Contest, and having just bought a luchador costume for Halloween, I had the perfect idea. By the next home game, “Thundor” was created.
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>>>> When you’re not “Thundor,” who’s the man behind the mask? Despite my ridiculous appearance, I actually have a very serious and stressful job as a program manager for Sequoyah Enterprises and Residential Facilities, a ... girls group home. I oversee the program that houses 32 troubled teenage girls. I have worked there for almost five years. I started straight out of college. I graduated from USAO in 2007 with two degrees one in communication and one in psychology.
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
>>>> Do Thunder games, then, become your outlet? Without this, I would go crazy being on call 24-7, 365 days a year. Without this release, I wouldn’t have a coping skill of my own.
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>>>> This gives you a chance to take a deep breath? Absolutely. The girls ... they get real excited if I go on the unit and I show them what my paint is before the game. Some of the girls, I’ll ask them, “Show me a dance move. First free throw miss ... that’ll be my first dance of the night.” >>>> How did the whole megaphone thing come about when opponents are shooting free throws? I was getting ready for the game ... when I saw my friend Miguel Herrera’s megaphone sitting on the dining room table. I asked if I could use that for my character. During the game, Chris Kaman kept getting to the line and he was killing us, so I decided to put the megaphone
to use. I went down there, and he missed, so I continued to do it for the remainder of the game and he got more and more frustrated. I figured if I can distract the opposing free throw shooters then I might help make the difference in a game. I make sure to always keep it rated PG and focus more on goofy fat-guy dance moves to distract the players. >>>> Do you have a routine during free throws? Typically, I making a whooping sound followed by encouragement for the player to miss. If I can get the player to make eye contact, that’s when the dancing starts. If a player misses, I will also do a little victory dance. >>>> Do you change up the routine at all? Sometimes, I’ll change my whooping noise. Sometimes, I might just start with a “Miss it!” If I have a history with a player, if they’ve missed before or they’ve shown frustration before, then I’ll go right at ‘em. >>>> Sounds like you keep track of your victims. I do. One of my favorite things to do is rip my shirt off, but I started burning through so many shirts so fast, I’ve kind of got to cool that off. >>>> So, on a nationally televised game when you get on the broadcast, do the texts and calls come from all over? Oh, yeah. It’s great. When I was in middle school and I was still really into playing basketball, I always said, “One day, I’ll make a half-court shot or something, and I’ll be on ESPN.” Well, that never happened. But I got on ESPN for being crazy and being half naked. Either way, I got on there and accomplished a dream.
>>>> You mention your shirtlessness. How do you decide what you’re going to paint on your chest each game? I get really good suggestions from friends and fans. My friend Ernie gave me a really good suggestion for my Shaq and Charles pasties. That got me on the TNT postgame show. Now, Shaq has put me on his “Shaqtin’ A Fool” episodes twice now. I haven’t been able to win because there’s some really goofy fools in the NBA. >>>> No doubt about that. I want to do a free throw contest (with Shaq) — 10 free throws each and we can distract each other. If I make more than him, then he has to donate some money to charity. If he makes more than me, then he can pick my paint job for the next game. >>>> Big picture — what does it mean for you to be part of the scene at The Peake? To be part of this arena is wonderful. To be one of the well-known ultimate fans in the arena, that’s even better. I know that we bring it every game. No matter who we’re playing, no matter what’s going on, we’re always the loudest in the NBA. If I can be the loudest of the loud, then that’s even better. >>>> You talk about being the loudest of the loud. How many weird looks to you get for all of this? I get really strange looks. But once they see me and know I’m coming down there every time, they’ll have their camera phones ready. They’ll video record me. They’ll take pictures. I found some videos of me on YouTube. I’m just another part of the entertainment that the Thunder offer.