Wilky Bazile Has High Expectations for TBears
Tom Ando
Wednesday May 9, 2001
He joined the Arena League in 1996 after getting some helpful career advice.
"When I was with the New York Jets, there was this guy named Rick McGee. He`d come and just watch me practice, and after I got cut by the Jets, I wasn`t doing anything," said Bazile. "I was supposed to get in the NFL Europe, back in the NFL, that didn`t happen, and he said, ‘Wilky, I know you`re upset about not getting back on the football field, but why don`t you play arena ball and work on your skills. This just might be your chance on getting back into the NFL.’ So I did it back in `96 with the Charlotte Rage."
For Bazile, a true defenseman, adapting to ironman football wasn`t exactly fun.
"I hate offense. I hate blocking. I have respect for offensive linemen now. Blocking is no joke. You find out how much of an asset you really are by going both ways, going special teams, and I used to be a bigger guy. I was about 310 pounds, now I`m like 278. You can`t be a big guy playing certain positions."
One thing that Bazile does consider fun about Arena Football is the fan appeal.
 Wilky hams it up with Jack youngblood. Image courtesy of JP Worley |
In 1996, Bazile had six tackles, three assists, and two sacks for the Rage. After seasons in New York with the City Hawks and Tampa Bay with the Storm, Bazile joined the New Jersey Red Dogs where he had his most productive season statistically with 13 tackles, 12 assists, and three sacks.
In 2000, Bazile played for the Buffalo Destroyers where he appeared in six regular season contests. In the first five games that he played in, the Destroyers won, thanks in part to his stellar play on the line, but just as soon as the winning began in Buffalo, the season ended against Arizona in the playoffs, making Bazile a free agent with mixed feelings.
"I wanted to stay home in New York. I wanted to play for Buffalo, but I`ve been playing Arena Football for many years, and to this day, I don`t have anything to show for it financially: house, car, nothing, you don`t pay bills," said Bazile. "I actually got a job that pays more than what I`m making now, but I love the game. At the same time, Houston made me an offer that I could not refuse."
Soon after Bazile signed, he got some shocking news. The ThunderBears would be playing all of their home games at neutral sites.
"I didn`t (know). I got here and I was like wow, that kind of sucks man. I wish we had home games, but you`re just going to have to deal with it."
Still, Bazile believes that if he knew ahead of time, the choice would have been the same.
"I think I probably would have (signed), because I`m from New York, and I was thinking of playing for New Jersey, because my best boys live out there, so I could play for them and they live out there. I just love that whole New York theme, but I said maybe I can play some better football if I get away from home, and let people miss me for a while, and this offer that they made me in Houston is a better deal."
The ThunderBears got another solid lineman in Bazile, who fits right in with the surplus of skill.
"I think we have so much talent here. It`s amazing the kind of guys I`m playing with, like (Mathias) Vavao, Junior (Faemoemoe Soli), (Ramon) Okoli. The whole line, the whole unit. To me, these guys are so mature, (Murray) Garrett, they`re all playing well. The whole team, I think is a good group of guys, great coaching staff, they treat us like men, and we`re a better team than our record shows. I think that once we put it together, we could go to the playoffs."
Whether the ThunderBears make the playoffs or not, they are faced with the possibility of having to move next season.
"I came to Houston for a reason, and I don`t want to leave," said Bazile. "When I was with Buffalo last year, we came here and I was like wow, this place is incredible, even though the place wasn`t packed, socially speaking. I just love the city of Houston, even if I don`t have time to go out, and since I`ve been in Houston, I have not gone out. I`m the type of guy that is going to rest my body all week for the big game. I would love to go out on the weekend and meet people. I`m a single man. I`m a bash. I don`t have any kids. I like to meet some beautiful women. I love beautiful women, and I haven`t had the time to do that because I`m taking care of my body, and when you`re an athlete, you`ve gotta’ take care of your body.
“If we do move, I`m hoping we go to Louisiana. I just want to go somewhere that is socially happening. I don`t have too many bachelor years left. I`m 29, about to be 30 soon, and I`m looking for somebody nice."
As far as Bazile making it back to the NFL, he is very skeptical on his chances.
"I`ve chased the dream for the past six or seven years, and nothing happened. I pray to God that something happens, but if it doesn`t happen, it just doesn`t happen. I still want it, every time I work out for somebody, it`s a great workout, but believe me, what I`ve been getting is my age. I`m 29 years old, but they say oh Wilky, if you were 25 we`d sign you right now, the things that you do are incredible, but you`re a little old now. So I`m going to concentrate and do what I`m doing here."
Either way, Bazile plans to go at it for some time still.
"I`m going to play this game as long as I can, as long as my job at home at Verizon Wireless let`s me come back and forth, I`m going to play. I`ve just got to take care of my body, which I`ve been doing. I don`t go out drinking, partying, or smoking. I try to rest my body, and that`s the reason that I think I can play this game a little bit longer than the average guy. If I can`t make it to the NFL, I`m going to play in this league. I know I`m not going to get rich, but I want to see some of the changes that are going on, because I`m amazed on the kind of changed that are going on already, since I`ve been a rookie in this league, so I`m going to play this game as long as I can. I feel like I can play three to five (more years), maybe 10 years, who knows."
"Touchdown" Tom Ando is a free lance writer from South Buffalo, NY and has been covering the Arena Football League in one capacity or another since the 2000 season, when he was 17 years old. Tom Currently writes for Sports & Leisure Magazine in Buffalo covering the NLL's Buffalo Bandits and NCAA Division I football. In 2001, Tom was the only writer in the country to cover the Houston "Travelin' " Thunderbears, where he befriended his mentor John F. "Hondo" Hahn.
