Steve Burton, Veronica Burton go viral before Golden State Valkyries game

When Steve Burton shows up, you never know what might happen. 

He is, after all, the man who once went viral for his reaction when holding an alligator on a Sunday night sportscast. So when the longtime WBZ Boston sports anchor walked up to his daughter, Valkyries point guard Veronica Burton, in the middle of an interview Wednesday, what happened next wasn’t shocking. 

KPIX reporter Matt Lively, who was in the middle of interviewing Veronica before Golden State’s Wednesday game against the Connecticut Sun, ceded the microphone to Steve, who took over the questioning in a moment that garnered hundreds of reposts on social media.

“You better produce tonight, that’s all I’m gonna say,” Steve said to his daughter. 

Ten seconds later, after Steve dispensed plenty more fatherly encouragement, Lively handed the mic over and stepped aside. Steve, who drove down from Boston on a scheduled day off, proceeded to conduct the rest of the interview. 

Though he has interviewed countless athletes during his three-decade run in the industry, it was a first to ask questions of his own flesh and blood.

“It was a lot of fun to do, and it was a lot of fun to be with her,” Steve told the Bay Area News Group. “I don’t ever remember interviewing my daughter.”

Lively said the Burton clan had 35 family members and friends in Connecticut to cheer on Veronica.

In February, Steve was in the Bay Area covering the New England Patriots at Super Bowl LX when Patriots players told him they saw a poster of Veronica in San Francisco. 

Steve even got called “Veronica’s dad” during a live shot outside the San Jose Convention Center. 

It’s a label he wears with utmost pride – even when gatecrashing his daughter’s moment to shine.

“You want to take in the moments,” Steve said. “And especially with what she’s gone through. There’s mountaintop experiences and there’s valleys. 

“And I said, ‘Don’t forget when you were down in the valley when we didn’t have a team or a place to play.’ And she goes, ‘Dad, I’m not gonna forget that.’ ”

Veronica and the Valkyries appear to be peaking at the moment. With their 89-64 win over Connecticut, the Valks remained unbeaten on their four-game trip two days after a breakthrough win at Minnesota. 

Steve watched that game excitedly from home. And his pregame message to Veronica centered around carrying forward the momentum of that watershed victory.

“I walked on the court, and the first thing I saw was she was being interviewed,” Steve recounted. “So I was going to go over and tease her while she was being interviewed, and then Matt said, ‘Come on, come on.’ I just told her, ‘Don’t let up.’”