To my Tulsa Athletic Family,
There is no easy way to start this so I will just jump right into it: This was my last week as the General Manager for this wonderful club as I will be stepping away beginning tomorrow.
It has truly been an honor to serve this city, club, and its fans over the past three seasons. I have had an incredible time here and am thankful for the countless memories the Athletics have provided me.
Over the next few months I will be traveling and exploring professional opportunities out there. Where ever I land I will always be a season ticket holder of Tulsa Athletic and when the fan ownership is finalized I will buy a share with whatever money I have left. I will forever be a part of this club no matter the circumstance.
While I am excited for my future opportunities, I am saddened to be leaving at the peak of the club’s potential. This city embraced the Party In The Park this summer far more than we could have anticipated. The 2018 season was an absolute proof of concept that Veterans Park is the place to build Tulsa’s soccer club and I could not be happier for us.
The future for the club is bright. Sonny and Tommy are moving the club forward and this summer was just the (re)start of something special. There is still work to be done and obstacles to be overcome, but if there is one thing I know about us it’s that we don’t shy away from challenges and we’ve overcome the most obstacles in lower league soccer so nothing will ever put us away. We have fought tooth and nail just to bring us back to this point and true growth has been the closest its been since 2013.
It was my distinct privilege to serve as a steward for the club these years, but there were an absolute army of us that made the club what it is today. I am going to try to give recognition to those that proved we were a community team and I apologize in advance for omissions.
My parents and brother deserve an incredible amount of gratitude for their unwavering support and contribution. They did far more than I could ever ask for.
Dan Devore thank you for being our Problem Solver and for literally everything.
Dan Stewart for keeping me alive and Sid Stewart for keeping me sane and always answering “no” when I ask “am I crazy??”
Eric Connell for the countless hours you poured into the club to keep it professional and always forgiving me when I don’t give you adequate time to complete things. Which was all the time.
The beautiful, beautiful Madison Pace – there are no words for what you’ve done for me and the club. Thank you
Emily Payne for cracking the whip.
The ENTIRE Armory for kicking ass and being the greatest bunch of beautiful hooligans I have ever had the privilege of knowing.
Kathy and Jessica Shannon for rocking the merch booth.
Our coaches, Joey, Brian, Jake, Brett, & Stretch.
Phillip, Q, Toby and Mary for being our terrific “press box” team.
Brett Rojo and Lori Scholl for your amazing photos.
Jordan, Nick, Kelly, Cassie, Dustin, Dalton, Lucas, Tim, Jeff and everyone else who stepped up in any way asked of you. I can’t thank yall enough.
Sid Goodrich and OSA.
Lauren Colbert for being downright fantastic.
Will Gibson for the game day programs.
Brent Lollis and CreativeState.
Nancy Dowdell and Diane Heimdale.
Dina, Robin, & the entire NPSL staff for making this league a pleasure to play in.
Seth Newell and David Arthurs – my GOD did you guys at Arthurs Turf Management turn this field into a Cinderella from such an ugly ass pumpkin. Not sure if that metaphor is accurate but whatever.
Robby – thanks for always keeping an eye on the field and for all the work you did to make gameday as amazing as it could be. You personally took a lot off my plate and I could not have done it without you.
Annette thank you for going above and beyond the call of duty.
David, Joe, Shelby and Jimmy John’s for having the best booth at the games.
Taylor Brown for always reluctantly accepting every favor I continue to ask of you.
To every intern that came through – thank you for buying in to this madness and I hope your time with me will always be memorable. You guys are all going to do great things.
To every volunteer, no matter how big or small, thank you making this club your own. This isn’t mine, Sonny’s, or Joey’s team – it belongs to all of us. The best measure I gave myself for professional success was how many people claimed this club as their own, so much so they gave up their time and money to make it run. Thank you.
I especially want to thank every single player who put on the jersey and bought into our crazy family. It has been a pleasure watching this team through thick and thin.
Lastly, I want to thank every single person here or abroad that bought a ticket, a jersey, a shirt, or just tuned into our live stream. This club exists to serve the fans and this will always be a club that puts you guys first.
Before I go I want to thank Tommy Kern and Sonny Dalesandro for giving this kid a shot back in the day. My whole career has been shaped by you guys and yall set the standard for owners everywhere on what it means to be an owner of a lower-league soccer team. Working for you guys was wonderful. Thank you.
I know I forgot some names and I am terribly sorry. Please know everyone was incredibly important to me and I cannot thank yall enough for being amazing.
If anyone wants to swing by and say goodbye tonight, I will be at Bricktown Brewery on Brookside at 8. I would love to see yall one last time and will buy you a (1) beer.
Fucking love you guys, this city, and this club.
TTID
Matt
