Stepping Down: A Changing Of The Guard For Brotherly Game

It is with mixed emotions I write this letter, of sorts.

Three years ago Brotherly Game was a fledgling site. Kyle Shank, the original founder prior to SB Nation, had wanted to provide Philadelphia Union fans with the ability to go onto SBN and find coverage of their team on the rapidly growing sports site conglomerate.

I had the pleasure of working alongside Shank, and Ben Feldman, for a few months before being asked to take the reigns as managing editor by Shank himself. It was the beginning of something that I would spend a vast amount of time pumping my effort into.

There were ups and downs throughout the past three years.

Running Brotherly Game afforded me the luxury of covering the 2011 Major League Soccer SuperDraft, the first event I ever attended as a credentialed member of the media. In Baltimore, I met the majority of the Union media, all of whom could not have been kinder or more helpful from that point moving forward (and some well before that date).

From there I was able to continue my push forward with Brotherly Game. The site gained credibility locally and nationally for its news coverage, especially in regard to breaking stories.

As the years went on, especially during the 2011 season, the site grew and grew to bigger and better proportions. At one point Brotherly Game was the second largest MLS site in the SBN network.

Despite building up the brand and turning it into something relevant in the Philadelphia soccer community, change was needed.

Moving forward, Brotherly Game will not change. Beyond a new face in the lead, the site will still provide top analysis and news coverage, while also having even more local voices included in it all.

Today's both a sad and happy day for me. On one hand I'm leaving a role I've held for a long time, but on the other hand the site is going to improve.

As someone said to me recently, it's not about 'me' when it comes to the site. It's about 'we' and I'm excited about that coming back together for Brotherly Game.

I will still be around, on Twitter, Facebook and perhaps every now and then on Brotherly Game. For those of you used to reaching me through mentions or Direct Messages on Twitter, you can still talk to me through my personal account, @scottdkessler. I'm also still using my email address of scottadams97@gmail.com.

I'd like to thank everyone who made my years in charge some of the most exciting times of my life. Here's to the Brotherly Game.

-Scott Kessler