It’s easy to root for a winner.  But you’re really gotta be a die-hard fan to pull for a not-so-great team THIS many years . . .

99-year-old Catherine Kyle lives in Pittsburgh, and she’s been a lifelong Pirates fan.  Which takes commitment.  They haven’t won a World Series in 40 years, and they’ve only made the playoffs a handful of times since then.

So for her birthday, her family took her to her VERY FIRST GAME this past weekend.

She used to watch a lot on TV with her late husband.  But apparently, she’d never been to a game at PNC Park . . . or Three Rivers Stadium, where they played until 2001 . . . OR Forbes Field, where they played from 1909 to 1970.

She went on Saturday with 16 family members, including her kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids.

Before the game, she said the part she was looking forward to most was singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” for the seventh-inning stretch.

The Pirates haven’t had a great season again this year.  They’re last in their division right now.  But they came up big for Catherine on Saturday and CRUSHED the Cincinnati Reds, 14 to nothing.

(CNN / KDKA)