Dear Chase Family,
We met Chris in 2004 at Tallyho when he began coaching my kids Andy & Katie. He was an amazing presence on deck - spirited, funny & fiercely competitive with a great personality. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of sports & the team history. 
Within a year of joining the team, I became team rep and got to know Chris on a different level. We would strategize about the team.  I loved how Chris thought any change to tradition was blasphemous, said with tongue in cheek & a smile on his face. 
I always enjoyed when he took the mic at the banquet. He would have the parents laughing hysterically. Clearly he had spent a lot of time preparing his comments for the banquet.  
I was still team rep when he began writing for Yahoo. He tried to give me a check at the end of the summer for money that he felt he owed the team because he couldn’t give 110% that summer. It really spoke to his character. I did not take his check, but wished him well on his next endeavor. Clearly Chris had a gift for writing & a passion for sports that he had to share with the world. 
We kept in touch over the years. I enjoyed seeing his posts about his wife & daughter, who he clearly loved dearly.  The choice of swim team for Anna brought us endless amusement. He was a special person that will be missed and will always be a part of Tallyho. 
Adrienne Rothstein

Chris was a dynamic man. He was electrifying in our lives. He commanded each relationship with genuine care, generosity, and love. It was a sight to see. His smile, humor, and passion for life was infectious. His boundless knowledge and continued hunger for learning was so impressive. Chris was always willing to share his perspective, and often took a contrarian view – he enjoyed defending it with passion. He gave lively and heartfelt toasts to family and friends, but always finishing with “to Joe Gibbs.” He was a pioneer is his career as a sports blogger and an expert at his craft. His brand of writing was hot – before hot takes were all the rage. It showed and elicited emotion, and more importantly, brought readers back for more - something not easily done. He had a remarkable ability to write a nearly perfect article while our friends would gather for a football game or barbeque…the commotion would not affect him one bit. He was affected, however, by his beloved Redskins. I lost track of how many cable TV remotes he threw across the room over the years…at the bad calls, horrible decisions, and rough outcomes. In good times and bad, Chris was a friend you could count on for a quick conversation, no-nonsense opinion, and a good laugh. He was often the center of attention – not because he was the loudest or most boisterous - but out of respect for what he had to say. Chris was charismatic, loving, and genuine. He will always be remembered fondly and greatly missed. 

I came to know and love Chris through Tallyho  because he coached my sons and coached with my husband, Richard.   Without Chris, all of our summers at Tallyho for all of those years would have been so much less fun.  Chris had a magic to him at Tallyho.  You believed that he could do anything.  

In addition to all the witty repartee, the way he could make a swim practice or meet like a good Disney movie (with the jokes going right over the heads of the little ones and leaving the adults in stitches) he was an awesome swim coach.  One of my favorite memories with Chris happened at a divisional meet when our son was 8--this summer meet was the biggest meet our son had ever been in.  He was swimming fly and when it was time, he dove in and popped a best time.  But--there had been a false start and everyone was going to have to swim again, immediately.  Our son was a little slip of a guy, and having to swim the fly again right away--well, I didn't think he could do it.    But Chris jumped right into action, giving our son a pep talk as he walked him back to the starting side of the pool, like it was the most important race in the world and like our son was the most important athlete ever.  Our son stepped up and popped yet another best time.  An amazing day for him (and us) and with substantial support from Chris. 

Chris was like that; he made lots of kids feel like they were the most important athlete on the team.  Or if they weren't the best swimmer, Chris would see and appreciate other things that a child brought to the team.  You knew that Chris noticed your children and appreciated them.  Sometimes because he teased one of them (in a sweet if sometimes sarcastic way) or really pushed them to be their best,  But you knew that he cared. 

I loved Chris because he so loved my husband and my boys.  His loyalty to Tallyho and the team was legendary.   There is a hole in our lives now; and I know it will be all the more noticeable when summer comes.         

Chris was a great athlete.  Before he got sick, he was a beautiful breaststroker.  He qualified for the Coaches’ Longcourse Meet, the most prestigious meet of the summer.  He did not talk about it but I know that he was proud of this accomplishment.    He was probably even prouder of his ability  to toss a kickboard.  We lost many a board high up in the trees of the turning end of the pool that Chris had launched from the shallow end.  Speaking of kickboards, Chris would spend morning practice (when he wasn’t making the older swimmers doing endless “over unders”) perilously perched on a kickboard.  He somehow maintained his balance on the edge of the board while animatedly coaching.

In addition to swimming and coaching, Chris was a lifeguard at the pool during high school.  On most days, Chris would carefully pick his spot in the rotation to ensure that he was in the chair for the most adult breaks or would get off the earliest or whatever he deemed the best spot for that day.   One day he decided that he would sit in the chair for the entire ten hour shift.  (I am not sure why he thought that was the best spot in the rotation).  Once he put his mind to this accomplishment, Chris of course achieved it.  Unfortunately it also turned out to be the day of the Team picture.  He was not going to get down from the chair even for the picture.  And he was not going to miss the picture so his buddies carried the chair with Chris In it, from one stand to another so he could be in the picture while he was still lifeguarding.

As I said, I had no idea that he would coach for ten years.  And I  certainly did not expect that we would be become great friends especially given our age and personality differences.  Yet, we did.  On my tough days at Tallyho, he was the one to whom I turned.  He taught both my boys to swim.  In my old age, we would reminisce about the good old days,, dig deeply into the times of the current swimmers.  There is no one who knew more about Tallyho.


Before the championship meet, we would deliver a poster to each swimmer.  Usually, the posters take the form of “Go Chris! Swim Fast!” in beautiful lettering and perhaps even a pretty picture.  Of course not Chris’s posters and not just because there was no beautiful lettering on Chris’s.  Chris’s posters would be a haiku or a long historical diatribe relying on his encyclopedic knowledge of all things.  Regardless of form, it would be funny and encouraging and greatly anticipated by swimmer and parents.

We end the season with a banquet and each swimmer receives an award.  Again, Chris’s comments were unlike anyone else’s.   He could have a swimmer bent over in laughter or a 15-18 woman bright red in embarrassment.   Our banquet was not quite as enjoyable when he was making his readers laugh with his blog instead of the swimmers.
 
Chris was a traditionalist.  He hated it when we moved our All-Star Breakfast from Bethesda to then newly opened and much closer Rockville branch of the Original House of Pancakes.  Speaking about food, he was as opinionated about food as he was sports.  He knew with certainty that the chicken at the Popeye’s in Cabin John Mall was vastly superior to the chicken at any other Popeye’s.  Krispy Kreme was tastier than Dunkin Donuts (but I don’t recall whether he held this belief before he headed to Winston Salem.).   As a teenager, he loved getting shaved ice from “Clayboy’s,” a  truck that would come to the pool 



I first met Chris when he was a 15 year old swimmer on the Tallyho Swim Team.  Because as a swimmer he was a spirit leader on the team, I was pleased when Mr. Gemunder made him an assistant coach two years later.  I had no idea that he would remain a coach for 10 years.  Assistant coaches usually coach only for a couple of summers.  If they stay in the profession, they become head coaches somewhere.   In the end, Chris spent 20 summers at Tallyho as a swimmer or coach.  He was there for one half of the Team’s first 40 summers.  He has spent more summers at Tallyho than anyone by far.  By staying, by his other actions and his statements, I have always believed that Chris loved Tallyho immensely and that it was an important part of his life.  (Even if he eventually moved into the Country Glen neighborhood).  I do not believe any story of Chris could be told with mentioning Tallyho.  Chris was a central member of the team loved by his teammates and coaches.  There are many stories about Chris.  So I can’t help but include too many of them here.  

Anyone who knows that he was a professional blogger appreciates that Chris was clever, creative and funny.  Yet, it may surprise you that the swim team gave him many avenues to express that creativity.  At the end of each swim meet, it is traditional to show sportsmanship by cheering the opponent, almost always with the same cheers (e.g. 2-4-6-8 or potato chip potato chip). Not at Tallyho, Chris would always create a unique cheer for each meet incorporating the theme for the meet that rhymed and scanned.

We play a game called “Gopher” which requires swimmers to jump in the pool only on the word “gopher” and not on any other phrase even if it is “golf club” “go for it.”  Chris was a master of telling stories for this game.  The story would be intriguing enough to keep even the spectator parents engrossed and laughing but also tricky enough to get swimmers to jump in at the wrong time.



The first time I met Chris  was at a wedding on a brisk night. We sat next to each other, virtually strangers, and noticing I was shivering he insisted  I take his coat. Unbeknownst to me, he was recovering from a blood clot with a leg pain that was undoubtedly getting worse with the cold. He needed that coat more than I did but didn’t think twice in offering it. Such was the man who would offer my husband Tony and I that same proverbial coat many times throughout  our friendship. 

Our early friendship centered around our mutual tortured love for the Redskins. We would get together to watch games and  find his watching style even more entertaining than the game itself - typically  beginning with nervous pacing, followed by several bouts of rapid, silent clapping and ultimately ending in him throwing a nearby object (usually a shoe) in disgust. He and Tony would share daily texts discussing DC Sports or the topic of his next blog. They even travelled to a couple away games in Philly where Tony recounts Cchase charmingly insulting the local fans and somehow escaping unscathed. 

As we aged and married with children, he would invite us to his and Alison’s home to catch a game as our kids played.  Our children adored him and dreamed of the day they would beat Uncle Cchase at Super Mario Bros on his ancient Nintendo with the boxy controls. We admired his love for Anna and could see so much of him in her.

He was quick witted and sharped tongued but his compassion was unparalleled and genuine. He had a gift of reaching out at just the right time with just the right words - lending comfort when he most likely needed it more. When our girls lay in the NICU, it was his texts  that assured me it would be okay. A few days before his untimely passing, Tony asked him if there was anything we could do to help. His response - just take care of those beautiful girls for me. 

Thank you, hermano, for always offering us your coat. Your spirit will never be forgotten.  

Since I was born, the Chase’s have been my second family and Chris was my older brother and idol. Everything he did, I had to follow. Watching him perform at piano recitals, I knew I had to learn to play the piano. When he joined the swim team, I had to join. Everything he did and everywhere he was, I wanted to be involved. Maybe the only exception was soccer. I loved soccer; Chris hated soccer. Chris was exceptionally passionate — he always had a strong opinion and you always knew what it was.

Chris knew about things first, and he knew everything about them. I remember going to the Chase’s house one afternoon when we were very young and Chris was on the couch watching a movie, saying every line slightly before the actors did. The movie was called The Princess Bride. I had never heard of it, but this was the 30th time Chris had watched it. He maintained a conversation with me and also continued to mouth every word along with the movie while I was speaking.

Every family gathering, at some point Chris and his cousins George and Peter were going to perform their favorite scene from the movie Major League. While I usually preferred to be involved in the action, I looked forward to just watching these guys every time. Their excitement was so contagious and fun. Chris turned mundane things like a forgettable movie scene or a trip to Popeyes into ritualistic and heightened experiences.

I was always amazed by and proud of Chris’s encyclopedic knowledge of sports history and trivia (or music, movies, and who knows what else). For almost any question, I was sure he had the answer. This was largely because he had an unusual capacity to retain tons of information and retrieve it at will (his brain worked so fast that few people could follow the pace of his speech for the first half of his life). But it was also because he cared so much. 

Chris cared immensely about Alison and Anna, his family, and his many loving friends. I wish every day I could share more with him.

Chris was the best.  We were playing basketball outdoors during the first week of college and he's really getting into it.....yelling "Jimmy Ruuuuuubes" a whole lot to a guy named Jim.  You could just tell this is a good spirited guy with a quick mind, and its going to be fun to be around him.  He lived directly above me that year, and every Sunday night/Monday morning his room was the place to be for NFL Primetime viewing.  I didn't care about football much, but made sure to be there every week when the door was open for all to come.  He was always good about keeping that door open, and we shared a lot of good times just doing daily stuff in the pre-mobile phone world....Trips to buy CDs that just came out, going to the movies, and a lot of time just hanging out, meeting up for weekly TV watching appointments, etc.  

Back then Chris was particularly good at meeting deadlines after getting a very late start, and was known for his late-night/early morning library runs.  I'm so glad he had that skill, as his writing was always a great pleasure, whether it be an article about a sport I have little interest in, or just an email.  "Just an email" is poor phrasing, as they always seemed written to make the reader smile, and my inbox never had anything more entertaining than one from Chris.  

It seemed to me he really enjoyed the things he liked, and voiced superlatives more than most.  Favorite pair of pants, type of snack, Disney movies, or fried chicken chain, he clearly knew what he preferred, and was happy to share.  It was so nice getting to meet Anna for a Cabin John train ride & see how happy Chris was with her and Alison with him.  I miss him very much.  

I am unhappy that I could not come back to celebrate Christopher's life. At least a couple of these stories may be inappropriate, but they are the best I have, and I think Chris would want me to tell them:

1) What's Buzz Wearing - Chase, Greg and I created a website to make fun of Wake basketball coach Jeff Bzdelik and his tie length and style, which was preposterously long and hideous to boot. http://whatsbuzzwearing.tumblr.com/

2) My wedding, part 1 - The lights went on after the reception, and I was walking around thanking people, when I came upon Chase in a good-natured but passionate Redskins/Cowboys debate with my Dad and brother. This was May 2004. Both teams would finish 6-10 the following season.

3) My wedding, part 2 - About two months after I got married Chase kicked off our fantasy league with the quote from 2Pac's "I Ain't Mad At Cha" below. We always (and I don't think I am alone here) had a relationship that was heavy on banter and short on earnestness. This is why this meant a lot to me: 
"Congratulations on the wedding, I hope your wife knows she got a playa for life and that's no bullshittin."

4) I really loved how the past few years we would go have dinner with Chase and his Dad, Peter, at Primola in NY after the coin show. It was something I always looked forward to.

5) I think it was this game where he just stormed right out of my house 

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200009180was.htm

Neither team was going anywhere.

6) Drinking Madden - Chase was much better at Madden than me and at the time the Redskins were also better than the Cowboys. A sip of beer for a first down against you, and chug the rest of your beer for a TD, and I was often in trouble when we lived next door to each other in 2001. We had many memorable games, as stupid college kids.

7) I always wanted to go see Bob Dylan with Chase. I always thought another day to do it would come. Lesson learned - never wait.

God, I loved that man.  I love you Chase.

Where do I start? I have so many memories working with Chris Chase over the years. I had the privilege of being his boss twice: Once at Yahoo! with the Sports Blogs and then again in his final job at USA Today Sports. There was no one like Chris Chase and there never will be. The guy was a walking sports encyclopedia and the fastest writer I've ever seen. His polarizing content made you read no matter if you agreed or not. I loved to watch how many clicks his hot takes would garner. A few memories stand out to me when I think back on everything. One was how much he crushed the Beijing Olympics for Fourth-Place Medal. We sent all these people to the venue, and yet this young blogger from Maryland on my team was the most read man on the internet. Chase beat everyone with the best takes and most controversial arguments. No one owned an Olympics like Chris Chase. Another was when he lost a Super Bowl prop bet for $5000 in winnings when the Giants running back didn't kneel the ball at the 1 to end the game and instead fell into the end zone. Chase loved sports and everything about them and we always had a good laugh about the time he had the worst beat ever on a Super Bowl bet. The last Super Bowl he worked was when the Eagles beat the Patriots. He told me before the game "Matt, how do I root for the Eagles?! But, I know if I don't I will be sent on the couch all night. And I could root against the Patriots... OK fine, god damn, I will do it and root for the Eagles." He said after the game he gave Alison the biggest hug . And he wrote one of his best stories when we identified that Tom Brady was  "a poor sport" and didn't shake hands with Nick Foles after the game. Above all, I'll remember the last time we met in person in Bethesda when I came out there. Memories, or lack there of, of lots of beer and Golden Tee. But most of all, I'll remember the great conversation and lots of laughs. I miss Chris dearly and think about him and his family all the time. RIP Chris Chase. 

I was lucky enough to work with Chris, and even luckier that he became my friend.  He was my Olympics-writing partner in crime. I'll never forget when he told me Anna was on the way. He was so excited to be a dad, to teach her to swim! I miss him so much, and will especially miss him those 16 days every two years when the Olympic cauldron is lit. 

This has been my favorite picture of Christopher since the first time I saw it.

Family and friends will soon have an opportunity to get together to honor Christopher, provide comfort for one another, and share fond memories. Naturally, people who don't know him won't be part of that, but a few days ago I got a glimpse of what they might say.

I was corresponding with a friend from high school. Naturally, we spoke about Christopher. When I outlined Christopher's career, my friend wrote back. . .

  "I did not realize he was THAT Chris Chase.  . .Steph, in his short time, he led a life of significance. . .He was a prolific writer and did not shy away from controversy. He had courage in his convictions, an admirable trait in a journalist."

We love Christopher, and our views of him are, of course, influenced by that. But he was, in reality, all the things we believed him to be.

Christopher was an easy person to buy presents for. Beyond his family he had a wide variety of interests and they weren't a secret: music/Bob Dylan, sports/The Redskins, film/Stanley Kubrick. One could go on.

Bob Dylan and his career as a sportswriter were two of Christopher's most prominent interests. So, it, rightly forms a large part of the conversation. But those two things leave a lot of his depth unspoken. Based on my conversations with him, I believe he could have been equally good and very likely better at covering politics as we was covering sports.

His insight was equally keen for politics, and he was just as well-read in the subject. But most importantly he had something so sorely missing in today's political climate. Today, the same statement or action can be taken completely differently based solely on who said it. Not agreeing with 35% of what someone believes, now necessitates disagreeing with 100% of what they have to say.

Christopher didn't have that. He could disagree with 95% of what a politician/person might say, but still would recognize the remaining 5% as something he agreed with. This made his viewpoints more relevant than many in the business today. This quality may have had something to do with his ability to deal with Internet trolls. Years ago, he told me he responded to each email he received; even the nastiest ones. He never responded angrily. He just explained how he saw it. Disarmed, none of them ever wrote back.

I'm kind of like my own generation in my family. I'm 14 years younger than my brother and 14 years older than his first child, my niece, Stephanie. This gave me the choice of which generation to hang out with at family gatherings.

When married people with children get together, they generally talk about one thing; their children. This doesn't leave a single person with much to contribute. So, I hung out with their kids. It wasn't a typical uncle--niece/nephew relationship. So, they came up with a word for it, "Unk."

Many of my happiest family moments during  my young adulthood were spent in the company of Stephanie, Christopher, and their cousins. I feel quite blessed to have been a small part in their world as they were growing up, and I feel specifically blessed to have been able to benefit from Christopher's quickening wit and wisdom as he grew to be a man.

Christopher used to enjoy sailing with his grandfather (my father). This surprised many of us because his grandfather's manner made made the rest of the family try to avoid it. Years later I asked Christopher about it. I had been assuming all along that he was doing it just because he had to. He said something like, 

  "I don't know. I really liked it. I enjoyed sailing, and he was really nice to me."

This made me recall a short conversation I had with my father around that time. He said something like the following, with a true sense of joy.,

  "You know. I was out sailing with Christopher yesterday, and the asked me 'why don't we just go that way?' I thought about it a bit, and so, that's what we did. And you know, Stephan? It worked out fine." 

It seems like a small thing; my father listening to Christopher and taking his direction, but in our world of that time, it was really quite enormous. Christopher, by way of his nature, had  struck a chord with my father that had eluded everyone else.

Christopher with his Godson, Alexander, on the day of his Baptism.

One of the few shots with all the men (at the time) across three generations of the Chase family together.

There are no words of comfort or words to express the sorrow of the loss of our beloved Christopher.
We can only keep the memory of Christopher alive in our thoughts and hearts and smile because we knew
him. Let his life be an example of what it is to be a great human being, loving husband, father, son and
brother. If we can all be a little bit like Christopher, we can all be better people and his life goes on as a part of us.  His wit, intellect and sense of humor, punctuated with a warm, compassionate smile made time shared with him a true joy. Unfortunately for me, this time was too few and far between, but these short 
moments shared will be treasured and remembered always, God rest his soul.



AVIS DE DÉCÈS

Christopher A.P. Chase

15 août 1981 – 5 décembre 2018

Hines-Rinaldi Funeral Home

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