Top tier: Meet Pat Brennan, your dedicated FC Cincinnati beat reporter

Pat Brennan | Cincinnati Enquirer

Show Caption Hide Caption Cincinnati MLS expansion: FC Cincinnati announcement imminent Pat Brennan breaks down an upcoming announcement from Major League Soccer in Cincinnati.

Covering soccer wasn't part of the job description when I applied to be a breaking news reporter at The Enquirer/Cincinnati.com more than four years ago.

Even if I wanted to force soccer into that job between covering overnight shooting scenes and midday court cases (that came later), there wasn't a soccer product anywhere in Greater Cincinnati like Futbol Club Cincinnati as we know it today.

But after FC Cincinnati was born in August 2015, I knew something special had arrived and that I needed to be involved.

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By virtue of the incredible support of my colleagues and managers, and some clever time management, I was fortunate to chronicle the entire 2016 FC Cincinnati season in addition to my breaking news coverage.

By October 2016, I'd moved over to the sports desk full-time.

Since then, I've covered almost every FC Cincinnati home match, all the stadium and Major League Soccer expansion developments, and three MLS All-Star games in my time on the beat.

Now, in a nod to the passionate following FC Cincinnati commands, my employer has created a full-time position completely dedicated to FC Cincinnati coverage and I'm proud to serve in that role.

What does this mean for you, the reader and subscriber? From my perspective, it means more of the same – leading breaking FC Cincinnati news and analysis as the club finishes out its lifespan in the United Soccer League and transitions to Major League Soccer.

As part of this shift in focus for me, I'll be leaving a Xavier men's basketball beat that I thoroughly enjoyed over the last two hoops seasons. Covering Chris Mack's Xavier program will always be a highlight of my professional career.

Moving forward, my colleague and great friend Adam Baum will be your go-to source for everything Musketeers.

I'm thrilled to continue covering FC Cincinnati, which has proven to be one of the best stories in American soccer in recent memory.

See you at Nippert.

Connect with Pat Brennan at pbrennan@enquirer.com and on Twitter @PBrennanENQ.