JOHNSTOWN — Call it a case of youthful optimism or just plain naivete, but something always felt special about exiting Route 219 and descending the four-lane expressway into Johnstown.

The ride always offered the promise of a memorable outing, usually an evening spent at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena.

Thanks to a nice ticket hookup through a friend, the ride might lead to front- or second-row tickets to a professional wrestling card. In those days, the WWF (now WWE) and NWA (long defunct) regularly traveled to the region. For us, it meant a chance to cheer on Ric Flair, whether other spectators tossed paper cups, hot dog wrappers or whatever else was handy in our general direction or not. If it wasn’t pro wrestling or a fight-filled Johnstown Chiefs game, a concert featuring Tesla, Skid Row or another group currently touring as a nostalgia act, it made the War Memorial a destination.

Granted, those references may date me just a little, but those memories came rushing back Monday during another descent on Route 56.

As for the old excitement, it was back too. So were the butterflies.

There were no wrestling cards, hockey games or concerts Monday night. The trip wasn’t even to park the car on the Incline Plane and take in the breathtaking view, but, hopefully, it’s the first of countless trips into town as the sports editor of The Tribune-Democrat.

For a person who spent endless hours scouring every line – from box scores to Sam Ross Jr. stories – of the sports section while growing up in Somerset, it’s a position I’m prepared to tackle with fairness and enthusiasm.

It’s also a return to my initial experience in a daily newspaper.

After a stint as sports editor of the Pitt News, I spent four months here as a sports intern in 1997 and the thing most staffers remember me for was calling one local high school a “doormat” in a basketball roundup. That’s the first, and last, time such a mistake was made.

After two years with the highly respected Beaver County Times, most of the past 13 years were spent at the Observer-Reporter, a daily newspaper in Washington, a town with roughly the same demographics as Johnstown.

While there, I covered two wins for the New England Patriots over the Pittsburgh Steelers in AFC Championship games at Heinz Field, sat courtside when Dwyane Wade led Marquette over Pitt in the Sweet 16 and captured the scene at Milan Puskar Stadium when Pitt ended West Virginia’s chances for a national championship with a 13-9 victory.

Mostly, my focus remained on local sports.

And that’s exactly where much of my focus will shift as sports editor.

From St. Francis to UPJ to the Johnstown Tomahawks to the area’s plethora of high school teams and rich traditions, local sports will drive the section. Regional sports - the Steelers, Pirates, Penguins and Division I athletics - will also be featured prominently.

Readers can expect an Athlete of the Week as fall, winter and spring high school sports seasons are in full swing. In early July, a boys and girls Athlete of the Year will be selected.

Hopefully, scholastic sports that don’t award individual medals at the PIAA level will be recognized with season-ending All-Star teams. A blog, likely focused on high school sports, will be started soon. For a reference, feel free to visit The Varsity Letters, which dealt with high school sports in Washington and Greene counties.

Those subtle changes are geared toward showcasing student-athletes, the key to any local sports coverage,

As for other changes, well, my ears and eyes are open though the belief here is the sports section at this newspaper is a fine one.

Contact me via Twitter (@TheMikeKovak), via email (mkovak@tribdem.com) or call at 532-5085.

Just don’t expect a response during my ride on Route 56.

I’ll be busy reliving new memories.