[dward1]

from the archives




We visited with superstar sporting director/manager Gerry Thomas just days after he arrived in Buffalo after his shock move from Brooklyn. Thomas arrived 5 minutes late to the downtown patio spot and drank 3 LaCroix's during our interview while eying his phone for further messages as they came rolling in. However, he was open and honest about his life in Brooklyn, his thoughts about the USBL's sharply different rules and his hopes for Buffalo's future.

Were you unsatisfied at Brooklyn, what led you to bail there?

GT: Completely the opposite! I was absolutely satisfied with my work there and felt it was complete. I had built what I wanted, the team is the best in the world which we have shown with our 8 titles over the past 3 years, including the 6 big ones every year and more importantly by how our squad worked in every single way. The Atlantics are set up for the future brilliantly, I feel like everything I've done is complete there.

So why Buffalo?

GT: I wanted a clean slate, a new league, a fresh start. If I went to Chicago or Sydney or Dallas or Paris then I'd be competing with Brooklyn directly and in the same league and scenario as before. I wanted a fresh start.

So you come to USBL structure, but why not join a team in the first league? Surely you had offers from almost everyone?

Yes, I had many offers from first league teams. I won't mention names as that will put undue pressure on their current or new directors and coaches but I could have. There was something a bit romantic about taking a team from the second league up to the first and then hopefully to become a competitive team there and making it to the global competitions. That's a long way off of course, but it's how I am thinking about this project.


I enjoy the locality of the USBL I have to admit. I could never have said this when working in the WBA, but there's something about focusing on the local fans and your surrounding and country that does trigger a bit of patriotism and sentimentality in me. The games against Rochester I'd always watch, the families on the outfield berm on their blankets, busses driving fans from one to the other, and everyone seeming to know each other made the games feel much more tense. Nothing against our fans in Brooklyn, but sometimes you see say Paris advertising in Cairo or Houston travelling to Riyadh for a preseason camp and you wonder what exactly is going on. Are we just sort of companies in the global market? Here, they do have a better connection to the idea that these clubs are local institutions.

Now this has been hashed out over and over through the years, but what is your definitive take on the rules differences between the WBA and the USBL? Switching would indicate you have no big problem with them?

I knew this question was coming of course. We will start with the 9 year rule. I'm used to the fast-paced WBA where players are free agents after 4 years and you constantly have to be rebuilding your team, this is all well and good and exciting for a sporting director. But for a fanbase, for a community, the 9 year rule in the USBL is better. Look at Las Vegas for example. Tyrese Turner, Elijah Jones, Steve Bakies and Jon Cook were one-club men. Two others are one-club men until their last season, that's 6 of their 8 Hall of Fame members who were essentially One Club Men. That's special. Now you go to a game and you see those guys, the numbers retired on the wall, the sections of the stands they sponsor and probably know half the people there. It's just special and the 9 year initial major league contract feeds that. I don't think there's a single One Club Man elected to the WBA Hall of Fame.

The importance of local strength is of course emphasized by the financial distribution. Everything local is so much more important here, in the WBA you basically had your media deal that was the same as everyone else and you were good. There's a bit of wiggle room in sales but not much. Here it's all about encouraging those devoted fans to come and support you and invest.

And the No Foreigners Rule?

Ah yes, the Trump Rule as you say. Well of course it was established to encourage local players and relationships between the fans and players but I think that is possible for foreign players as well. Seung-Soo Ha in Brooklyn for example was extremely popular with our fan base. I don't see it as an absolute no-go, obviously, I am working here now. But if I was in charge I would not implement this Americans Only rule.

Will it make it harder to build your team?

Yes of course. The more options you have the greater your edge can be if you think your offices are ahead of the competition and that is the goal. We want to be 1% better in every decision. Every pitching change, every international dollar, every minor league coach, every practice session, everything. When you limit the decisions you limit our ability to work.

What are the short and long term goals here?

The long term goals are the most important. First is making the playoffs which I expect in 2 or maybe 3 years. I expect to finish first in 3-4 years, once you are in the playoffs it can be tough to predict winning. Winning the playoffs and the promotion series is something you simply can't predict. But I expect us to be in the Champions League (top 4 in the USBL top tier) within 6 or 7 years and winning it by the end of the decade.

Bold words, only one team has ever made the Champions League after playing in the 2nd tier (Houston Apollos in WBA), what makes Buffalo different?

We have me and my team. We have great fans and potential for more, I think our amateur scouting and signing will be top notch and here that will play even better as we can keep these guys for 9 years once they make the big club. Even free agent signings can be long deals if they've only played 4 or 5 seasons elsewhere. Our good decisions will have longer lasting consequences and we can build on that.

Thank you for your time, Gerry, and good luck on this new adventure.