life,uconn basketball and death | The Boneyard

life,uconn basketball and death

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My name is Christopher Owen and I've been a Huskies fan for thirty years. my father Walter was a Husky fan for four days. The May before last I got a phone call from my father " hey there Christopher , they found a shadow". Four months after quitting smoking and complaining of shortness of breath my dad was diagnosed with lung cancer. I visited with him shortly after for about a week and we spent that time just talking about life, death and everything in-between. On September 27th I got a text from him simply saying "when can you come and how long can you stay"? I just thought maybe he just really wanted to see me. He never let on to how bad things really were , very German ..tough. I made it back home to Naugatuck on November 9th. The day before I left my Dad said "hey Chris, lets go to a Uconn game with the family ( mostly alumni) , they're playing Yale in Hartford". So we ordered our tickets and on 11.11.13 me and my Father went to the xl center . Section 104 row h seats 5 and 6. I gave him a quick rundown of our team but when I mentioned Niels Giffey and Leon Tolksdorf his eyes lit up, he was locked in. If I remember correctly Niels hit five threes that game . The last three of them my father who took about a half hour to get down the stairs to our seats stood up and cheered ...in German. After the game was over Bazz came over to take a picture with a little girl. We were the only ones left because we needed to let everyone clear out before we walked up the stairs. I yelled down " hey Bazz!!, we'll see you in March". He nodded and my Dad asked what does that mean? I explained the ban for the season before and without skipping a beat he said" well , that's why they'll win it all this year and you never know ...maybe Germany will win the world cup too". Isn't that just perfect? That's the last " thing " I did with my Father. I came home Wednesday afternoon and on Friday he passed away in his apartment. We talked in-between a few times and all he talked about was our time together ...our game together. He said he felt like he was back in Kaiserlautern cheering on his hometown club. Thank you Uconn basketball for creating that stage for us. I have tried to find the full game on youtube and cannot find anything but a few highlights. If anyone here has access to this game in its entirety I would greatly appreciate a copy. I would of course pay for shipping ,time or whatever else you would need. I thought about writing the school but didn't know where to start so I figured I'd try here first.
 
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Wow bittersweet memory. We have some great tech geeks on this forum that should be able to get this done for you.
 
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If tcf doesn't have it (which I'm 99% sure he does), I could definitely get a copy on DVD.
 

AstarIsBorn31

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Sorry for your loss uconnblueinky . TCF15 always comes through. You have to love the power of sports and how it can create memories that you will cherish forever. I remember the year my grandfather passed away I was able to set up a date with him to watch his Giants take on my Patriots. You could tell how much it meant to him because he usually was watching the games alone. Ill never forget it. If I knew this story before hand I might have actually pushed for the German side.
 
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Yeah, its amazing what sports can do. I'm sure that moment meant everything to him and you. Thank 's for sharing that and thank you everyone for trying to help me with this, I appreciate it. Heading to a Louisville bats baseball game with a few Kentucky fans all decked out in uconn gear , I can't wait to hear about how great they'll be this year. Go Huskies
 

AstarIsBorn31

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Having trouble since I do not have a cable provider. Thank you though
Yea thats an issue, all college campuses get it for free so once I graduated I had to ask my friend for his cable account.
 
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So sorry for your loss.

That is a life long memory for you-both doing something you love.

The BY is a very good place with good people.

tcf-your the man !!!!


Defending National Champions- The Drive for 5 !!!!!
 
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Wow truly heartfelt story. My dad had eerily the same thing in '92 and told me when I was heading back home for a city hoops game, picked him up to come watch. Told me while we were driving there they found cancer in his lungs after 50 plus years of Chesterfields and alike. Needless to say we also went to a Pitt game in February of 92 the month after he was diagnosed and those steps up to 328 at the HCC took a toll on him, I knew it wasn't good. But we had fun but that was the last event and I will never ever forget it. Lost him in April a couple months later but had plenty of time to sit and talk about life and tell him any things I never was able to.

I feel for you my friend but the great memories of your dad will stay with you forever I promise!! Sorry for your loss but thank you so much for sharing it was beautiful honestly!
 
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Simply an awesome story. Thanks for sharing. Although bittersweet, he can rest in peace knowing that his Huskies and the German soccer team are champions!
 
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Thanks mau, we're not alone. At least we have those or had those moments. ..you understand what they're worth. Let's just keep hanging banners for now. Go Huskies
 
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