He was also voted team MVP (by his teammates) and the most Popular Player (by the fans) during his rookie year while playing for the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
(his first triple jump as a junior in high school was the fifth best ever recorded in the state at the time) While he was one of the best football players to come out of the state of Minnesota, he preferred soccer and chose to attend Indiana University when that school offered him an athletic scholarship to play soccer.
Thompson replied with a swerving free kick which found the net, giving Indiana its first national title.
Tampa Bay Rowdies of the North American Soccer League selected Thompson as the first pick in the 1983 NASL college draft.
He elected to sign with the Rowdies and was named the 1983 NASL Rookie of the Year after playing thirty games.
After the collapse of the NASL, the Rowdies traded Thompson to the Minnesota Strikers of Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL).
Thompson played all three games for the U.S. at the Olympics, including scoring the U.S. goal in its 1–1 tie with Egypt in front of 85,000 people at Stanford Stadium.
He would go on to play a total of 12 times for the full national team between 1984 and 1985, including several qualification matches for the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
[3] Thompson is a partner in a real estate group located in Roseville, CA and coaches youth soccer.
He was All-American during his sophomore, junior and senior year, Tommy was signed as a homegrown player by the San Jose Earthquakes after his freshman year at Indiana University and is a starter for the Earthquakes, Tatum (daughter) is his favorite soccer player of all time.