Fredericksburg native and OU grad Dane Carter went viral after flashing a Spurs jersey during graduation, drawing boos, cheers and playoff buzz.
SAN ANTONIO — A Fredericksburg native is going viral after bringing Silver & Black energy into the middle of Thunder country.
Dane Carter, a recent University of Oklahoma graduate, shocked the commencement crowd over the weekend when he unzipped his graduation gown and revealed a Spurs jersey underneath — Superman style.
The moment happened just as the Spurs were preparing to face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals.
Carter revealed an old No. 2 Kawhi Leonard jersey — a number now worn by rookie Dylan Harper.
“In a split second I thought, ‘Oh, we’re about to play the Thunder,’” Carter said. “Everybody’s been talking all year about how good the Thunder are and I’ve been hearing it so much because so many of my friends are Thunder fans being from that area.”
The reaction inside the packed Oklahoma arena was immediate.
“I certainly didn’t expect the arena we were in to boo either,” Carter said. “That was unexpected.”
Still, Carter said the boos did not bother him.
“That’s part of it,” he said.
The moment only lasted a few seconds, but it quickly exploded online. Carter said people immediately started reaching out after seeing the video, which was later shared by Sports Illustrated.
“That was probably the single day my phone has gone off the most,” Carter said. “I had no expectation it would blow up in the way that it did.”
Spurs fans flooded social media comments celebrating the moment.
One commenter wrote, “He gave us good juju! Thank you sir.” Another said the Spurs should give Carter “tickets for life.”
“After a point I was like, just wow, I didn’t think it would get to this level at all,” Carter said. “It still is crazy to me. I haven’t really wrapped my head around it.”
Carter said his Spurs fandom started when he was young.
“When I was in elementary school, my school had a set of advertisements that Tim Duncan had done about reading,” he said. “I just remember thinking it was so cool that this major athlete, he’d read books before and after games.”
By the Spurs’ 2014 championship run, Carter said he was fully invested.
“By the time we won in ‘14, I was die hard and into it, watching every game of the season,” he said.
He credits part of that love for the game to his mom.
“My mom grew up playing basketball, coached basketball,” Carter said. “She was always pointing out that those teams were great at passing the ball around, teamwork and chemistry. Not being so flashy and focusing on the game, which I loved to watch.”
As for the jersey choice, Carter said he debated between two options.
“I had a Wembanyama jersey and my really old Kawhi Leonard jersey,” Carter said. “My Victor Wembanyama one was one of the City Editions, so it doesn’t necessarily look like a Spurs jersey like everybody’s used to. So I opted for the older Kawhi one.”
“It was all in good fun and good faith. Nobody was angry at me,” he added. “It was fun walking out of the graduation ceremony and getting a bunch of pats on the back from people,” Carter added. “There was a lady in the crowd who I assume was a Spurs fan and she was yelling at me saying ‘Go Spurs Go’ and I pointed at her.”
Now, Carter said he may be taking his fandom from the graduation stage to the playoff crowd.
“We are having some discussions about maybe showing up at the game,” he said. “I’ve been in communication with some pretty important groups and people maybe and we’re gonna make something happen.”
Still, Carter said the focus should stay on the team.
“The diehard sports fan in me I think has always been there,” Carter added. “I just love supporting my team and making it known. There’s Spurs fans everywhere, there’s Sooners fans everywhere. We show up and we show out.”
Next, Carter is waiting on law school decisions. He said his top choices are in Texas and Oklahoma.