I really started following sports when I was around 10 years old. That was in the late 1960s. The love for various teams began then and remains strong to this day. Let us just say many years later I am still loyal and follow those professional and college teams.

I probably started cheering for the Cincinnati Reds first. Mostly because some of my friends did. The local coverage probably influenced us. Radio station WBTH carried the Reds games on 1400 AM back then, and there were some televised games on local Huntington stations.

I can still remember listening to the games on summer evenings with my dad. That is a fond memory.

The early 1970s were good, but the 1975-76 season with the “Big Red Machine” was special and great for Cincinnati fans. The last World Series championship was in 1990, and there have been some lean years since then.

That lineup with Pete Rose, Ken Griffey Sr., Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench, Tony Perez and others was one for the ages!

Many people know that I am a big Boston Celtics fan. I know a lot of folks around here liked the Los Angeles Lakers because WVU alum and state native Jerry West played for them.

But in the late 1960s, the Celtics were still winning with Bill Russell, Sam Jones, KC Jones and my favorite player at the time, John Havlicek. We did not get to watch many games in that era. But on Sunday afternoons, there were always NBA games shown nationally, and the Celtics were on all the time.

Then came the Dave Cowens and Jo Jo White era in the 1970s, where they won a couple of titles and were fun to watch. Of course, in the 1980s, they had the great Larry Bird, along with Robert Parish, Kevin McHale, Danny Ainge, Dennis Johnson and others. The rivalry with the Lakers was a fan’s dream during that era. Since then, they have won a couple of other titles with players like Paul Pierce and now Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

I love Jerry West because he grew up in the Mountain State but because of my dad’s influence, I became a fan of the Shamrock and the Celtics.

When it comes to pro football I am not a real die-hard fan of just one team. I currently root for the Buffalo Bills led by quarterback Josh Allen. But in the past, I liked the Oakland Raiders and Los Angeles Raiders, partly due to my dad’s influence. I have also pulled for the Cincinnati Bengals, since they are the closest team to our area. I just enjoy watching good professional football.

When it comes to college sports, I am a die-hard West Virginia Mountaineer fan. Being a fan of WVU can be frustrating at times. There have been some great years and some pretty frustrating years.

The football teams led by former coach Don Nehlen had some great years and even played for a national title a couple of times. But they came up short.

Then you had those great teams led by QB Pat White, running back Steve Slaton and fullback Owen Schmitt. That was a great era.

In basketball, WVU is not like Kentucky with a long list of championships. But they have had a couple of good runs in the NCAA tournament. The Kevin Pittsnogle and Mike Gansey teams will always be favorite for Mountaineer fans.

Then you had the team with DeSean Butler, Joe Mazzulla (the current Celtics coach) and led by WVU alum, coach Bob Huggins.

Now the Mountaineer baseball program is strong and is making noise on the national level.

I also follow teams like the Marshall Thundering Herd and the Kentucky Wildcats and have enjoyed some of their great teams and players in the past.

I guess you can tell sports is a big part of my life. Over the years I have been blessed to cover local high schools in the local media, both in newspapers and on the radio. I have had the privilege of coaching Little League and middle school sports, and, win or lose, have enjoyed every practice and game.

My loyalty is strong and, to some, almost obnoxious.

But I feel that if you are a true fan, you stay with your team win or lose. You will probably get your heart broken at times, but then you will enjoy the greatest feelings when they win a championship. Even if it might be a long time in between.

So if you know me, you know I am loyal to my favorite teams through thick and thin.

Until next time.

(Kyle Lovern is a longtime journalist in the Tug Valley. He is now a retired freelance writer and columnist for the Mountain Citizen.)