More Than a Fan Base: How Ballhalla Is Becoming the Soul of the Bay

The Valkyries beat the Indiana Fever last night 90-88, in an extremely tight back and forth ping pong battle of a game. After last week’s loss in Indiana, this revenge-tour-style clapback showcased relentless defense, including a staggering 11 blocked shots. Veronica Burton finished with 25 points and 5 of those blocks, exhibiting fortitude on both ends of the floor. A pleased Coach Nakase noted postgame, “V’s leadership took a big leap today … I’m very proud of her.” 

The massive win sent Ballhalla’s self-proclaimed “Best Fans in the League” into a frenzy, with ear-piercing cheers, boos, and nonstop energy shaking the arena all night long. Coach Nakase acknowledged the palpable high gear energy of the game, and asked for it to continue to climb, “Y’all, keep coming. I want it loud.” 

Last Friday these two teams met up for the first time this season, in Indiana, where the Valks lost in a nail biter. We watched that away game at Scarlet Fox, a women/LGBTQ-owned wine bar in the Panhandle, whose chill atmosphere helped us enjoy the tense game: defense was not on point, Valks looked a little tired (they had beat the Liberty the previous night in Brooklyn), and classic Caitlin Clark antics had Janelle Salaün and Tiffany Hayes chirping back at CC, with Salaün receiving a technical. Ballhalla online was active with Reddit, Threads, and private chats blowing up with comments like, “If I was gonna [mess] with one of our players, it sure as [heck] wouldn’t be Ja.” 

So last night, our fans were eager. Packed to the rafters, the fierce warrior goddess energy brought the house down and reminded everyone, Fever fans included, that Ballhalla is the best. 

Ballhalla is loud, supportive, fun, creative–it’s so Bay Area. What makes the fan culture around the Golden State Valkyries feel uniquely local is that, paradoxically, it extends far beyond basketball and the Bay, championing an open-hearted world view that invites everyone in.

We name this because some of the Fever fanbase has become known for the extreme opposite. If you’re not familiar with the bigger controversy surrounding the Fever and Caitlin Clark, we’d summarize it like this: CC has become an avatar for perhaps more than she signed up for, with some of her fans using their protection and pride of her as a proxy for racism. Angel Reese was the initial target in 2024, There was even an investigation into racial slurs, which was concluded with the W saying they could not substantiate the accusations. But hatred from some Fever fans has allegedly persisted, as Alyssa Thomas spoke about last year during the playoffs.

Caitlin Clark has spoken out against racism, asking her fans to be respectful. But a few weeks ago, CC made the decision to walk out on stage with a country singer who is widely known for using racial slurs. This re-ignited anger and disappointment in the women’s basketball world. On Tuesday, Newsone published  “An Open Letter to Caitlin Clairk from a Black Woman who loves the WNBA” by award-winning broadcast news executive and investigative journalist Nicky Childer.  

So on the plus side, CC is getting more people to watch basketball with her deep shots, interesting flops, and passionate arguing (rage bait?) with nearly everyone, including her own coaches. People eat it up on both sides. At worst, she’s throwing white supremacy some bones to chew on. 

As teachers, we know there are no bad kids, just bad choices. As teachers, we are left wondering, what if CC weren’t in Indiana and didn’t have MAGA fans using her as a prop? What if the Fever did more to shut down racist trolls? What if CC were a Valkyrie? How would Ballhalla embrace her? In other words/worlds, who would CC be if white supremacy didn't so desperately desire representation in the W and we didn't let them have it because we made every court Ballhalla? 

But what’s unfolding in the Bay feels bigger than one player: it’s a fan culture rooted in joy, representation, and community. Ballhalla stands tall in opposition to that divisive energy and thumbs its nose at MAGA energy. Not only in a cultural way, but in a put-your-money-where- your-mouth is way. In just their second season, the Valkyries remain the WNBA’s most valuable franchise, now reportedly valued at over $1 billion after debuting at a historic $500 million valuation in their inaugural season. That growth validates more than “Mr. Joe” simply making a good bet on a sports franchise. It is not just the result of placing skilled players inside a vacuum of a pretty venue, but of intentionally building a culture and community that people genuinely want to belong to.

The Valkyries have created a brand around Ballhalla, literally trademarking it March of last year before the season even started. But as Raina’s DIY sweatshirt says, “We are Ballhalla.” We show up and invest our hard-earned teacher money in the team because it's a mirror of our values: not just inclusion, but genuine celebration of the underdogs, creating more equal access to the joy of being on the court or seeing someone on the court you can very much relate to and be happy they are down there representing you. We show up for the highly-curated community engagement, ticket access for tighter-budget fans, and the refusal to perpetuate whitewashing of black power and queerness.

Our government is doing everything it can to undermine diversity: deporting our neighbors, defunding science and nonprofits that even mention race or “women”, sending out subpoenas to hospitals and discharging trans military personnel. 

But guess what, hate is not winning in the Bay. And, not in Ballhalla.

For example, last Monday’s Valkyries game against the Connecticut Sun was the Valkyries' first ever Polynesian Heritage Night.  It was breathtaking. For the pregame show, the Tahitian Dance School Hōtua 'Ori traveled in from Martinez, CA. The director of Hōtua 'Ori named Charity shared, “We are blessed to have many generations of families: daughters, mothers, and grandmothers all sharing the stage side by side. I teach my dancers to dance with love, pride, strength and most importantly, to dance from the heart.”

For halftime, the San Jose Lōkahi ʻohana showed up with 44 dancers (vahine and keiki) and 10 drummers, representing multiple generations. They reflected the very thing that makes the Bay Area feel distinct: people seeing themselves represented and celebrated publicly. 

Pamela Locquiao-Fabro, Kumu of Lōkahi Polynesian Dance Group, shared with us, “To look across that arena and see generations of dancers standing together in Polynesian culture — from little keiki to adults — was incredibly moving. We weren’t just there to entertain; we were there to share joy, culture, family, and aloha with 18,000 people.” 

Another example of the intentionality in the Valkyries creating spaces that honor history, diversity and identity was the Jewish-American heritage night on May 13th. The Valks co-organized a halftime game through the JCCSF featuring their 2nd-3rd-grade team. Parents happily got their kids there on a school night and the Valkyries gifted official Valks Kiddush cup t-shirts to fill up nosebleeds section and a wagon-load of Wise Sons Jewish Deli bagels to feed the hungry young players after their 2-0 tight literal 2 point game (one basket = great defense!?). 

If you're not Jewish, but into basketball, (or vise versa!) you may already know that the first points scored in the MNBA were by a Jewish man named Ossie Schectman in 1946, or that the Golden State Warriors were founded in Pennsylvania as the South Philadelphia Hebrew Association, or grew up hearing how great Red Auerbauch was a legendary Celtics coach. But did you know that a Jewish woman named Senda Berenson Abbot wrote the first Basketball Guide for Women as PE director at Smith College and is known to many as the “mother of Women's basketball”? With this mini-historical-context in mind, it may seem obvious why the parents of these kiddos bent over backward to get to a 7pm game on a school night and why they were so giddy and proud to see their child playing in front of Ballhalla.

We heard from Rene Lopes Halvorson, a mom of one of the players that it “Felt surreal. To watch our girls run into that arena. Put themselves out there in front of all these people! And have fun! And be girls! I think I’ll be beaming with pride for weeks,”

Greg Geronemus is the dad who coordinated with the Valkyries to make it happen for the girls. Afterwards he reflected, “I hope it’s an experience that they’ll remember for the rest of their lives– I know I certainly will. It was just a tremendous thrill to see them on a big stage, and hopefully they inspired others as well.”

Alina Zinchik summed it up perfectly by expressing how she “Can’t stop smiling about all of it. And all the anxiety and anticipation. So worth it!”

And Ballhalla is not only about celebrating what makes us great, unique, or collective! On Memorial Day, a holiday rooted in remembrance and service, fans gathered around Chase Center as early as 3 hours before tipoff to participate in acts of community care. In collaboration with Refuse Refuse, the grassroots cleanup organization founded by Vince Yuen, volunteers of all ages donned bright yellow vests, holding gripper tongs and trash bags and spent the afternoon cleaning up the neighborhood that so graciously hosts Ballhalla’s traffic and boisterous crowds. 

Kids from different schools reached together between rocks along the coastline to extract every bit of trash they could reach, oohing and ahhhing at the big finds of a jacket, a grill, and a rusty old bike lock. A teenage couple giggled as they found pants, showing the little kids that picking up trash was really cool (and romantic?).

It was a reminder that fandom and public service intersecting is not only possible, but can become a genuine way of being in community. Ballhalla feels far bigger than the walls of the stadium, something we experienced firsthand while cleaning alongside strangers dressed in violet merch along the Bay. For a few hours, it felt less like attending a game and more like participating in a shared vision of what community can look like.

Immediately following the cleanup, our podcast “Valkyries, Say Less” hosted a poster-making gathering inspired by the creative community activations outside Angel City FC matches in Los Angeles. We set up what we called the “Creative Corner,” supplying posterboards small enough to get into the game, markers, and watercolor paints. While parents stood in long lines for food, we held down the fort with the children and chatted with adult fans that also wanted to join in the fun. 

Children gathered on the steps designing signs while parents waited nearby in some long restaurant lines. What emerged organically was not just an activity, but a community hub. People stopped to talk to us about teaching, women’s sports, the podcast, parenting, and the energy surrounding this team.

And the entire time, we watched a constant stream of violet fits march into Thrive City. One woman, wearing a bright violet wig and a long Valkyries cardigan, joked that if anyone had been wondering whether their own outfit was “too much,” that the moment they saw her, they’d realize that nothing in Ballhalla is excessive. Like the nude guys walking the Castro, the swing band in the tunnel of Golden Gate Park, or the elder Chinese man playing his Eruh on Clement, the interpretations of violet Valkyries gear is its own form of spectacle, making fandom not just exciting to witness, but a paradoxical opportunity for the individual expression of our desire for togetherness. 

There is something deeply San Franciscan about this team: its connection to activism, civic engagement, creativity, inclusivity, and progressive ideals that have shaped the city’s identity for generations, while also being chic, cool and sometimes totally outrageous. In a political climate where so many people feel disconnected or discouraged, it feels hopeful to witness those values being lived out through a basketball team and its fan base.

This is what Ballhalla is becoming: not simply a fan party, but a reflection of Bay Area identity itself. Service is part of that identity. Diversity is part of that identity. Creativity is part of that identity. Joy and community are part of that identity. Right now, the Valkyries are becoming a model for how professional sports franchises can build civic pride, not only through wins, but through very intentional curation of meaningful connection from the court all the way up to the nosebleeds and beyond. 

Combine that with standing on the right side of history while corporations like Target take a boycott beating, and the writing is on the wall: there's a return on that investment in the community. 

With pride and joy in our hearts, we are Ballhalla, and we cannot wait to show both Valkyries fans and visiting fans what makes this community so uniquely Bay Area. 

See you soon at these Valkyries’ cultural and heritage nights in June: 

June 15th: Asian Heritage Night
June 19th: Juneteenth Celebration
Friday, June 26th: Pride Night