For the latest submission to our Circle of Stars first-person written series, we hear from Kevin Negandi, the homegrown, Temple University-made ESPN television personality who proudly waves the flag for Philadelphia sports. As the Phoenixville native explains in his piece, rooting for the 76ers is a family affair that spans generations. Previous installments in our Circle of Stars written series have featured contributions from director M. Night Shyamalan, decorated soccer player Carli Lloyd, and Oscar nominated actor Ryan Phillippe.

It's probably fitting that part of my origin story as a lifelong sports fan - a lifelong Philadelphia sports fan, that is - can be traced to a YMCA.

That's where, in 1969, my dad lived for a couple of years after coming to the United States from India. He had $5 in his pocket, had my uncle as a sponsor, and lived out of a YMCA in Harrisburg before he could get an apartment.

A few years later, my mom and older brother came over from India as well. Dad had to establish himself here first, make money, then Mom could get her green card. I was the first kid in my family born in America.

Growing up in Phoenixville, sports was my connection - within my family, and to the world outside of it. My dad has always been an avid sports fan. He was raised in Bombay, on cricket. But after coming to America, he quickly immersed himself with Philadelphia's sports teams. He was all in.

As it turns out, though, it was mom who had a starring role in my first seminal moment as a Philadelphia sports fan.

I mean, how many moms would do this?

I was eight years old. It was June 2nd, 1983. If you know your 76ers history even just a little bit, regardless of whether or not you were alive back then, you can probably guess what was happening on that date.

The Sixers were about 48 hours removed from sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. Finally.

The city was ready to party, and I got to be part of it because...

My mom pulled me out of school for the parade!

I was obsessed with the 1983 team. I remember my parents taking me to a playoff game against the Celtics. I'll never forget being in the Spectrum, in the nosebleeds, and how angry I was walking up the aisle to our seats and seeing a Celtics fan inside our building. I was eight years old, but I remember how mad I was! How was that guy there? That detail aside, it was so amazing that we went to watch a Sixers playoff game as a family. The experience was all part of the build up culminating into the parade happening, and my mom surprising me and my brother that day.

I mean, I was going to school, and my mom was like, 'Nope, we're going to the parade.' I was completely stunned. 'We're taking a couple of your friends and a couple of your brother's friends,' she said, and I just remember how cool it was. I was like, 'I got the cool mom who's taking my brother and all of our friends to Philadelphia to go to the parade!' I remember seeing Dr. J on the float on Broad Street. I remember being inside Veterans Stadium, and looking over and there was a guy dressed up as Moses - the actual Moses. He had a broom with him, and he kept on saying, 'Sweeeeeep! 'Sweeeeeep!,' which was obviously a reference to Moses Malone's 'Fo, fo, fo' proclamation.

To me, those are the feelings you never really shake. They always stay with you. And I'm lucky to have had a lifetime full of them, with plenty involving the Sixers.

After the '83 championship season, Philly sports was in my DNA. I'm downstairs in my basement playing hoops as a 12, 13-year old kid, and we're the Sixers. We're Dr. J and Moses Malone. As a teenager in the early 1990's, I'm playing basketball in the rain by myself shooting hoops, and I'm Charles Barkley and Hersey Hawkins, matched up with Jordan and Pippin! I'll never forget the playoff series in 1991 against Chicago. I talked to my dad about it, how badly I wanted to go to a playoff game.

Lo and behild, another surprise. My dad said he had gotten me and my brother a playoff package! It's 1991, I'm 16, my brother's 23, and my dad was like, 'I got you tickets. You and your brother are going to the whole series!' It was awesome. I was one lucky dude.

I remember so much from those playoff games - the sneakers, all the details of who was wearing what, seeing Mike play and seeing him dominante, but also watching Chuck respond. There was nothing better. And this was before Mike won the rings. This was when Mike was known as the scorer and the guy who was going to dunk on everybody. This was when Chuck was the man. He was a freak show every night, and his personality was larger than life! It was great. The vibe at the Spectrum back then was awesome too.

About the Spectrum: I always felt like it was the coolest place in Philadelphia. I'm not exaggerating. There was just a vibe inside that building. Listening to Dave Zinkoff, the PA announcer, with his trademark introductions… When I went to the Spectrum, I always felt it was going to be a special night. The sights of watching old school players who were legends, who were kind of like superheroes, and this arena was their playground every single night. I still hold onto these things. It feels like back in the day, right? Now, as a 44-year old, I can relate to the guys who, when I was a kid, would tell me stories about watching Wilt Chamberlain and other immortals.

For as much as I cherished my memories of the Spectrum, one of my all-time favorite Sixers moments that I actually got to see came at what's now The Center. It was the Crossover game - Allen one-one-one against Michael. I was three rows underneath the basket, in the press area, covering the game while I was the student sports director at WRTI, Temple's radio station. I will never forget it. That night was beyond special, because at the time, the Bulls were back at their peak. They won 69 games that season, and they were rock stars everywhere they went. I wasn't born during the Beatles craze, but that season, the Bulls' following felt like it was the sports version of the musical superstars. Everywhere, in every city, everybody knew who they were. They had personalities - Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman - and I was like, 'They can walk into any room and people would recognize them!

But March 12, 1997, that night belonged to Allen Iverson (even if the Bulls did win by four). His crossover move on Jordan was A.I.'s introduction to Philadelphia. It was as if he was saying, 'Hey, I'm going to be the star of this league, right?' It was a message to the NBA, 'Don't sleep on me, man.' He scored 37 points that night against one of his idols. In some ways, it was more symbolic than the Stepover against the Lakers in Game 1 of the '01 Finals. The stage was bigger in the FInals, so when you have an iconic moment, you completely go next level. You become a household name, and that's what that was. But for Iverson to do what he did against Jordan - as a rookie! - and you're three rows underneath that basket, I was like, 'Oh my god. This is a new era, and we're going to be relevant again.' We went through a phase after trading Barkley when we were trying to find our identity again, and it was A.I. who made us relevant again. Looking back, it was as if it all started with the Crossover.

Another story from the night of the A.I. Crossover. I found myself inside the Bulls' locker room after the game. Pippen had a big night, and he was one of the last ones left before heading to the bus. Then, in walks Dr. J. He was greeted by M.J., and as Dr. J passed on a compliment to Pippen, M.J. sarcastically told Dr. J right in front of Pippen, 'Oh, he has one big night and thinks he's somebody.' Here I was, this college kid watching three all-time greats - my favorite childhood idol Dr. J laughing it up with my teenage idol, Jordan.

The Iverson years, of course, were great. Those were my transition years, when I was on the road, trying to break into TV, living in Missouri and Florida. Then, these last few years, they've been all about sharing new memories with my wife and three kids. It's funny. My two sons, they're now seven and five years old, and they know what I do. They wake up every morning before me, go to their mom, and ask, 'What happened with the Sixers last night?' They'll ask Siri too, and get the score. Then, they wake me up and tell me what happened. Even though I already know what happened, I play along. The next thing you know, they'll be downstairs watching highlights of the Sixers' game on SportsCenter or YouTube. I don't need to tell them to do that. They are so into it. And my daughter, she's three, and even she is so aware. If there's a basketball game on, the first thing she says is, 'Where's Joel Embiid, Daddy?' She knows! She's three and she knows! To be able to explain the game of basketball to my kids, while also experiencing everything that I went through in my childhood, there's nothing better than that. And to do it talking about your favorite team, doing The Process with them, it's been incredible. There's nothing to me that can compare to recreating moments from your childhood with your kids, and your kids actually wanting to do it willingly. Sports have been a family thing for me since I was seven or eight years old, and now, my seven-year old, five-year old, and three-year old are obsessed as well.

So what's the meaning behind all these stories and experiences? The big takeaway?

For me, when I look back at my life up to this point, some of my fondest memories are connected to sports, whether it's playing outside in my neighborhood, or little league baseball, pop warner football, or YMCA basketball. These memories stick with you. They represent really important building blocks and fundamental life lessons in understanding what teamwork is, and understanding what rooting for something means. They also represent family. They represent my dad, my mom, my brother, my wife, my kids, and my five cousins, who my brother and I text with religiously during games. Despite our family living in different parts of the country - Connecticut, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Washington state - watching the Sixers connects us. It creates a common bond that we will always have, no matter what. Especially with my kids, no matter how old I get, or how uncool I will be in their eyes down the road, we will always come back to a common bond, built by a family's shared love for Philadelphia sports that's now spread over three generations.