Brian Bluhm, a popular member of the Detroit Tigers internet community, was one of the students killed in the horrible shooting at Virginia Tech yesterday. I never met Brian in person but he was an important part of my life over the past several years. The same sentiment is being expressed by hundreds of friends on the blogs and messageboards which make up our community. Our thoughts are with his family today.
Brian, who was 25 years old, was just weeks away from completing a Masters degree in Civil Engineering and starting a promising career in water resources. I had known him throughout most of his undergraduate and graduate years at Virginia Tech. Anybody who has participated on Detroit Tigers messageboards or blogs over the past 6 or 7 years has surely come in contact with Brian. He was usually known on the internet as "estrepe1" and sometimes as VTTigers or BrianB.
Everybody who knew Brian liked him as a person and appreciated his knowledge of the game and of the Tigers. Whenever we saw his name, we knew it would be followed by an insightful and rational comment about the Tigers. When you talked to Brian, you did not talk to an anonymous fan on a messageboard. You talked to a very intelligent, cordial and thoughtful gentleman. He was straightforward and honest and always interested in what you had to say. He was a real person and a real friend to all of us and our community will not be the same without him.
Related Articles and Forums:
There is a memorial thread at MotownSports.
Bill Ferris remembers him at Detroit Tigers Weblog
Danny Knobler's blog
John Sickels Blog
Zachary Herman's Sabers Drawn blog
Ian Casselberry's Bless You Boys blog
Lynn Henning at the Detroit News
The Free Press
MLB.COM
Curtis Granderson
Cedar Rapids Gazette
More Stories and Videos at MotownSports
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Hey Lee,
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry for the loss of your friend and a fellow Tiger fan.
These are truly shocking events and my heart goes out to those affected.
Lee,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your heartfelt post on this. I didn't know Brian but perhaps he commented on my blog or elsewhere.
I lived in the Denver area when the Columbine tragedy took place and, obviously not counting Sept. 11, I've never before or since experienced such a widespread feeling of loss.
This news about Brian is sobering news for us all.
Mike
www.DailyFungo.com
now I know it..
ReplyDelete