From day one, the Golden State Valkyries’ home court at Chase Center quickly garnered a reputation for its raucous and supportive crowds that sold out the arena night after night. Soon, people compared it to “Roaracle,” the charged atmosphere inside Oakland Arena that hosted the Golden State Warriors before they moved across the bay to San Francisco. Valkyries fans came up with a fitting nickname as well: Ballhalla.
“A lot of times in my head I’m like we got to do it for them,” said Valkyries guard Tiffany Hayes. “They’re always here with us, like no matter we win, or we lose, we were getting that energy from them a lot.”
But although the analogy holds some truth, over the first two seasons of the team’s existence, the Valkyries’ home court has come to mean much more to many of their fans than just supporting a basketball team.
It became a venue to support women and LGBTQ rights, often under attack these days in the United States.
“I’ve said it multiple times that Ballhalla became my safe space,” said Golden State Valkyries star Gabby Williams in an end-of-season exit interview where she noted that she received death threats for her support of transgender rights.
One of the rallying cries for fans happened after the Valkyries defeated the Atlanta Dream on Pride Night on June 26. Williams found a camera on the court and yelled: “For the gays!”
Many Valkyries fans, including a sizable queer presence, felt connected to the team that represented and brought joy to the San Francisco Bay Area.
“This world is just a mess,” Valkyries season ticket holder Cheryl Espinosa-Jones explained to SFGATE. “Joy is revolutionary.”
The joy was never more evident than during the Valkyries’ historic run to the WNBA Finals, where they defeated the Atlanta Dream in seven games. The support and love shared between fans and the team, even a standing ovation from the fans after losing Game 2, seemed to will the club to victory.
“There were moments when I was like, ‘How am I going to play through all of this?’ And then I would walk into Ballhalla and be like, ‘That’s how,’” Williams explained. “I just want to thank our fanbase for being themselves because it allowed me to be myself. That’s huge. This is what the Bay Area is all about.”