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http://www.kayfabememories.com/Stories/mickkarch/mk10.htm

"The Blitz" is gone. 

Steve Blitz, perhaps the most notorious ringside spectator the Twin
Cities has ever seen, passed away last week at the young age of 50. In
the scheme of things on the national wrestling landscape, it might not
seem like much in the way of a news item. In the Minneapolis-St. Paul
area, it's a different story, not only for the wrestlers and fans who
knew him casually, but for those of us who knew him as a friend.

If you happened to attend a Twin Cities area wrestling card in the
last 30 years, you had to have seen "The Blitz." He was always there,
front row ringside, at the old AWA house shows and then on to the WWF
and WCW events. Whether it was a throw away card or a pay-per-view, a
Nitro or a Raw, there he was, with his front row ticket. By hook or
crook, he landed those "plum" seats, if it meant standing outside in
sub-zero temperatures for two days to be the first one in line for
tickets, he did it. If he had a contact person inside the ticket
office that would provide him an "in," I didn't know about it. He
always managed, somehow. But then, I didn't know a lot about how "The
Blitz" did things. He never gave me his phone number, although he
always told me to "stay in touch."

He gave me a mailing address once...and of course, it was a Post
Office Box. I knew he lived somewhere in St. Paul, but I didn't know
where. I knew he worked for a time as a phone rep for the local bus
company, but of course I didn't have a direct line to reach him.

He might have been the single most unique character ever to occupy a
ringside seat. He would piss the wrestlers off in so many ways,
shouting out their real names, information about their personal lives,
something about their past wrestling history, something he read in the
kayfabe sheets about a contract dispute they were having...whatever.
He was your prototypical "smart mark," who loved to show off the fact
that he had more knowledge about the inner workings of the business
than the guy sitting next to him.

If you don't think he had an impact by such behavior, consider this.
WCW was coming to the Twin Cities for a house show some time back. At
the time, Nick Bockwinkel was an agent for WCW. Nick called and asked,
"who's the guy in the front row that always shouts out kayfabe
information at the boys?" I told him it was Blitz, and Nick told me
that WCW executive Gary Juster wanted to pass the word to Blitz that
if he behaved that way at the upcoming house show, he was going to be
ejected from the building!! I saw Blitz before the matches, told him
of the warning, and he piped down...sort of...for the duration of he
night.

He would stand outside the arena hours before the matches, even if it
meant arriving at a building at the same time the wrestlers did (1:00
p.m. for a 7:00 Monday Nitro) just so he could yell at them when they
drove into the parking ramp. He wore a home made tee shirt that simply
said, "The Blitz." I have no doubt that he knew how abrasive he was,
how annoying he was and how the wrestlers got furious with him. I also
have no doubt that he loved it. It was his claim to fame. It was his
spotlight. I get the sense that beyond the world of wrestling and his
notoriety, Blitz was not a very happy guy. My guess is that there was
not a whole lot going on beyond the arena that gave him much pleasure
in life.

The kicker in all of this is that I have lost a great, if not comical
friend. I knew him for over 31 years. We met at the University of
Minnesota and were introduced at a campus social hangout when I was
dating a mutual acquaintance. Many times in subsequent years, he would
say, "Karch, remember we met in February 1970 when you were dating
Sherri Price?" I would say, "Blitz, how many times to do you have to
remind me?" He got a tremendous charge out of that. He was a guest on
my "Saturday Night at Ringside" TV show in the late 80's. I'm not sure
if he had a prouder moment in his life. Through the years, I couldn't
twist his arm to attend too many of the independent wrestling shows
around here. They weren't "major league," after all....and he was "The
Blitz!" He wasn't going to be seen at anything less than WWF, ECW or
WCW.

He called my hotline often, just to check in. He would say, "Mickey,
this is Blitz. You're doing a great job. Keep up the good work,
Karch."  And then he would finish the message by yelling "Bullinski!!"
ala Bull Bullinski, an AWA journeyman of the 1970's. It was so corny,
so ludicrous, so "Blitz," and yet so reassuring that through all of
wrestling's changes and life's changes as well, that this portly,
unpredictable goof from St. Paul was still around. About two weeks
ago, he called my hotline again, just to touch base. I remember
thinking to myself how tired he sounded, how unenthused. There was no
"Bullinski" shout at the end, no laughter, no humor. I checked my
hotline again yesterday and there was a message that he had died a
week or so ago. I was not aware, and I couldn't even attend the
funeral because I found out too late. I would have been there to bid
farewell to a friend, a mischievous kid in a man's body who had the
time of his life at the wrestling matches, doing what he did
best....getting under people's skin and then going home to check the
upcoming dates so he could come back and do it again.

It's funny how someone's death makes you look at them in a different
light. Whoever happens to get that front row ticket from now on,
you've got some big shoes to fill. I will miss his presence and the
matches just will not be the same. You just know he'll be there in
spirit.

Hey, "Blitz!!" Remember when we met in February 1970?......

So long, my friend.


--- Internet Rex 2.29