They say you will always remember your first love.

The game of basketball was the first thing to captivate my heart, and my love for the sport has only grown stronger over the past 25 years.

Growing up only a few miles away from downtown Seattle, the SuperSonics, commonly referred to as just the Sonics, was the first NBA team that my brother and I got to watch firsthand.

I remember the bright green and yellow color ways of the logo lighting up the Key Arena. The Space Needle shined even brighter next door, illuminating the beautiful Seattle skyline. The cold weather and rainy drives never hindered the excitement of watching Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp connect on an electrifying alley-oop, as they created the first “Lob City.”

Payton and Kemp are just a few of the NBA all-stars and hall of famers that have donned the Sonics’ green and yellow. Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis each had success in the Emerald City in the early 2000’s, while Nate McMillan and Spencer Haywood also carved out respectable legendary careers for the Sonics. Sure, the team experienced losing seasons and hardships, too, as all NBA teams do, but the fan base was always there, and always supportive. They never stopped filling the Key Arena and were always there to cheer on their team, until they no longer had a team to cheer for.

Andrea Friedman, who lived in Sammamish, Wash., for over 10 years, recalled the fond memories she had bringing her children to the Key Arena to watch basketball games.

“I remember bringing my sons to the [Key Arena],” Friedman said. “Once a month or so, or for their birthday’s and Christmas, we would go as a family and cheer on our Sonics.”

Then right in front of our eyes, our Sonics were gone.

That’s how I remember it, at least. When Clay Bennett, an Oklahoma City businessman, purchased the Sonics in 2006, the understanding was that the team would remain in Seattle when the current lease on their arena was up. However, when the Key Arena was deemed unfit by NBA standards and a new arena was to be built in its place, Bennett and his ownership team instead settled a $45-million-lawsuit with the city of Seattle to buy out the lease on the arena, and thus relocate the team.

Traveling to Oklahoma City before the 2008 NBA season, the Sonics became the Thunder. Oklahoma City has always had a great fan base, even without an NBA team to call their own. When Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, the New Orleans Pelicans, known then as the Hornets, played most of their home games in Oklahoma City. The city proved that they deserved to house a professional basketball team and I could not agree more.

But why did it have to be our team?

The Sonics were arguably the most popular professional franchise in the state of Washington. They gave us something to cheer for, something that made us feel like we were part of something. Not only that, the feeling of having something that we looked towards, stripped and taken from us when there is nothing we can do, was extremely defeating.

Josh Rice, a native of Spokane, Wash., explained that having the Sonics back in Seattle would give him a team to cheer for and give him a reason to watch the NBA again.

“If the Sonic’s moved back to Seattle it would mean that I would have a team to root for,” Josh said. “Being from Washington, I found myself rooting for the Sonics … and when they left I stopped rooting for a team in the NBA.”

Since the Sonics left in 2008, there have been numerous petitions and multiple attempts to bring a team back to Seattle. The Sacramento Kings came extremely close to relocating to Seattle a few seasons ago, but Sacramento mayor and ex-NBA player, Kevin Johnson, was able to keep the Kings in California’s capital city. The Milwaukee Bucks were also rumored to be headed to the Pacific Northwest at one point, but a deal with the city of Milwaukee and a new arena was struck.

The majority of the attempts to bring an NBA team back to Seattle have been led by billionaire Chris Hansen. After monetary talks stalled with the city, Hansen personally pledged to fund the new arena in the south of downtown area of Seattle.

Hansen has had the support of many ex-Sonics players such as Payton and Kemp, along with numerous NBA players that are from the Seattle area. Payton refuses to have his jersey retired anywhere but Seattle, even though he had continued success with other teams including an NBA championship with the Miami Heat in 2006. Three-time dunk contest champion Nate Robinson and three-time Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford, who are both from Seattle, are part of a growing campaign to bring back the Sonics although they have never played for the franchise.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson has recently partnered up with Hansen’s ownership group as well in hopes of bringing back the Sonics. Wilson, who grew up as a Sonics fan and has spent the last few seasons as the face of Seattle sports, explains the importance of having a city’s own sports team in an open letter posted on The Player’s Tribune.

“To me, this is about more than nostalgia,” Wilson wrote. “We live in divisive times, and sports have a way of bringing people closer together … I want kids in Seattle to grow up dreaming of playing basketball or hockey for their hometown team.”

Wilson describes the throwback Sonics jerseys that he sees all over the city, along with hats and other merchandise that the fans still proudly wear every day.

I too can attest to that. On a recent trip back to Seattle last spring, I was surprised to see how much Sonics gear was actually still being worn. Every gift shop on every corner had Sonics t-shirts, old jerseys, hats, and even stuffed animals of Squatch, the Sonics mascot! For every one of the houses that had a giant “12” flag hanging in support of the Seahawks, there was one green and yellow flag flying for the Sonics. After purchasing a few throwback items, I realized that I shouldn’t have been that surprised at how much the Sonics were still loved. Yes the team was moved half way across the country, but the fan base never left.

They are still there, and will continue to be. Patiently waiting for their NBA team to become the bright spot in their home of Rain City.