Twenty-three seasons removed from the franchise?s first league championship, the Baltimore Blast will welcome back one of its own. According to Blast Hall of Fame inductee Heinz Wirtz, things haven?t changed a whole lot.
“They say it?s a blue-collar city, but to me, it was more like a family that came out and supported us,” Wirtz said of the Baltimore fan base. “I can?t really explain it, but we had a really good relationship with the fans.”
The Blast remain among the top of the Major Indoor Soccer League in attendance, and current players routinely refer to the fans as an energizing force. Wirtz remembers the introductions the most.
“It was just an unbelievable atmosphere,” said Wirtz, who lives in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and hasn?t been to Baltimore since a team reunion three years ago. “You had these great introductions that gave you goose-bumps. It put you into a zone.”
The Blast (9-9) is still infamous for its pyrotechnic-filled pre-game introductions. Wirtz will get a special celebration at halftime of tonight?s 7:35 game against Milwaukee (11-8).
“As a player, Heinz was well-respected among his teammates and Blast fans, and he obviously still is today,” Blast owner Ed Hale said.
Hale wasn?t a part of the club?s ownership when Wirtz played from 1981 to ?86, and neither were many of those involved today. According to Wirtz, that is what makes this celebration so touching.
A native of Germany, Wirtz had never played the indoor game as it is played in the U.S. before arriving here. But only a year after admittedly feeling “like a fool” in his first season, Wirtz won the 1982 team MVP award, and just a year later led the team to its first championship.
“When we were playing, the stadiums were full in the mid-?80s,” Wirtz said. “Baltimore was sold out almost every time. It is an American game. It is not a foreign game that comes from Europe. There is room for the indoor game; you just have to find a few more owners like Ed Hale that have staying power and do things right.”
Most important to Wirtz, though, were the fans that filled the arena.
“They were high-fiving us after we lost because they knew we gave it our all,” Wirtz said. “If you?d go to New York and lose a game, they?d boo you off the field.”
BLAST TONIGHT
» Who: Milwaukee Wave (11-8) at Blast (9-9)
» When: 7:35 p.m.
» Where: 1st Mariner Arena
» Radio: 680 AM
» Injury report: Forward Adauto Neto is doubtful after re-aggravating his surgically repaired leg.
