Tampa Bay Damage was one of the top pro teams in the world when your sponsorships were pulled in 2014 . Describe what is was like when you first got the news and also how the team bounced back after “ retiring ” and “ unretiring .”
Damage was such a successful team for years , and when we got the news that two of our core players Chad Busiere and Keith Brown were leaving to go to another team we knew it would be a tough void to fill , but not impossible . As we started negotiating deals with top players from other teams , we were hit with the most awful news . Our main financial backer CJ Botsolas was no longer going to be able to fund the team , in the same manner , he has for years , and would most likely not be able to help fund it all .
Our team was full of paid players , as well as paid staff . The manager of the team at the time Joey Blute made it clear that he wasn ’ t going to continue running the team without being compensated for his time , and with that in mind , he also said we wouldn ’ t be able to pick up more players . He decided it was time for the team to be no longer . I personally was devastated . I was working for CJ Botsolas at his Thermoforming company so it was a close hit to home for me . I spent a few days talking to teams that made offers for me to play with them , but before I pulled the trigger I wanted to find a way to save the team and keep us together . If Damage died , the pro scene in Florida would have been gone . I started scrolling through all of my Facebook , Instagram , and text messages and saw one from Chris Williams the VP of
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