Chris Streveler didn’t foresee himself as a folk hero.
“When I put the coat on I never thought it would take on this life of its own,” said Steveler, who was back in Winnipeg ahead of the Blue Bombers home opener against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. “There’s Halloween costumes. I’m sure there will be other people with it on. I’m gonna go put it on right now after this. It’s just become this whole character.
“But I think it’s good for the game.”
John Woods / THE CANADIAN PRESS
Former Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Chris Streveler (left) judges a fan look-alike contest at a retirement party for him before the game against the Hamiltons Tiger-Cats in Winnipeg on Thursday.
While he did judge a Chris Streveler lookalike contest before the game, he will be known for more than his fashion choices now that he’s retired from football at 31.
He spent four seasons sporting Blue and Gold before and after four stops in the NFL, but Streveler is more than a fun-loving caricature.
He’s a beloved teammate who will forever be known for battling through a broken ankle to help the Bombers capture the Grey Cup in 2019, snapping a lengthy drought that stretched to 1990.
“How much time do we have? What stands out to me about that run was the adversity and the camaraderie and the way that we rallied,” said Streveler. “We were not the No. 1 seed that year. We went on the road twice, just to get to the Grey Cup. We had guys get suspended, we had guys get injured, everybody on the roster played.”
Quarterback was his official position, but Streveler had the mentality of a linebacker, often leaving would-be-tacklers in his wake as he bulldozed ahead for a few more yards.
During his four seasons with Winnipeg, he rushed for 41 touchdowns to go with 26 touchdown passes and 31 interceptions.
Streveler announced his retirement in late March. He’s kept himself busy, dabbling in coaching and real estate while checking out several entrepreneurial ventures and pursuing a career in broadcasting.
He appeared on the TSN panel Thursday and is hoping the audition could lead to more reps down the road.
“When I put the coat on I never thought it would take on this life of its own.”
“I’d love for it to be a full-time gig. I’d love to be up here and have an opportunity to do it up here,” said Streveler, who lives in Arizona with his wife and one-and-a-half year old daughter. “That’s why I’m putting myself out there, trying to shake hands and show people who I am and how I can articulate the game and hopefully my love for the CFL.”
Streveler said he’s been handling life after football pretty well.
“It’s been easy up until right now,” he said. “I know what training camp looks like around here. I know it’s a grind. I know how much work they put in. So seeing them win was very exciting for all of them. I keep in close contact with everybody, but I think coming back here right now has been a lot of emotions.
“Seeing the tailgate, getting out on the field, truthfully I do miss it. I have so much love for those guys and this team. I know this is the right decision, but it is difficult when you’re face-to-face with it and you’re still competitive, and deep down you feel you can maybe still do it.”
The finality of his situation hit him hard during this trip.
“You walk to the tailgate there’s a whole sign that says, ‘Happy retirement Strevy.’ It doesn’t get more final than that,” said Streveler. “And working towards some real exciting things in the next chapter. On top of being a dad, which is exciting. But at the end of the day you just can’t get rid of that competitive juice. Just trying to apply it to the next chapter of life.”
Streveler said he’s blown away by the way he’s been embraced by the community and is eternally grateful for his time with the Bombers.
“I couldn’t imagine this being what it is. I’ve been asked so many questions about that first training camp and Matt Nichols going down, getting to start,” said Streveler. “I just couldn’t be more thankful for the ups and the downs and the journey of it all.
“Seeing the tailgate, getting out on the field, truthfully I do miss it. I have so much love for those guys and this team.”
“It’s made me the person that I am today. Man, I said it in my retirement video, but if I could tell little third-grade Chris Streveler everything that would happen, he’d probably be pretty excited.”
Streveler’s journey included parts of four seasons in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Miami Dolphins and New York Jets, which was enough for him to earn his NFL pension.
“Yeah. I mean, an unbelievable experience,” he said. “That’s what you dream about as a kid growing up. But, ultimately for me it was just always professional football. When I came up here, I got to play professional football and that was my dream. So that’s all I thought about. I never thought about the NFL. I just thought about making the most of this opportunity here and buying into that culture in that locker room.
“Just working hard and staying ready for opportunities and making the most of them when they came. Without this place, I would have never made it to the NFL. I’ll be the first guy to say that.”
Like most former players, it was easy for Streveler to identify what he’s missed most so far.
“The guys, man,” he said. “There’s nothing like going in that locker-room, those pre-game jitters, going on the field, getting it done and then getting back in the locker-room with the boys after. Putting in that work, day-to-day. I do miss it. I miss that camaraderie. I miss it.”
Other than erasing the odd incompletion or updating some of the split-second decisions he made in the course of a game, Streveler made it clear he made the most of the magic carpet ride he was on after arriving in Winnipeg as a free agent in the spring of 2018.
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“I have no regrets,” he said. “I probably surpassed my own wildest dreams of how this thing would play out. I don’t think anyone would have thought I would do that.
John Woods / The Canadian Press
Michelle Perry poses with former Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Chris Streveler, who met fans for a retirement party and look-alike contest before Winnipeg took on Hamilton on Thursday.
“So, for me, I never look in the rear-view mirror. My only regret is that I can’t strap it up (on Thursday) with the boys.”
Blue Bombers defensive back Nick Hallett broke into the CFL during the 2019 season and still laughs about the scene that unfolded at The Forks, where Streveler went tarps off and was sporting the fur coat and cowboy hat during the parade.
“Hilarious, iconic. I was just happy to be a part of it. I don’t think anyone in Winnipeg will forget that anytime soon,” said Hallett. “He meant everything to the team, too. Just the type of guy he was and the type of teammate he was.”
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Ken Wiebe
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Ken Wiebe is a sports reporter for the Free Press, with an emphasis on the Winnipeg Jets. He has covered hockey and provided analysis in this market since 2000 for the Winnipeg Sun, The Athletic, Sportsnet.ca and TSN. Ken was a summer intern at the Free Press in 1999 and returned to the Free Press in a full-time capacity in September of 2023. Read more about Ken.
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