Sad news today. 53-year-old Edward McMichael, known around these parts as "Tuba Man," died over the weekend after being attacked near a bus stop. McMichael was famous in Seattle for playing his tuba outside sports stadiums, usually while wearing goofy hats. Reports say he was robbed and beaten to death. The P-I's Robert Jamieson calls him "Seattle's' most visible, beloved and melodic sports fan," writing: "Hundreds of thousands of Seattleites have walked by McMichael outside sporting events -- and local stages. He loved to play outside the opera and theater houses. To play the tuba, he told me, was to be alive."Update: A memorial fund has been set up for McMichael.
What a senseless and tragic event. Tuba Man never hurt anybody and his music was infectious after a Mariners or Seahawks game, no matter if we had won or lost. My heart goes out to those who knew him.