Brian Bluhm (estrepe1)

[Ranger]

Brian Bluhm, aka estrepe1, was one of the 32 killed in the shootings today. I really hope I received false information but I don't think I did. I was friends with Brian on Facebook and messaged one of his friends who sent me this message as a reply.

"Hello thank you for contacting me. I have heard from someone that talked to his brother-in-law that Brian was inside Norris Hall and was killed this afternoon. We are all greiving the loss of his because he was such a nice and kind guy. Thank you for thinking about him and please keep his family and the rest of us here at Tech in your prayers."

Brian was easily the most likable poster here. Such a damn shame to have someone as smart and brilliant as he taken.

[MelissaG915]

oh my God

[Corky]

Wow. So sad.

[west-side]

May he rest in peace and be with the Lord in Heaven.

[dt35456884]

For ****'s sake let this not be true.

I've always been fond of the guy, and for the last year or so I've talked with him regularly on instant messenger about Tigers baseball and life in general, sometimes long into the night. Just a hell of a guy. Smart as a tack and he never wavered from his convictions, even for a simple pleasure like baseball. I love the guy. I count him as a good friend even though I've never spoken to him or met him.

I won't believe it. I can't right now.

[Tramlou]

May our thoughts and prayers be with his family

[monkeynuts]

i don't know what to say

oh my god....RIP...

wow...

[markmeista]

dear God.

[potthole]

My heart sunk so deeply when I checked his Facebook page about 30 minutes ago. I never really interacted with you too much around here, Brian, but you were one of the posters whose posts I would always stop and read.

You and your family and your classmates are all in my prayers.

[Oblong]

I'm not going to believe it either. I won't sleep tonight. I didn't even enjoy the game tonight. I just sat there in the stands thinking about him.

How can I feel this bad over somebody I've never spoken to in my life?

[monkeynuts]

Originally Posted by Oblong

How can I feel this bad over somebody I've never spoken to in my life?

I feel the exact same way. I've never spoken in person to him, but I'm absolutely heart-broken.

RIP.

[Motor City Sonics]

Originally Posted by Oblong

I'm not going to believe it either. I won't sleep tonight. I didn't even enjoy the game tonight. I just sat there in the stands thinking about him.

How can I feel this bad over somebody I've never spoken to in my life?

I know what you mean. I feel like I know him. I kind of feel like I know a lot of people here, even though I haven't met them.

[Motor City Sonics]

[SpartanValor]

Originally Posted by Oblong

How can I feel this bad over somebody I've never spoken to in my life?

Me too. I never even spoke to him on here, but he was "one of us". It definitely touches home, and i'm sick to my stomach right now.

[tigersfan25]

I wish I could have been around more in the past few months, but my job has taken me away... I just wished I could have talked more. Who knew this would happen? Though we've never met, and though we haven't talked much of late, he was always good to talk baseball and life with.

To think that I'll never be able to talk with him, or even meet him one day, is something that I regret. Nevertheless, his family is in my prayers. And so is he.

I've never met him, but I feel like I have lost a brother. This is just too sad.

[BigMM]

My brain isn't comprehending this right now.

[Hongbit]

I don't know how to feel or what to say. It's just total sadness.

[Oblong]

I am not exaggerating at all when I say he was my favorite Tiger poster.

Not to be silly about this or anything because I'm not sure if it's proper but if this news is true we should let someone at the Tigers know. I don't know, maybe Dickerson. Just let them know a passionate fan may have been one of the victims.

I hate this. I feel rotten because it takes someone you "know" to make you feel as rotten as you do when something like this happens. Even if our prayers are answered then it just means someone elses were not.

[potthole]

I think the Motown get-together at the upcoming Whitecaps game in May has just gotten all the more meaningful.

[markmeista]

I am crushed. Like many, I have never met Brian. But I remember him posting messages on the espn.com boards back in 1999/2000. I remember seeing him post on various message boards. He was also one of the first people to welcome me to motownsports. I chatted with him once in the chat room, and he politely answered some questions I had about baseball, etc.

I will miss you, Brian.

i can barely type right now.

[dt35456884]

I am totally gutted. I just feel hollow right now. I was pretty brave all day until five minutes ago when I just wilted into the arms of my wife, sobbing.

I genuinely loved the guy.

I am holding out hope that this is a huge misunderstanding.

[dshinska]

I have been a lurker on the site for several years now, and I always read estrepe's posts because I respected his opinion and knowledge of the game. He always maintained a level head in his posts, and I always respected that. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.

[jessman1128]

I didn't even know Brian, and I'm in shock. My brain is numb. Please pray for Brian's family in this unimaginably difficult time.

Rest in peace.

[DetroitFolly]

Horrible, Horrible news. It just goes to show you how any tragedy touches so many people.

[SpartanValor]

Wasn't he also a poster on John Sickels' website? Should someone mention this news to them? I think I still have an account over there if you guys think it would be a good idea, i'm not sure.

[slim pickens]

I have sent Brians sister's myspace page a message just to let her know that he meant alot to all of us here, and that his entire family is in our thoughts and prayers.

[T.O. Tiger Fan]

I am stunned. Though we never talked in person, I always read and respected his thoughts about baseball. This tragedy, as horrible as it is, suddenly became very personal.

[zachcadillac]

Brian is an incredible guy. I like him, and more than that, I admire him.

[DetroitFolly]

We hooked each other up with some pretty good music over the years. We even talked about trying to meet up at Bonnaroo.

This is sick.

[BigMM]

Terrible news.

I wish I could think of something to say about Brian, but words aren't coming right now. I didn't participate on this forum nearly as much as some of you here, but I still got the feeling that I "knew" him from reading his posts.

This hits so close to home. A student, close to graduating, with so much ahead of him taken away in a senseless tragedy. I just can't describe how this effects me.

[tiger337]

I'm still in denial at the moment. I never met him but he was one of the few people I talked to outside of he board. I wish I got a chance to meet him. He was so intelligent and had so much perspective and was a great person as well. We go back a long way. I knew him before I came here as we used to talk on the AOL boards all the time. We agreed on almost every topic and he was my favorite poster. It won't be at all the same around here without him. I can't imagine what his family is going through right now. They are in my prayers.

[Motor City Sonics]

Brian proudly wearing the Olde English D.

[hueytaxi]

From opposite ends of the fan base, we have shared our personal thoughts. Let this not be true.

[tigerfanfromchicago]

Originally Posted by Oblong

How can I feel this bad over somebody I've never spoken to in my life?

When Billy Ringo died, this was the first thing that I thought. I asked myself this question all day today. In the end Bruce and Brian will mean more to us than most of the people that we will meet in our lifetimes. We were able to spend time with these people talking about the Tigers or other parts of life. We had positive and negative moments. Even though they were only electronic to most of us, they were friends.

Estrepe1 was here just about every day. He always was friendly, he always was rational. He was such a nice guy.

I've only been posting at Motown Sports for about one year, but after all we've gone through, two deaths and a pennant winning season, I feel like we're a family, even though I've never met any of you.

I'm still in disbelief. Rest in peace, Brian.

[Shinma]

I have no words that can adequately express the amount of loss that im sure his family is feeling right now.

...

[BigMM]

Originally Posted by SpartanValor

Wasn't he also a poster on John Sickels' website? Should someone mention this news to them? I think I still have an account over there if you guys think it would be a good idea, i'm not sure.

I was thinking about that too. I know he participated quite a bit on that site.

[sportz4life]

RIP Brian, though we never met it was so easy to share knowledge and respect your point of view. To young, not fair!!! We will miss you...you were the conscience of these boards. So tragic, I'm speechless..

[Motor City Sonics]

We need to get together and toast Brian.

[zimm]

oh man.

I go back to the good old days of the ESPN boards with Estrepe. We were never particularly close, but he's been in the same little corners of the internet as i have for the better part of a decade. Every day, talking with the same people, about the same stuff, for 8 years.

I'm sure a great guy like Brian left behind a lot of great friends and family who are probably crushed right now.

And so am I.

[markmeista]

Originally Posted by Motor City Sonics

We need to get together and toast Brian.

Yes, yes we do