When Ben Mines received word FC Cincinnati was interested in him a couple days before Major League Soccer's Dec. 16 waiver draft, his only reaction was excitement.
Mines, 20, a homegrown product from the New York Red Bulls organization, was selected in the draft by FC Cincinnati and later signed by the team.
By virtue of high-profile, on-field run-ins with FC Cincinnati over a period of years, FCC left an overwhelmingly positive impression on Mines. Excitement was only natural upon having the opportunity to join a club he'd faced in both the lower leagues and MLS.
"My agent told me that they were interested in picking me up and obviously I was really excited knowing Cincinnati for a long time," Mines told The Enquirer on Tuesday. "I played in the USL for a while, so I knew what the club was kind of about and how important it is in the city. I was just excited to have interest from a team that was important in its community. When I got picked up, I was really excited."
