Legend has it that Golden State Valkyries’ home games are wilder and crazier than Warriors’ games, even though the Warriors have Stephen Curry and four championship banners hanging in the Chase Center rafters.
It’s hard to find objective voices in that discussion, but we found one. Let’s ask the beer man.
Joseph Lewis was selling beer out of a cart on the 200-level concourse Sunday evening at the Valkyries’ home opener, against the Phoenix Mercury. Lewis has worked at Chase since the Warriors moved here seven seasons ago. What’s his take on Valkyries’ fans?
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“They’re fired up, can’t you tell?” Lewis said at halftime, as he popped tabs on cans of beer and iced tea. “The atmosphere, the energy is here, it’s a good, good vibe.”
Different from the Warriors’ crowds?
“I didn’t want to say it, you said it,” Lewis said. “But it’s totally different. More upbeat, happier, more fired up, good energy.”
Last season was the honeymoon. The Valkyries were a brand-new WNBA team, it figured that they would receive a warm welcome. Oh, Lord. Every game was a sellout, 18,000 plus, and the Valkyries repaid the love with a shocking 23-21 season, and a trip to the playoffs.
If Sunday’s game was any indication, the lovefest continues. A 7-0 run by the Phoenix Mercury to open the game was a minor speed bump. The Valks got busy and spun out a 95-79 win, to run their record to 2-0.
At some point, these fans will be tested. Last season the Valkyries could have gone 0-44 and their fans still would have packed the joint, determined to party. Expectations will be higher this season, but none of the fans I talked to mentioned wins or playoffs or titles.
A cheering crowd at a basketball game includes a woman holding a colorful sign that says “Season 2 LEG!” while fans around her wear purple.
Source: Jason Henry for The Standard
Let fans of the Giants, 49ers, Warriors and Sharks anguish, wail and nitpick. Valkyries fans are still 18,000 kids in a candy store.
“I’m originally from Philadelphia, and I went to Eagles games in the ‘70s, so I’ve been going to professional sports my whole life,” said Leighann, who rode Muni across town with her friends Sasha and Lila. “The atmosphere here is unlike any professional sports anywhere.
“The crowd is into every single play, but it’s not in any way, shape or form aggressive, in the way that, frankly, going to most men’s professional sports is, where there’s always a level of aggression and machismo. Going to these games is so much more joyful.”
The WNBA’s bigwigs must be kicking themselves that it took them so long to invite the Bay Area to their party. Now the Valkyries and their fans are the party, raging into its second season.
“It’s the best vibe, to come to a game,” said Ana, a season-ticket holder who drives down from Napa. “Everyone is kind, everyone is nice to each other. There’s no place like Ballhalla.”
Ballhalla? That nickname for Chase might sound corny to some, but Valks’ fans believe they are transported to a mythical land when they come to games. Many dress for the occasion.
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Jhen Peer, from San Leandro, dyed her hair purple.
“I grew up when we had the [Sacramento] Monarchs,” she said. “I always wished we had a team closer, so I’ve been waiting 25 years for this.”
A crowded basketball arena during a game with fans raising their hands, a brightly lit court, and a large scoreboard showing the score and game details.
Source: Jason Henry for The Standard
Anna and her friend Megan were sporting matching jackets made of bright, violet tinsel, hand-made, eight hours working over a hot glue gun.
Guys are welcome, too. Myra and Andrew Phillips are return season-ticket holders. Andrew is the girls varsity basketball coach at Napa High. They drive down from Vallejo. They used to be season-ticket holders for the Warriors in Oakland.
Andrew, a coach for more than 40 years, took notice of the recent collective bargaining agreement that gave the WNBA women a huge pay boost.
“They’re starting to pay these women what they’re worth,” he said. “They’ve been working hard, they deserve to be paid.”
The nice pay boost, by the way, doesn’t appear to have spoiled the players. The Valkyries, many of them holdovers from last season, are back with the same joyful vibe that resonates with the fans. Is team culture a real thing? If so, coach Natalie Nakase has cultivated a strong one. The family feeling spills over into the stands.
Two people stand with backs facing the camera, wearing matching jackets featuring a vibrant collage of basketball players on a purple background.
Elias Guting and Erica Linn show off their Valkyries swag at Chase Center. |Source: Jason Henry for The Standard
Tom Solbert, a wine educator at PlumpJack Winery in Napa, took his two adult daughters, Carly and Erica, to the Valkyries’ first preseason game last year. The family was smitten and bought season tickets.
“My kids are outgoing,” Solbert said. “Right away, they’re best friends with the couples around us, and the families. We formed our own little bonding group for the rest of the season.
“I love the Warriors, we went to a couple games in Oakland, those were fun. But there is just something, you didn’t feel close [at Oracle in Oakland]. What happens at the Valkyries’ games is that the team and the atmosphere just kind of gives you a nice hug.”
To make games a true Bay Area experience this season, Tom said they’ll drive from Napa to Jack London Square, grab a bite, and hop on the cross-Bay ferry to Chase.
It was Carly’s turn to use the two family tickets Sunday. Carly, who is non-binary, was there with their partner, Em Boone. Carly said the fan energy doesn’t match last season’s. It exceeds it.
Two smiling people pose with peace signs under purple balloons in front of a “Golden State Valkyries” sign, wearing matching team-themed clothing.
Lyndsay Roseat and Jessica Whittemore of San Jose pose before the Valkyries’ home opener at Chase Center. |Source: Jason Henry for The Standard
“I feel like everybody was so hyped off last year, this year everybody’s just ready, so the energy feels bigger, more exciting.”
And so the party rages on.
“It feels like the entire queer community of the Bay Area is here in the building, so that’s really cool,” said Carly, who still has the Sacramento Monarchs (a WNBA team from 1997 to 2009) jersey dad bought when they went to a game long ago. “It feels like a family, more than any sports game I’ve ever been to. It’s just different, and there’s so much history in women’s basketball, women’s sports, with queer people kind of being the foundation of that, so to see just intergenerational LGBTQ people in this building is really cool, that’s what we love the most.”
The 2-0 start is nice, too. Team owner Joe Lacob might want to start thinking about expanding his little arena.