DAYTONA BEACH , Fla. -- – At first, Daytona Beach Thunder Head Coach Leon Bright was sad to hear that the Rome Renegades and the Carolina Bombers will not play in the World Indoor Football League’s inaugural season.

Then, 2.745 milliseconds later, he was on the phone seeing if any of the former Renegades or Bombers would like to spend a few months in the beautiful sunshine on the World’s Most Famous Beach.

“It’s a business, baby,” Bright said. “When it comes to talent, we’re like sharks sniffing fresh blood, and this is going to be a frenzy. 

“If I wasn’t trying to snatch up some of that talent, I wouldn’t be worth the big bucks my owner’s paying me to put a winning team on the field,” Bright added. 

Both Rome and Carolina were playoff teams in another indoor football league in 2006. Bright attended the championship game hosted by Rome.

“ Rome had a solid quarterback [Bo Bartik] who just had a bad game that night, a tremendous wide receiver [Gerald Gales], an awesome kicker [Danny Marshall] and great size on both sides of the line,” Bright said. “I saw the Carolina team [then known as the Raleigh Rebels] and they had a great receiving corps. Darn right I’m going after that.” 

The Thunder begins its second season in February 2007.