Emory Hood is a hardcore Thunder fan. The 13 year old has attended all but a handful of games this season. The away games he tries catching on TV -- unless he has too much homework, that is.

“I pretty much come to all the Thunder games,” the boy said at a recent game, taking time out from munching on a chocolate bar.

“They’re Oklahoma’s team, and you’ve got to like Oklahoma’s team if you live in Oklahoma. And not only are the games fun, but the team’s fun to watch. Not only are they good, but they’re so young. It’s pretty fun to watch.”

Emory is not alone in his assessment.

Kids love the Thunder. Look around the Ford Center during any Thunder home game and you’ll see scores of youngsters helping cheer on the team.

Reasons vary. There’s the hard-charging excitement on the basketball court, of course, as well as the energy and noise of the home crowd. Maybe it’s the corn dogs and hot-buttered popcorn. Or perhaps it has something to do with a bison named Rumble.

Eight-year-old twins Callie and Camryn Chrisman look just alike, but that doesn’t mean they think alike. Callie loves the color pink; Camryn doesn’t care for it. Callie chose to wear the number 42 on her T-ball team; Camryn opted for 24. Callie’s favorite Thunder player is Jeff Green; Camryn prefers Kevin Durant.

But they agree on at least one thing. They really, really like the Thunder. It’s why the girls, who live in Piedmont, chose to celebrate their birthday at the season opener.

“We like the Thunder Girls and taking pictures at the games,” said Camryn.

The special bond that has developed between the Thunder and its pint-sized fans appears to be much more prominent than that seen with many other NBA teams. Thunder senior vice president Brian Byrnes said he’s not surprised, pointing out that nearly 70 percent of the Thunder’s Season Ticket Members indicate they are most interested in quality family entertainment.

“We see that as a tremendous opportunity to continue to focus on a fun, safe, quality family experience,” Byrnes said, “not only in the Ford Center, but in any Thunder experience.”

Such was the impetus for Thunder Kids Club. Now boasting more than 1,200 members, the Kids Club helps enable children ages 4 to 14 to experience the fun and excitement of Thunder Basketball. Kids Club members receive a passel of goodies that includes a complimentary ticket to a Thunder game, limited-edition Rumble bobblehead and other Thunder gear.

“It’s one of the best-supported kids’ membership bases in the NBA,” Byrnes said. “I think that speaks to the opportunity we have to bolster our relationship with young people who are adopting us as their first professional sports team.”

In March, more than 300 Kids Club members converged on Science Museum Oklahoma for a special party. Children and their parents got to explore the interactive, hands-on exhibits and visit with Thunder guards Russell Westbrook, Thabo Sefolosha and James Harden.

Peter Adams was among the Kids Club members who attended. The 7 year old and his two younger brothers came all the way from Wichita, Kansas.

Despite the distance, Peter counts himself as a Thunder loyalist. He has been to several games with his grandparents, who reside in Midwest City. Thunder enthusiasm apparently runs in Peter’s family.

“My brother got a backpack with Rumble on the front,” he said. “Then my grandpa brought me cards with Thunder players.”

Peter likes the Thunder so much, in fact, he hopes to play for the team when he grows up. Asked what position he would want to play, the boy offered an answer that would be music to the ears of Coach Brooks: “Defense.”

The Thunder also touches the lives of children through a host of community-oriented projects. Campaigns such as Read to Achieve, presented by American Fidelity Assurance Company, help instill youngsters with a love for reading and literacy. As part of the program, players such as Sefolosha and D.J. White have visited schools to read to students.

Read to Achieve also features the ever-popular Rolling Thunder Book Bus. Jam-packed with great books for children of all ages, the bus has distributed more than 17,000 books to young people through more than 230 appearances around the Oklahoma City metro area.

Its impact on budding young readers is enormous. Kevin Hill, principal of Epperly Heights Elementary School in Del City, said many of his third-graders did not have a single book of their own until they were visited by the Book Bus.

“The experience of seeing a child say, ‘This is my book,’ – a lot of them, for the first time – is priceless,” Hill said. “To see those faces – I’m talking about 99 percent of the kids – is priceless. It’s amazing. They’re thankful.”

Hill said that the Book Bus has also heightened the children’s affection for all things Thunder.

“Of course, the kids love the team,” he said, “and so the Book Bus helps them make a connection with the team.”

Not surprisingly, the Thunder is also committed to promoting basketball. To teach the fundamentals of hoops and the life lessons that stem from the game, Thunder Youth Basketball offers a co-ed league and a series of camps and clinics. Launched in 2008 in partnership with the City of Oklahoma City’s Parks & Recreation Department, the Thunder Youth Basketball League drew more than 800 participants in its most recent season.

The league’s growing popularity prompted the Thunder to expand the program. Earlier this year, the organization hosted a five-day Spring Break Basketball Camp for young people to sharpen their skills on the hardwood. More camps are scheduled throughout the summer, with registration forms and additional information available online at thunder.nba.com.

In tapping a full spectrum of child-friendly activities and programs, the Thunder is forging bonds with boys and girls that are certain to reverberate for years to come.

“We’re building an emotional connection with a whole future generation of fans,” Byrnes said. “We’re happy that children of all ages are engaged with the Thunder and are part of the Thunder family. It’s a relationship to which we are fully committed.”

Phil Bacharach is the Director of Corporate Communications for the Thunder.