When the Golden State Valkyries play, fans say coming together at Ballhalla — the nickname for the team’s home court at San Francisco’s Chase Center — is unlike any other spectator experience in the wide world of sports.
Just ask fans like Tonishia Short, a season ticket holder and member of the ValQueeries, an LGBTQ+ Valkyries fan group. During games, fans in different sections of Chase Center perform their own rituals, she said. In her section, committed fans mimic a bow and arrow launching whenever the team sinks a 3-point shot. Meanwhile, another section chants “V’s up” and makes peace signs whenever a team member steps up to shoot a free throw. Yet another section takes the streamers that fall after every win and places them in little capsules to give out at games — what they call “bottling the Ballhalla magic.”
Valkyries fans Tonishia Short and Charles Bennett share a laugh in between timeouts. (Courtesy of ValQueeries)
“It is a rare opportunity to connect in a way that expands past just watching two hours of a basketball game. You’re building solid friendships with the people around you,” Short said. “Having been to other arenas, I can’t say what we have in Ballhalla is replicated anywhere else.”
That spirit was on full display Saturday as the Valkyries hosted the Atlanta Dream in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals.
A vivacious, violet vibe flooded the area around Chase Center and, eventually, the seats in the arena’s bowl. Legendary actor and EGOT winner Rita Moreno, 94, banged the drum to incite a pregame “G-S-V” chant. The crowd pulsated with every Valkyries scoring run, willed the team forward when things got tight and went wild when Gabby Williams took over the game’s second quarter. In the end, Williams sealed a 68-64 win with six clutch free throws, and the cheers rang out into the sunny San Francisco streets.
Actress Rita Moreno waves to the audience before hitting the drum at Game 1 of the WNBA Finals at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
After Game 2 tonight at Chase Center, the series will shift to Atlanta, where the teams will play Wednesday night and Saturday at State Farm Arena. Depending on the outcomes of those four games, up to three more games may be played next week between San Francisco and Atlanta. The first team to four wins claims the title.
Ballhalla and its big-umbrella fandom have developed into a diverse crew of lavender-clad basketball enthusiasts that’s seen explosive growth in the team’s two years of existence. Fans include a large contingent from the Bay Area LGBTQ+ community, families, longtime basketball nuts and newcomers to the game alike. They speak of Ballhalla with almost reverence, and it’s come to mean not just the standing-room-only Chase Center crowd, but a kinship between Valks fans throughout the region and beyond, built on a shared love of basketball and an embrace of the team’s inclusive values.
“It really has become a community that’s super welcoming and super open,” said season ticket-holder Ashley Thomas-Williams of Fremont. “We’re going to boo for the other team, but respectfully.”
For many fans, supporting the team during the season has become a major part of day-to-day life.
Take Sideline Mel, also known as Melanie Perron, a game-day fixture known for her signature sparkling purple jacket and having the best season tickets in the house, right next to the Valks’ bench. Sideline Mel is Perron’s alter ego and social media personality; by day, she’s a Sacramento-based lobbyist and high school basketball coach.
Melanie Perron smiles after the Golden State Valkyries walk back into the locker rooms after their game against the Atlanta Dream for game 1 of the WNBA Finals at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
“There’s just something super unique about this team that is bringing so much joy, and I think it’s a combination of both the team themselves — and that those players are being authentic; they all are showing up as they are — and it’s the fan base,” Perron said.
Supporting the Valkyries has also become a gateway for many to build stronger communities outside of Ballhalla — and they’re growing. For instance, the ValQueeries, which has 4,430 Instagram followers as of this writing, has seen 100% audience growth on the platform in seven months, according to Short, who manages the group’s social media and marketing.
“We love the Valkyries, and we love being queer,” Short said. “It’s about bringing people together and having a safe space where we can all be ourselves. We don’t have to dim any part of ourselves to exist.”
Other online fan groups are also growing, like the 26,000-member-strong Golden State Valkyries Fan Group on Facebook, where fans sell their homemade team merchandise, ask for advice on navigating Chase Center in a wheelchair, talk team strategy and share information about upcoming watch parties.
The Valkyries Votives fan group includes Natasha Dantzig, Katie Hensel, Rachel Palmer, Marcus Lomtong, Orlando Jr. Monegas, Nic Lukehart, Kendra Edwards and Lydia Henkel-Moellmann among others. The friends bought season tickets during the Valkyries’ second season. (Courtesy of Valkyrie Votives; photo by an anonymous fan)
Nic Lukehart, who lived in Oakland for nine years and now lives in Berkeley, said he started out as a casual fan last year, but began paying more attention as he watched a cohort of his lesbian, queer and femme friends become superfans. “Wow, this is an amazing on-ramp for people who normally you may not define as traditional sports fans,” he recalled thinking at the time. “This is clearly the start of something cool.”
This year, he and his friends have gone all in. They got season tickets and have become the Valkyrie Votaries, a fan group that hosts tailgates and has adopted the slogan, “Come for the beers, stay for the queers.”
“The Valkyries have this special sauce,” Lukehart said. “It feels like all of these players were in search of a home, and then they found it in Ballhalla — and we as fans get to feed off that energy. There’s this connection between us and the players, and they’re clearly thriving on that.”
ValQueeries members celebrate All-Star weekend at the White Horse in Oakland. (Courtesy of ValQueeries)
The closest comparison to Ballhalla is perhaps the melting-pot experience of attending a World Cup game — but noisier, said Uma Krishnan, a Burlingame resident who described herself as “a solid member of Ballhalla.” For example, during the away playoff games in Las Vegas against the Aces, she could hear the chants of “GSV” coming through her TV speakers. “That is not our home stadium, and yet the noise was crazy,” she said. “Ballhalla is everywhere.”
Seeing families bringing young kids to the games, and seeing kids — both girls and boys — look up to the athletes has been another special part of being a Valkyries supporter, Krishnan said, recalling a recent moment when, walking her dog on the streets wearing Valkyries gear, a little boy ran up to her and said, “Go Valkyries!” and ran off. “It’s really cool seeing the children grow up with these role models,” she said.
A Golden State Valkyries fan holds a flag of Golden State Valkyries’ Kaitlyn Chen (2) while waiting for the start of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
“Obviously we love the sports. We love the game; we love watching the best athletes perform,” she said. “But it’s also a really loving community. And I feel like it reminds us how beautiful the Bay Area is.”
As the Valkyries gear up for the series to shift to Georgia, some fans are preparing to travel across the country to support the team. Thomas-Williams will be flying to Atlanta with her partner and a friend to see Game 4 — and bought her plane ticket even before the Valkyries had finished sweeping their series against the Aces, she said.
“We just need to be in the city to watch and support our players,” she said. “This isn’t just about being in Chase Center; it’s about being wherever the team goes. … Ballhalla isn’t just a place; it’s the community of people that have built it.”
WNBA fans listen to the playing of the national anthem before the start of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Golden State Valkyries fan Anna Koeckeritz, of Oakland, cheers as the Golden State Valkyries get closer to defeating the Atlanta Dream in the fourth quarter of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
A couple share a kiss as they celebrate the Golden State Valkyries defeating the Atlanta Dream during Game 1 of the WNBA Finals at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. The Golden State Valkyries defeated the Atlanta Dream 68-64. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Golden State Valkyries fan Merrily Robinson, of Redwood City, tailgates for Game 1 of the WNBA Finals between the Golden State Valkyries and the Atlanta Dream at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Golden State Valkyries fans cheers in the third quarter of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals against the Atlanta Dream at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Golden State Valkyries fans bang their thunder sticks in the second quarter of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Golden State Valkyries fans tailgate for Game 1 of the WNBA Finals between the Golden State Valkyries and the Atlanta Dream at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Golden State Valkyries fans cheers in the third quarter of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals against the Atlanta Dream at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Fans cheer against Atlanta Dream’s Allisha Gray (15) during free throws in the third quarter during game 1 of the WNBA Finals at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Golden State Valkyries fans gets photos with a Golden State Valkyries players Janelle Salaun (13), Veronica Burton (22) and Gabby Williams (1) before the start of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals between the Golden State Valkyries and the Atlanta Dream at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Cynthia Cheak, known as Bahalla Mama, hugs another fan before the Golden State Valkyries play against the Atlanta Dream during game 1 of the WNBA Finals at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Golden State Valkyries fans tailgate for Game 1 of the WNBA Finals between the Golden State Valkyries and the Atlanta Dream at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Golden State Valkyries fans leave Chase Center after the Golden State Valkyries defeated Atlanta Dream inGame 1 of the WNBA Finals in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)