Now what can I possibly say about this man but that he is a true class act as a human being and one of the greatest athletes and pro wrestlers EVER! No other explanation needed! I think everyone called Ric Flair "The Man" but personally I truly think Sting was "THE MAN". Yes his career is not as looooong as Ric's but what Steve did in the years he wrestled by carrying WCW in their Monday Night Wars with WWE and just the magnitude of his career is something.

I first saw Sting at TBS WCW tapings in October 1987 or 1988. It was near Halloween and I was front row with my friends and he came out to no music, just entered from the curtains and he had blond spiked hair, orange tights and black face paint. I was just in awe and my friends knew it. You see I am one of the most known Ric Flair Fanatics on the planet. BUT when I saw Sting....I knew he was something special in wrestling. His athletic ability in the ring - leaping, jumping etc was unreal. When he did the Stinger Splash and yelled....I was REALLY hooked! I remember going home and doing a drawing of him when he saw it, he loved it and I remembered he pointed over to me. Then I started to do more drawings and I even gave him a few. He signed some of them and he was always so nice and went out of his way to speak to me or wave when he saw me. I have a huge Sting scrapbook of pics of him posing for me without facepaint, magazine clippings etc that my friends call the "Wrestling Bible". It doesn't leave my house.

I remember when he won the Television title from Mike Rotondo on March 30, 1989 at center Stage in Atlanta, GA. It was his first title in WCW. I remember when he had his frist title defense in Charlotte at The Charlotte Coliseum, I gave Doug Dellinger (Head of security for WCW) a drawing to give to Sting. Minutes later, Doug came out to get me because Sting wanted to thank me. I got backstage an he was standing there in a towel. He chuckled and said no pictures. We had small talk and then I went out there to cheer my butt off for him.

Then at Clash of The Champions X on February 6 in Corpus Christie, TX when he hurt his knee climbing the cage, my heart sank. I knew he was really hurt when he was coming down from the cage and my phone started ringing from friends. I felt bad because he was really started to get the exposure and title shot he deserved. I remember knowing that I had to be there at the next Omni wrestling event because I just knew he would show up. I got to the Omni and let everyone go inside for the events and my friend, Shannon and I waited outside in the parking lot for him. He pulled in and smiled as he passed me. I was so happy to know he had came. I went over to his car and as he opened the door he had a very big smile on his face and was happy to see me. I saw the crutch and the bandaged knee and asked him how he was doing. We made some small talk as we stood next to his car and then we walked to the door of the arena. I remember he asked if we had tickets to get in and I said "No don't need any but thanks, I just came to make sure you were ok." I remember him smiling and saying "Thank You". I told him before he went inside that he would be back and be the World Champion and he replied "Yes I will." Moments like this are so very special because you don't get those with these guys - just to relate as one human begin to another. That is what has always made Sting special to me...he is just human.

Now if you see the picture of me and Sting below, it was at a special event. You see Nikita Koloff's wife at the time, Mandy at cancer and the wrestlers were there doing a benfit at Nikita's Gym for her. I remember that you had to pay to get your pics with Sting etc. But it was so nice because when Sting saw me and knew I had a drawing, I didn't have to pay. We talked for a bit and he told me how much he loved the drawing (see pic of him with drawing below) I did of him and he signed it. Then I asked if I could get a picture with him and he said of course and I really enjoyed that moment also. He just was always so sweet and kind to me and it made me feel comfortable to approach him.

I remember one time he saw me in the crowd outside near the parking lot and motioned me over. He was teasing me because I had a Ric Flair and Sting shirt on that I had designed. He told me I needed to cover the Flair part up and I walked him to the door as he asked me how things was going. What I remember about him the most is that he was ALWAYS very appreciative of my support.

Now it happened on July 7, 1990 in Baltimore, MD at The Great American Bash....he won THE GOLD from Ric Flair. I was so excited and proud of him. I knew he had worked hard to get his knee back in shape and it was great to see him with the title that i told him he would win one day. I knew I had to do him a very special drawing for the next event at The Omni. I waited for him in the hallway of The Omni. I remember because he had on black jeans, black boots and a black shirt and when I started walking over to him - he smiled. I didn't want to bother him because I know he needed to get to the dressing room and I just gave him the drawing (see the one below with blue tank). But he stopped and looked at it and joked about his muscles aren't that big. Then he smiled and thanked me and headed for the dressing room.

My friend, Tracy Sims and I also ran one of the Most Respected and Popular Sting Fan Clubs on the internet in 1989. It was called "The SFWO - Sting Fans Without Order" and we had members from as far Australia, Japan, Germany etc. and over 2,500+ members strong. We even had our own t-shirts etc. It was a fun time for us.

I have seen his dvd where he talks about his struggles with alcohol and pain killers. Let me tell you it is a WONDERFUL piece that made me cry over and over again. He is a man of God and he is happy - truly happy in life and I am so happy for him.