Ochowicz said, "I ran my story by George Taylor [a Dutch sports agent living in New York City who was a familiar with securing major sponsorships]. George pitched my idea to the Thompson brothers at Southland Corporation."
John, Jere and Joe Thompson operated Dallas-based Southland, which owned the 7-Eleven convenience store chain and Citgo petroleum, and was one of the fastest-growing Fortune 500 companies. Taylor's approach to Southland came at a perfect time, said Ochowicz. A week before Taylor's visit, the Thompsons had concluded a major deal with 1984 Los Angeles Olympics organizer Peter Ueberroth for 7-Eleven to be a prime sponsor of the Summer Games.
"They'd been assigned Olympic cycling," said Ochowicz, "so they readily agreed to sponsor a cycling team that was tied to success at the Olympics."
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