{"id":874805,"date":"2026-08-28T17:28:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T17:28:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/874805\/"},"modified":"2026-08-28T17:28:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T17:28:15","slug":"the-valkyries-make-it-easy-to-be-a-womens-sports-fan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/874805\/","title":{"rendered":"The Valkyries Make it Easy to Be a Women\u2019s Sports Fan"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the WNBA team approaches the playoffs, sold-out crowds at Balhalla have turned even sports skeptics into fans.<\/p>\n

\"two<\/p>\n

M\u00f3nica (right) and her mother Lydia Ortega cheer during the Golden State Valkyries\u2019 home opener against the Phoenix Mercury at Chase Center in San Francisco on May 10, 2026.\u00a0(Beth LaBerge\/KQED)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a Friday night in May and I\u2019m frantically setting up screens around my apartment while my roommate makes sure we have enough ice cubes in the freezer. We are attempting to evoke a \u201csports bar feel<\/a>\u201d in a place that doesn\u2019t even have a television \u2014 just a projector we stow away when not in use \u2014 or enough seats in the living room for our guests.<\/p>\n

\"\"DJ Shellheart plays a set for the Golden State Valkyries during a game at Chase Center in San Francisco on Aug. 19, 2025.\u00a0(T\u00e2m V\u0169\/KQED)<\/p>\n

Over the course of the team\u2019s inaugural season, Ballhalla became known for having the toughest home crowd to play against, drawing parallels to the Warriors\u2019 \u201cRoaracle\u201d era at the Oakland Arena. When the Valkyries beat the odds to reach playoffs, but could not play at Chase Center due to a scheduling conflict, fans declared \u201cBallhalla is a mentality\u201d<\/a> and brought their intensity to San Jos\u00e9\u2019s SAP Center. This season, the Valkyries will finally get to play some postseason games in Ballhalla, painting San Francisco all shades of violet.<\/p>\n

I describe the Valkyries fandom to my friends as \u201ca sea of purple boarding the Muni bus.\u201d Even during the offseason, you\u2019ll notice people wearing Valkyries gear around the Bay Area \u2014 fans from all walks of life have embraced the team. Of course, it helps that women\u2019s basketball isn\u2019t completely new to the Bay Area. Some fans patiently waited for a new WNBA franchise after the team they once cheered for, the Sacramento Monarchs, disbanded in 2009<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Perhaps that\u2019s why, at a time when multiple major league men\u2019s sports teams have abandoned their Bay Area fans in favor of swankier new stadiums in Las Vegas, the WNBA is doubling down on the Valkyries\u2019 popularity in the Bay Area by hosting the 2027 WNBA All-Star Game<\/a> in San Francisco. Sure, there was an official bid that Valkyries owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber placed to bring the event to the Bay Area; it\u2019s not like the league came up with the idea. But the Valkyries (and the fans who sold out Ballhalla for every single game) are the reason why this is the moment to host the first WNBA All-Star Game in California \u2014 where the Los Angeles Sparks have been hooping for 30 years.<\/p>\n

\"aGolden State Valkyries mascot Violet the Raven rallies the crowd during Game 2 of the Valkyries vs. Minnesota Lynx WNBA playoff game at the SAP Center in San Jose on Sept. 17, 2025.\u00a0(Beth LaBerge\/KQED)<\/p>\n

Rooting for the Valkyries is easy, even if you aren\u2019t the biggest sports fan. They were built by bringing together underutilized players from other teams in the league, with a philosophy of unselfish ball that lets everyone shine. It helps that they are doing exceptionally well this season, currently ranking second in the league, one spot above the reigning champions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a relatability to their underdog narrative \u2014 we all feel like we\u2019re being overlooked sometimes, like we could thrive if only someone knew our worth. In the Valkyries players\u2019 case, it was the General Manager Ohemaa Nyanin and the coaching staff, led by Natalie Nakase, that understood what the players could bring to the team with the right push.<\/p>\n

\"AsianGolden State Valkyries\u2019 Head Coach Natalie Nakase speaks with the press during training camp held at the Sephora Performance Center in Oakland on May 1, 2025.\u00a0(Beth LaBerge\/KQED)<\/p>\n

I would be remiss not to mention the bad-faith political discourse that has clouded the league this season. Coach Nakase and Gabby Williams have both made powerful statements in support of inclusivity and acceptance in the league, with Williams saying, \u201cI would welcome a trans athlete on my team or against my team, anytime. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a problem in the world. It\u2019s just another way to kind of attack trans people.\u201d Indeed, trans people make up less than 10 of 500,000 U.S. college athletes<\/a>, and even fewer Olympians, making the right-wing fearmongering look asinine at best.<\/p>\n

In just over a year, the Valkyries have become a symbol of the Bay Area\u2019s diversity and love of sports, a celebration of women, and a reason for another international event to arrive in San Francisco. As for me, I\u2019ve become the point person for all-things Valkyries for my friends (and coworkers). I even spent my birthday this year in Philadelphia attending Unrivaled \u2014 a women\u2019s basketball league co-founded by two WNBA stars to allow WNBA players to play domestically and earn income during the offseason. I\u2019ve made and strengthened friendships over a shared love of women\u2019s sports.<\/p>\n

And, like any sports fanatic, I cannot wait for the day the Valkyries bring home the championship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the WNBA team approaches the playoffs, sold-out crowds at Balhalla have turned even sports skeptics into fans.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":874806,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[49,48,82,630],"class_list":["post-874805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/874805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=874805"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/874805\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/874806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=874805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=874805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=874805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}