Mike and Patty Street are introduced to the Carver-Hawkeye Arena crowd during a timeout in a game between Iowa and Northwestern on a night where their late son, Chris Street, is honored on Jan. 31, 2023 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City Iowa. (Rob Howe/HawkeyeNation.com)
Streets Appreciate Support from Iowa Fans
They appreciate the memories, no matter what emotions they feel.
For Mike and Patty Street, it’s been 30 years since their son Chris, a forward at Iowa, was killed in a car accident.
The anniversary of his death, and the Big Ten Network documentary on their son that premiered two weeks ago, brought back the things they want to remember, and the things they wish they could forget.
“What we have felt is a combination of joy, but still some sadness,” Patty Street said Tuesday night in a press conference before the Iowa-Northwestern game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. “We are so thankful for all the people that took their time for this documentary. And so we are very thankful for all of that — it does bring back joy, but some sadness, too.”
What the Streets have appreciated about the documentary is that it has provided a new generation a chance to get to know about their son.
“It means a great deal,” Patty said. “I think any parent that has lost a child, the main thing that you want is for people not to forget your child. We have been blessed these last 30 years that he has not been forgotten, and I don't think he will ever be, and that is very comforting.”
“We've had so many parents come up and talk about how they sat down with their kids and talked about Chris and now they know more about him,” Mike said. “And so that's really been good.”
Mike talked about how the Streets were at the basketball game for one of their grandsons on Monday night, and a woman came up to them and talked about the documentary.
“We were talking about it on the way over, about how this has allowed a lot of the younger players, that their parents have talked about (Chris) and everything, but now they've actually got more of a visual look at him,” Mike said.
Tuesday’s game, which was a night to honor Chris, was originally supposed to be played on January 18, but was postponed because of COVID-19 and injuries that had depleted Northwestern’s roster. Patty Street said it reminded her of how the Iowa-Northwestern game in 1993, which was to be played the night after her son died, had been postponed.
“It just brought back a lot,” she said.
Mike Street talked about all of the connections his son still has in the Big Ten. Northwestern coach Chris Collins played against Chris in his final game when the Hawkeyes played Duke. Purdue coach Matt Painter also played against Chris and has stayed in contact with the Streets. Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg played at Iowa State at the same time as Chris was at Iowa.
“We really feel fortunate that there's so many connections in the Big Ten and across the country, the people he had relationships with,” Mike said.
The memories, the Streets said, are what they appreciate.
“Sometimes it's tough and sometimes it's not,” Mike said. “You never know how it's going to get you.”
“It will bring up good memories again, as I said before, but it'll bring up some raw memories too,” Patty said. “But the thing that you want most is for people to come up to you, whether you have a tear in your eye or whether you have a smile on your face.”
