Chris Akunda

Remembering Chris Akunda

Chris Akunda was a loving son, brother, grandson, cousin, and nephew, and a friend to all who knew him. Chris' time with us was short - only 12 years, but boy did he make every day of those 12 years count.

Chris just finished 7th grade at Hamilton Southeastern Junior High where he was in advanced classes and excelled as a student, math being his favorite subject. He had recently developed a real love for writing, becoming very particular about grammar and the use of proper language. Chris was full of life, had a contagious smile, great sense of humor, and a love for soccer. He had a tremendous amount of dedication and skill for the sport and played in a travel program for Fishers Soccer Club in the U13 boys' age division. His life-long dream was to play in one of the European soccer leagues and he constantly worked toward that goal.

Chris was involved in the Indiana Soccer Olympic Development Program since 2007, having started playing soccer in North Carolina when he was four years old and just never stopping. Chris also played basketball for his local recreational league, enjoyed playing the piano, and had a passion for learning about foods - he even watched various food channels when no sports were showing.

Chris loved watching college and professional football and basketball, and spent lots of time analyzing games, which led to his second dream - being a sports journalist (after completing his career in soccer). He also really enjoyed "rattling" off statistics (both sports and social) about all players in all sports, which also helped "to embarrass his dad's lack of such knowledge." Chris loved watching "YouTube" for what he called "sick moves to put on people during games."

He also had a respect for "smart" people, with Barack Obama and Roy Dunbar being two people he looked up to the most. His reason for having Obama as a role model was "he played sports but was very smart too."

Chris passed away on Saturday, June 6th 2009 after playing in the Coca-Cola Classic Soccer Tournament in Greenwood, Indiana, with his travel soccer team. The apparent cause of death was an undetected hereditary heart condition where a muscular part of the heart grows too big and gets in the way causing shortness of breath, chest pain, and syncope. It is a common cause of sudden death in young males.

Feel free to share your thoughts, comments, and prayers here.

The Akunda family would like to express their appreciation for the outpouring support received after the passing of our beloved Chris.

Chris Akunda’s Favorite

Favorite Book
“A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens

The Period
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

There were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a plain face, on the throne of England; there were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a fair face, on the throne of France. In both countries it was clearer than crystal to the lords of the State preserves of loaves and fishes, that things in general were settled for ever.

Favorite Players:

• Lionel Messi (Barcelona, called him “best player in the world)
• Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter)
• Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Ramos, Fernando Gago (Real Madrid)
• Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Thierry Henry, and Samuel Eto’o (Barcelona)
• Cristiano Ronaldo (ManU)
• Ricardo Kaka (Real Madrid)
• Ronaldinho, Pato (AC Milan)
• Emmanuel Adebayor, Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, Theo Walcott, Emmanuel Eboue (“my X-factor”), Andrey Arshavin (Arsenal)
• David Villa, David Silva (Valencia)
• Franck Ribery (Bayern)
• Hatem Ben Arfa (Olympique Marseille), Karim Benzema (Olympique Lyonnais)
• Sergio “Kun” Aguero (Atletico Madrid)
• Maximiliano Moralez (Argentina)
• Many others with exceptional passing and foot skills (especially from Africa, South America, and France)
• Michael Essien (”a work-horse to emulate, willing to play anywhere”)
• Jon Mikel Obi (Chelsea)
• Mohammed Sissoko (Juventus – “dad, why did Liverpool ever let him go?”)
• Fernando Torres (”leaves you standing in the dust”)
• Javier Mascherano
• Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
• Mario Balotelli (Inter Milan – “dad, did you know Balotelli is from Ghana? – his name is Barwuah”)

Favorite Teams:

• Arsenal
• Barcelona
• Real Madrid
• Villareal
• Wolfsburg

Other Favorite Teams:

• UNC Tar Heels
• Cleveland Cavaliers
• Miami Heat
• Orlando Magic

Other Favorite Players:

• Dwyane Wade
• Lebron James
• Kobe Bryant
• Ty Lawson and Toney Douglas
• Michael Crabtree and many others at different colleges
• Larry Fitzgerald
• Others he termed “excellent point guards who distribute the ball to team-mates”

Favorite Games (Xbox, PS2, PSP):

• FIFA 09
• Basketball
• Football

Favorite TV Channels:

• Gol TV
• Fox Sports
• Setanta Sports
• ESPN
• Food channel