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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It’s an hour before a winner-take-all \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12107530/ballhalla-is-going-to-show-up-valkyries-fans-rally-for-wnba-finals-game-7\">WNBA Finals\u003c/a> game and Kaitlyn Chen is dressed up in a glittery hot dog costume with knee-high boots, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reel/DfNNdjMMoHj/\">hitting the Quan\u003c/a> with Veronica Burton and Kaila Charles in the Golden State Valkyries’ locker room. That type of team synergy is not all that common in professional sports — and it is a big part of the secret sauce that earned the Valkyries a championship in their second year of existence.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How did the players celebrate their win, you ask? Immediately after their victory, in the locker room, they sang along to Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.” — a nod to how the Valkyries point guard Veronica Burton trained at her local YMCA gym after being cut from the Dallas Wings roster at the start of the 2024 WNBA season.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Indeed, the championship represents so much for the players on this team, who never received the attention they deserved on their previous teams but found their spark with GSV. It is fitting, then, that the other song they all screamed the words to in the locker room was Beyoncé’s “Best Thing I Never Had.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.instagram.com/reel/DfOWGoPCJxK/\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On top of their incredible athleticism, music has been a key ingredient in the Valkyries’ success, whether it’s the songs that hype up fans at Ballhalla or the superstars — like Kehlani and E-40— sitting courtside. With that in mind, we took to Instagram to find out what tracks the players chose to celebrate their historic victory.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Gabby Williams\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Originally from Reno, Gabby Williams spent summers playing basketball in the East Bay, and has celebrated her Bay Area roots throughout the season. After winning her first playoff game of the year in September, in her post-game interview \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reels/Dd0N_xVxNHS/\">she said\u003c/a> she “couldn’t lose in front of Too $hort,” who was in attendance. She then asked the crowd in Ballhalla “What’s my favorite word?” — and over 18,000 fans responded with a resounding “biiiiiiaaaattttcchhh!!”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After the Valks clinched the championship, Williams posted a photo of her cat, Halle Berry, next to her Finals MVP trophy and soundtracked it with Too $hort’s “It’s Time to Go.” She knew when it was her time to get going — her scoring ability in clutch time won Valkyries the championship, as she put up a record-breaking 28 points in the second half of the game.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.instagram.com/p/DfQgrI5mcm_/\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tiffany Hayes\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before Saturday evening, Tiffany Hayes was the player in the WNBA with most games played without a championship. She was first drafted by the Atlanta Dream in 2012 — the team she ultimately played 10 seasons for before “retiring” in 2023, and the team she beat out in the finals this year.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hayes came out of her retirement in 2024 to join the Las Vegas Aces, where she won the league’s Sixth Player of the Year award, before joining the Valkyries. Her song of choice was “Beam Ahhh” by DJ Chipman, a seasoned artist whose music had a viral resurgence in the 2020s. Perhaps the main takeaway here is to be patient and trust the process.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.instagram.com/p/DfNAJuXG51_/\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Veronica Burton\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Veronica Burton is more than a point guard for the Valkyries — she is the spiritual leader, the floor manager and the glue that holds the team together in the face of adversity. She has started every single game for the Valkyries since the team’s inaugural season. She has also \u003ca href=\"https://andscape.com/features/veronica-burton-golden-state-valkyries-san-francisco-christian-faith-wnba/\">been open about\u003c/a> her faith and how she finds her peace in studying the Bible.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Burton picked a worship song, “God I’m Just Grateful,” to cap her second year with the Valkyries. She’s a versatile leader that is as ready to fist bump to pop songs from \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reels/DalUaNTvC-B/\">Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus\u003c/a> before a game (or, as previously mentioned, “Hit the Quan”) as she is to practice her faith or invite the players on the court to take a \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reels/DeBDo2nRsiE/\">collective deep breath\u003c/a>. Whatever her rituals may be, they’ve been working tremendously for her and the team.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.instagram.com/p/DfQgbHzGXTu/\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Kaila Charles\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kaila Charles has been an essential part of this team for two seasons now, though she truly stepped up halfway through the finals, when Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase decided to place her in the starting lineup and secured a much-needed win in Game 4. It was a shocking move that the Atlanta Dream had no response for.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Charles, who herself is Trinidadian, chose Nicki Minaj’s “Moment 4 Life” as her theme song. “In this very moment, I’m king,” Minaj raps. Her 2010 hit single remains in the hip-hop pantheon — like how the Valkyries’ quick ascent to a chip will remain in the history books for a long time.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.instagram.com/p/DfNDgpImoqv/\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Hayes came out of her retirement in 2024 to join the Las Vegas Aces, where she won the league’s Sixth Player of the Year award, before joining the Valkyries. Her song of choice was “Beam Ahhh” by DJ Chipman, a seasoned artist whose music had a viral resurgence in the 2020s. Perhaps the main takeaway here is to be patient and trust the process.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Veronica Burton is more than a point guard for the Valkyries — she is the spiritual leader, the floor manager and the glue that holds the team together in the face of adversity. She has started every single game for the Valkyries since the team’s inaugural season. She has also \u003ca href=\"https://andscape.com/features/veronica-burton-golden-state-valkyries-san-francisco-christian-faith-wnba/\">been open about\u003c/a> her faith and how she finds her peace in studying the Bible.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Kaila Charles has been an essential part of this team for two seasons now, though she truly stepped up halfway through the finals, when Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase decided to place her in the starting lineup and secured a much-needed win in Game 4. It was a shocking move that the Atlanta Dream had no response for.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Charles, who herself is Trinidadian, chose Nicki Minaj’s “Moment 4 Life” as her theme song. “In this very moment, I’m king,” Minaj raps. Her 2010 hit single remains in the hip-hop pantheon — like how the Valkyries’ quick ascent to a chip will remain in the history books for a long time.\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It’s an hour before a winner-take-all \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12107530/ballhalla-is-going-to-show-up-valkyries-fans-rally-for-wnba-finals-game-7\">WNBA Finals\u003c/a> game and Kaitlyn Chen is dressed up in a glittery hot dog costume with knee-high boots, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reel/DfNNdjMMoHj/\">hitting the Quan\u003c/a> with Veronica Burton and Kaila Charles in the Golden State Valkyries’ locker room. That type of team synergy is not all that common in professional sports — and it is a big part of the secret sauce that earned the Valkyries a championship in their second year of existence.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How did the players celebrate their win, you ask? Immediately after their victory, in the locker room, they sang along to Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.” — a nod to how the Valkyries point guard Veronica Burton trained at her local YMCA gym after being cut from the Dallas Wings roster at the start of the 2024 WNBA season.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Indeed, the championship represents so much for the players on this team, who never received the attention they deserved on their previous teams but found their spark with GSV. It is fitting, then, that the other song they all screamed the words to in the locker room was Beyoncé’s “Best Thing I Never Had.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On top of their incredible athleticism, music has been a key ingredient in the Valkyries’ success, whether it’s the songs that hype up fans at Ballhalla or the superstars — like Kehlani and E-40— sitting courtside. With that in mind, we took to Instagram to find out what tracks the players chose to celebrate their historic victory.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Gabby Williams\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Originally from Reno, Gabby Williams spent summers playing basketball in the East Bay, and has celebrated her Bay Area roots throughout the season. After winning her first playoff game of the year in September, in her post-game interview \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reels/Dd0N_xVxNHS/\">she said\u003c/a> she “couldn’t lose in front of Too $hort,” who was in attendance. She then asked the crowd in Ballhalla “What’s my favorite word?” — and over 18,000 fans responded with a resounding “biiiiiiaaaattttcchhh!!”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After the Valks clinched the championship, Williams posted a photo of her cat, Halle Berry, next to her Finals MVP trophy and soundtracked it with Too $hort’s “It’s Time to Go.” She knew when it was her time to get going — her scoring ability in clutch time won Valkyries the championship, as she put up a record-breaking 28 points in the second half of the game.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tiffany Hayes\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before Saturday evening, Tiffany Hayes was the player in the WNBA with most games played without a championship. She was first drafted by the Atlanta Dream in 2012 — the team she ultimately played 10 seasons for before “retiring” in 2023, and the team she beat out in the finals this year.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hayes came out of her retirement in 2024 to join the Las Vegas Aces, where she won the league’s Sixth Player of the Year award, before joining the Valkyries. Her song of choice was “Beam Ahhh” by DJ Chipman, a seasoned artist whose music had a viral resurgence in the 2020s. Perhaps the main takeaway here is to be patient and trust the process.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Veronica Burton\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Veronica Burton is more than a point guard for the Valkyries — she is the spiritual leader, the floor manager and the glue that holds the team together in the face of adversity. She has started every single game for the Valkyries since the team’s inaugural season. She has also \u003ca href=\"https://andscape.com/features/veronica-burton-golden-state-valkyries-san-francisco-christian-faith-wnba/\">been open about\u003c/a> her faith and how she finds her peace in studying the Bible.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Burton picked a worship song, “God I’m Just Grateful,” to cap her second year with the Valkyries. She’s a versatile leader that is as ready to fist bump to pop songs from \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reels/DalUaNTvC-B/\">Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus\u003c/a> before a game (or, as previously mentioned, “Hit the Quan”) as she is to practice her faith or invite the players on the court to take a \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reels/DeBDo2nRsiE/\">collective deep breath\u003c/a>. Whatever her rituals may be, they’ve been working tremendously for her and the team.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Kaila Charles\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kaila Charles has been an essential part of this team for two seasons now, though she truly stepped up halfway through the finals, when Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase decided to place her in the starting lineup and secured a much-needed win in Game 4. It was a shocking move that the Atlanta Dream had no response for.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Charles, who herself is Trinidadian, chose Nicki Minaj’s “Moment 4 Life” as her theme song. “In this very moment, I’m king,” Minaj raps. Her 2010 hit single remains in the hip-hop pantheon — like how the Valkyries’ quick ascent to a chip will remain in the history books for a long time.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "valkyries-fans-most-creative-fits-at-game-2-of-the-wnba-finals",
"title": "Valkyries Fans’ Most Creative Fits at Game 2 of the WNBA Finals",
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"headTitle": "Valkyries Fans’ Most Creative Fits at Game 2 of the WNBA Finals | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/golden-state-valkyries\">Golden State Valkyries\u003c/a> faced off against the Atlanta Dream during \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12105116/valkyries-fall-to-dream-65-79-in-game-2-of-wnba-finals\">Game 2 of WNBA Finals\u003c/a> Monday night, the players set the tone with their tunnel fits. Gabby Williams arrived in a cool, casual 49ers jersey and sunglasses, and Angel Reese looked glamorous and polished in a black high-neck gown and kitten heels.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The fans at Ballhalla showed out, too. Photographer Estefany Gonzalez captured their sparkliest and most creative looks as they filed into the Chase Center, where the Dream beat the Valks, tying the series at 1-1. The teams will meet again at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena on Oct. 21.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_018_qed-d271061a.JPG\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994884\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_018_qed-d271061a.JPG 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_018_qed-d271061a-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_018_qed-d271061a-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_018_qed-d271061a-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Gioia Garner, 53, dresses in all purple outside of the Chase Center in San Francisco during Game 2 of the WNBA Finals between the Golden State Valkyries and the Atlanta Dream on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. Garner spent her Christmas fund on tickets for the game and said her friends can expect cards this year. “Our ladies are kicking ass and taking names so why wouldn’t we give them our money?” Garner said. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_019_qed-52d7c0e8.JPG\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994885\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_019_qed-52d7c0e8.JPG 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_019_qed-52d7c0e8-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_019_qed-52d7c0e8-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_019_qed-52d7c0e8-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Details from Gioia Garner’s look. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_022_qed-7dee8ef6.JPG\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994898\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_022_qed-7dee8ef6.JPG 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_022_qed-7dee8ef6-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_022_qed-7dee8ef6-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_022_qed-7dee8ef6-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Brittney Elena, 37, holds her dog, Diva, 16, outside of the Chase Center in San Francisco during Game 2 of the WNBA Finals on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. Elena is originally from the Bay Area and travels from Los Angeles for home games as a season ticket holder. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_023_qed-273a938f.JPG\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994899\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_023_qed-273a938f.JPG 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_023_qed-273a938f-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_023_qed-273a938f-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_023_qed-273a938f-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Diva the dog shows off her Valkyries T-shirt. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_039_qed-e8517d83.JPG\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994886\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_039_qed-e8517d83.JPG 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_039_qed-e8517d83-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_039_qed-e8517d83-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_039_qed-e8517d83-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Elias Guting, 30, wears a custom outfit he designed at Game 2 of the WNBA Finals on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. Guting’s clothing brand Nostalgic Attitude has been worn by players themselves. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_035_qed-5eee009f.JPG\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994908\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_035_qed-5eee009f.JPG 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_035_qed-5eee009f-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_035_qed-5eee009f-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_035_qed-5eee009f-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sam Akpan, 43, poses for a portrait outside of the Chase Center in San Francisco on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. Akpan was one of the many people watching the game outside of the Chase Center. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_030_qed-06696c63.JPG\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994906\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_030_qed-06696c63.JPG 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_030_qed-06696c63-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_030_qed-06696c63-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_030_qed-06696c63-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jessica Foung, 43, holds a stack of purple bracelets outside of the Chase Center in San Francisco on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_013_qed-c07c1ecb.JPG\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994896\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_013_qed-c07c1ecb.JPG 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_013_qed-c07c1ecb-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_013_qed-c07c1ecb-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_013_qed-c07c1ecb-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Tina C., 46, wears a sequence purple suit outside of the Chase Center in San Francisco on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. “I didn’t really think that myself was a sports fan, but I didn’t really have a women’s team that I could root for. So, you know, having a big women’s team in the Bay really converted me,” Tina C. said. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_014_qed-17d4ab75.JPG\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994889\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_014_qed-17d4ab75.JPG 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_014_qed-17d4ab75-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_014_qed-17d4ab75-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_014_qed-17d4ab75-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Tina C. spent more than a week hand gluing feathers to the back of their blazer for the special occasion. “This team, it sparkles. So I needed to have something that matched the team’s vibe, you know? I’m violet’s gay cousin with the black feathers,” they said. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_003_qed-72b0d4b1.JPG\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994887\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_003_qed-72b0d4b1.JPG 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_003_qed-72b0d4b1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_003_qed-72b0d4b1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_003_qed-72b0d4b1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lianne Leong, who goes by “the golden Valkyrie,” wears a custom made golden outfit outside of the Chase Center in San Francisco. Leong has made Anime, Star Wars, KPop Demon Hunters, and various other cosplay costumes over the past ten years and decided to use her skills to make a Valkyrie costume after moving back to the Bay Area in January. “Valkyries were going crazy. So I just thought, well, duh, I should just make a costume. Obviously,” Leong said. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_012_qed-8bb9d132.JPG\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994888\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_012_qed-8bb9d132.JPG 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_012_qed-8bb9d132-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_012_qed-8bb9d132-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_012_qed-8bb9d132-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Tiffany Mease, 40, wears purple fur in honor of the Golden State Valkyries outside of the Chase Center in San Francisco on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. “It took four hours on a glue gun believe it or not,” Mease said. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_021_qed-694d4742.JPG\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994897\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_021_qed-694d4742.JPG 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_021_qed-694d4742-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_021_qed-694d4742-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_021_qed-694d4742-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jeph Lee, 53, wears a thrifted purple coat outside of the Chase Center in San Francisco on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_009_qed-ee26845e.JPG\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994915\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_009_qed-ee26845e.JPG 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_009_qed-ee26845e-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_009_qed-ee26845e-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_009_qed-ee26845e-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Monica Blakely, left, poses for a portrait with Angelique Muñoz, after bumping into each other and realizing they were both sporting the same headband outside of the Chase Center in San Francisco on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_045_qed-0d7d5013.JPG\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994916\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_045_qed-0d7d5013.JPG 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_045_qed-0d7d5013-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_045_qed-0d7d5013-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_045_qed-0d7d5013-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fans watch Game 2 of the WNBA Finals between the Golden State Valkyries and the Atlanta Dream outside of the Chase Center in San Francisco on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Before the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/golden-state-valkyries\">Golden State Valkyries\u003c/a> faced off against the Atlanta Dream during \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12105116/valkyries-fall-to-dream-65-79-in-game-2-of-wnba-finals\">Game 2 of WNBA Finals\u003c/a> Monday night, the players set the tone with their tunnel fits. Gabby Williams arrived in a cool, casual 49ers jersey and sunglasses, and Angel Reese looked glamorous and polished in a black high-neck gown and kitten heels.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Before the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/golden-state-valkyries\">Golden State Valkyries\u003c/a> faced off against the Atlanta Dream during \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12105116/valkyries-fall-to-dream-65-79-in-game-2-of-wnba-finals\">Game 2 of WNBA Finals\u003c/a> Monday night, the players set the tone with their tunnel fits. Gabby Williams arrived in a cool, casual 49ers jersey and sunglasses, and Angel Reese looked glamorous and polished in a black high-neck gown and kitten heels.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The fans at Ballhalla showed out, too. Photographer Estefany Gonzalez captured their sparkliest and most creative looks as they filed into the Chase Center, where the Dream beat the Valks, tying the series at 1-1. The teams will meet again at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena on Oct. 21.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The fans at Ballhalla showed out, too. Photographer Estefany Gonzalez captured their sparkliest and most creative looks as they filed into the Chase Center, where the Dream beat the Valks, tying the series at 1-1. The teams will meet again at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena on Oct. 21.\u003c/p>\n"
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_018_qed-d271061a.JPG\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994884\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Gioia Garner, 53, dresses in all purple outside of the Chase Center in San Francisco during Game 2 of the WNBA Finals between the Golden State Valkyries and the Atlanta Dream on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. Garner spent her Christmas fund on tickets for the game and said her friends can expect cards this year. “Our ladies are kicking ass and taking names so why wouldn’t we give them our money?” Garner said.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_022_qed-7dee8ef6.JPG\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994898\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_022_qed-7dee8ef6.JPG 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_022_qed-7dee8ef6-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_022_qed-7dee8ef6-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_022_qed-7dee8ef6-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Brittney Elena, 37, holds her dog, Diva, 16, outside of the Chase Center in San Francisco during Game 2 of the WNBA Finals on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. Elena is originally from the Bay Area and travels from Los Angeles for home games as a season ticket holder.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_022_qed-7dee8ef6.JPG\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994898\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Brittney Elena, 37, holds her dog, Diva, 16, outside of the Chase Center in San Francisco during Game 2 of the WNBA Finals on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. Elena is originally from the Bay Area and travels from Los Angeles for home games as a season ticket holder.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_023_qed-273a938f.JPG\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994899\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_023_qed-273a938f.JPG 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_023_qed-273a938f-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_023_qed-273a938f-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_023_qed-273a938f-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Diva the dog shows off her Valkyries T-shirt. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_023_qed-273a938f.JPG\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994899\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Diva the dog shows off her Valkyries T-shirt. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"excerpt": "San Francisco’s Chase Center was a sea of sequins, feathers and all things purple on Monday night.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/golden-state-valkyries\">Golden State Valkyries\u003c/a> faced off against the Atlanta Dream during \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12105116/valkyries-fall-to-dream-65-79-in-game-2-of-wnba-finals\">Game 2 of WNBA Finals\u003c/a> Monday night, the players set the tone with their tunnel fits. Gabby Williams arrived in a cool, casual 49ers jersey and sunglasses, and Angel Reese looked glamorous and polished in a black high-neck gown and kitten heels.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The fans at Ballhalla showed out, too. Photographer Estefany Gonzalez captured their sparkliest and most creative looks as they filed into the Chase Center, where the Dream beat the Valks, tying the series at 1-1. The teams will meet again at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena on Oct. 21.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_018_qed-d271061a.JPG\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994884\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_018_qed-d271061a.JPG 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_018_qed-d271061a-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_018_qed-d271061a-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_018_qed-d271061a-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Gioia Garner, 53, dresses in all purple outside of the Chase Center in San Francisco during Game 2 of the WNBA Finals between the Golden State Valkyries and the Atlanta Dream on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. Garner spent her Christmas fund on tickets for the game and said her friends can expect cards this year. “Our ladies are kicking ass and taking names so why wouldn’t we give them our money?” Garner said. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_019_qed-52d7c0e8.JPG\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994885\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_019_qed-52d7c0e8.JPG 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_019_qed-52d7c0e8-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_019_qed-52d7c0e8-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_019_qed-52d7c0e8-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Details from Gioia Garner’s look. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_022_qed-7dee8ef6.JPG\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994898\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_022_qed-7dee8ef6.JPG 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_022_qed-7dee8ef6-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_022_qed-7dee8ef6-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_022_qed-7dee8ef6-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Brittney Elena, 37, holds her dog, Diva, 16, outside of the Chase Center in San Francisco during Game 2 of the WNBA Finals on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. Elena is originally from the Bay Area and travels from Los Angeles for home games as a season ticket holder. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_023_qed-273a938f.JPG\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994899\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_023_qed-273a938f.JPG 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_023_qed-273a938f-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_023_qed-273a938f-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_023_qed-273a938f-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Diva the dog shows off her Valkyries T-shirt. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_039_qed-e8517d83.JPG\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994886\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_039_qed-e8517d83.JPG 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_039_qed-e8517d83-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_039_qed-e8517d83-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_039_qed-e8517d83-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Elias Guting, 30, wears a custom outfit he designed at Game 2 of the WNBA Finals on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. Guting’s clothing brand Nostalgic Attitude has been worn by players themselves. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_035_qed-5eee009f.JPG\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994908\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_035_qed-5eee009f.JPG 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_035_qed-5eee009f-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_035_qed-5eee009f-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_035_qed-5eee009f-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sam Akpan, 43, poses for a portrait outside of the Chase Center in San Francisco on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. Akpan was one of the many people watching the game outside of the Chase Center. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_030_qed-06696c63.JPG\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994906\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_030_qed-06696c63.JPG 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_030_qed-06696c63-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_030_qed-06696c63-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_030_qed-06696c63-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jessica Foung, 43, holds a stack of purple bracelets outside of the Chase Center in San Francisco on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_013_qed-c07c1ecb.JPG\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994896\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_013_qed-c07c1ecb.JPG 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_013_qed-c07c1ecb-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_013_qed-c07c1ecb-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_013_qed-c07c1ecb-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Tina C., 46, wears a sequence purple suit outside of the Chase Center in San Francisco on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. “I didn’t really think that myself was a sports fan, but I didn’t really have a women’s team that I could root for. So, you know, having a big women’s team in the Bay really converted me,” Tina C. said. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_014_qed-17d4ab75.JPG\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994889\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_014_qed-17d4ab75.JPG 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_014_qed-17d4ab75-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_014_qed-17d4ab75-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_014_qed-17d4ab75-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Tina C. spent more than a week hand gluing feathers to the back of their blazer for the special occasion. “This team, it sparkles. So I needed to have something that matched the team’s vibe, you know? I’m violet’s gay cousin with the black feathers,” they said. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_003_qed-72b0d4b1.JPG\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994887\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_003_qed-72b0d4b1.JPG 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_003_qed-72b0d4b1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_003_qed-72b0d4b1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_003_qed-72b0d4b1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lianne Leong, who goes by “the golden Valkyrie,” wears a custom made golden outfit outside of the Chase Center in San Francisco. Leong has made Anime, Star Wars, KPop Demon Hunters, and various other cosplay costumes over the past ten years and decided to use her skills to make a Valkyrie costume after moving back to the Bay Area in January. “Valkyries were going crazy. So I just thought, well, duh, I should just make a costume. Obviously,” Leong said. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_012_qed-8bb9d132.JPG\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994888\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_012_qed-8bb9d132.JPG 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_012_qed-8bb9d132-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_012_qed-8bb9d132-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_012_qed-8bb9d132-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Tiffany Mease, 40, wears purple fur in honor of the Golden State Valkyries outside of the Chase Center in San Francisco on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. “It took four hours on a glue gun believe it or not,” Mease said. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_021_qed-694d4742.JPG\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994897\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_021_qed-694d4742.JPG 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_021_qed-694d4742-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_021_qed-694d4742-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_021_qed-694d4742-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jeph Lee, 53, wears a thrifted purple coat outside of the Chase Center in San Francisco on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_009_qed-ee26845e.JPG\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994915\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_009_qed-ee26845e.JPG 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_009_qed-ee26845e-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_009_qed-ee26845e-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_009_qed-ee26845e-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Monica Blakely, left, poses for a portrait with Angelique Muñoz, after bumping into each other and realizing they were both sporting the same headband outside of the Chase Center in San Francisco on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_045_qed-0d7d5013.JPG\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994916\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_045_qed-0d7d5013.JPG 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_045_qed-0d7d5013-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_045_qed-0d7d5013-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/20261019_ValksGame2_045_qed-0d7d5013-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fans watch Game 2 of the WNBA Finals between the Golden State Valkyries and the Atlanta Dream outside of the Chase Center in San Francisco on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "valkyries-fandom-womens-sports-wnba-playoffs",
"title": "The Valkyries Make it Easy to Be a Women’s Sports Fan",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>It’s a Friday night in May and I’m 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 “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13977457/rikkis-first-womens-sports-bar-bay-area-open-castro-sf-valkyries\">sports bar feel\u003c/a>” in a place that doesn’t even have a television — just a projector we stow away when not in use — or enough seats in the living room for our guests.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"alignright size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/ValksFan_2000.jpg\" alt=\"smiling person with long dark hair in violet sports jersey in front of giant poster of athlete in same uniform\" class=\"wp-image-13993426\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/ValksFan_2000.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/ValksFan_2000-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/ValksFan_2000-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/ValksFan_2000-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The author poses in front of a poster of Valkyries player Veronica Burton. (Ugur Dursun)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>About a dozen friends trickle in before the 7 p.m. tip-off for the first \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/golden-state-valkyries\">Golden State Valkyries\u003c/a> game of the regular WNBA season, where the team convincingly defeats the Seattle Storm. I try my best to fill in newer fans on the team’s historic inaugural season, the players to watch, and how excited we should be to have Gabby Williams on our roster. I have become the go-to expert, despite not having touched a basketball since I was in middle school.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When the Valkyries were announced in 2023 as the WNBA’s first expansion team since 2008, I must admit, I did not have much of a reaction beyond “that’s cool.” Aside from a couple of Olympics, I had never consistently followed any sport or league. And yet, that all changed when the Valkyries came to town. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>I went to my first game at Chase Center, or “Ballhalla,” in June 2025, and was immediately hooked by the energy of the crowd, the colorway of the team, and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13980855/golden-state-valkyries-wnba-bay-area-djs-ladyryan-shellheart-chase-center\">DJs that spin certified bangers all night long\u003c/a>. Coincidentally, that was another game when the Valkyries came out on top against the Seattle Storm, which made my first Ballhalla experience all the more memorable.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00605_TV-KQED-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13980949\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00605_TV-KQED-3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00605_TV-KQED-3-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00605_TV-KQED-3-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00605_TV-KQED-3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">DJ Shellheart plays a set for the Golden State Valkyries during a game at Chase Center in San Francisco on Aug. 19, 2025. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Over the course of the team’s inaugural season, Ballhalla became known for having the toughest home crowd to play against, drawing parallels to the Warriors’ “Roaracle” 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 \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12056563/better-than-i-ever-dreamed-valkyries-fans-reflect-on-historic-first-season\">“Ballhalla is a mentality”\u003c/a> and brought their intensity to San José’s SAP Center. This season, the Valkyries will finally get to play some postseason games in Ballhalla, painting San Francisco all shades of violet.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>I describe the Valkyries fandom to my friends as “a sea of purple boarding the Muni bus.” Even during the offseason, you’ll notice people wearing Valkyries gear around the Bay Area — fans from all walks of life have embraced the team. Of course, it helps that women’s basketball isn’t 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, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13989177/monarchs-sacramento-wnba-team-history\">disbanded in 2009\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Perhaps that’s why, at a time when multiple major league men’s 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’ popularity in the Bay Area by hosting the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12095766/san-francisco-to-host-2027-wnba-all-star-game-at-chase-center\">2027 WNBA All-Star Game\u003c/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’s 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 \u003cem>this\u003c/em> is the moment to host the first WNBA All-Star Game in California — where the Los Angeles Sparks have been hooping for 30 years.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/250917-ValkyriesPlayoffs-12-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"a purple bird mascot stands at center court over Valkyries logo\" class=\"wp-image-13993417\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/250917-ValkyriesPlayoffs-12-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/250917-ValkyriesPlayoffs-12-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/250917-ValkyriesPlayoffs-12-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/250917-ValkyriesPlayoffs-12-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Golden 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. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Rooting for the Valkyries is easy, even if you aren’t 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. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There’s a relatability to their underdog narrative — we all feel like we’re being overlooked sometimes, like we could thrive if only someone knew our worth. In the Valkyries players’ 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.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/250501-ValkyriesOpenerTeamProfile-37-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"Asian woman smiles in black hoodie during press coference\" class=\"wp-image-13993418\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/250501-ValkyriesOpenerTeamProfile-37-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/250501-ValkyriesOpenerTeamProfile-37-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/250501-ValkyriesOpenerTeamProfile-37-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/250501-ValkyriesOpenerTeamProfile-37-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Golden State Valkyries’ Head Coach Natalie Nakase speaks with the press during training camp held at the Sephora Performance Center in Oakland on May 1, 2025. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>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, “I would welcome a trans athlete on my team or against my team, anytime. I don’t think it’s a problem in the world. It’s just another way to kind of attack trans people.” Indeed, trans people make up \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/trans-women-in-sports-facts-over-fear\">less than 10 of 500,000 U.S. college athletes\u003c/a>, and even fewer Olympians, making the right-wing fearmongering look asinine at best.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In just over a year, the Valkyries have become a symbol of the Bay Area’s 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’ve become the point person for all-things Valkyries for my friends (and coworkers). I even spent my birthday this year in Philadelphia attending Unrivaled — a women’s basketball league co-founded by two WNBA stars to allow WNBA players to play domestically and earn income during the offseason. I’ve made and strengthened friendships over a shared love of women’s sports. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And, like any sports fanatic, I cannot wait for the day the Valkyries bring home the championship.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/ValksFan_2000.jpg\" alt=\"smiling person with long dark hair in violet sports jersey in front of giant poster of athlete in same uniform\" class=\"wp-image-13993426\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/ValksFan_2000.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/ValksFan_2000-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/ValksFan_2000-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/ValksFan_2000-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The author poses in front of a poster of Valkyries player Veronica Burton.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Ugur Dursun)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>I went to my first game at Chase Center, or “Ballhalla,” in June 2025, and was immediately hooked by the energy of the crowd, the colorway of the team, and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13980855/golden-state-valkyries-wnba-bay-area-djs-ladyryan-shellheart-chase-center\">DJs that spin certified bangers all night long\u003c/a>. Coincidentally, that was another game when the Valkyries came out on top against the Seattle Storm, which made my first Ballhalla experience all the more memorable.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>I went to my first game at Chase Center, or “Ballhalla,” in June 2025, and was immediately hooked by the energy of the crowd, the colorway of the team, and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13980855/golden-state-valkyries-wnba-bay-area-djs-ladyryan-shellheart-chase-center\">DJs that spin certified bangers all night long\u003c/a>. Coincidentally, that was another game when the Valkyries came out on top against the Seattle Storm, which made my first Ballhalla experience all the more memorable.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00605_TV-KQED-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13980949\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00605_TV-KQED-3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00605_TV-KQED-3-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00605_TV-KQED-3-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00605_TV-KQED-3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">DJ Shellheart plays a set for the Golden State Valkyries during a game at Chase Center in San Francisco on Aug. 19, 2025.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00605_TV-KQED-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13980949\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">DJ Shellheart plays a set for the Golden State Valkyries during a game at Chase Center in San Francisco on Aug. 19, 2025.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Over the course of the team’s inaugural season, Ballhalla became known for having the toughest home crowd to play against, drawing parallels to the Warriors’ “Roaracle” 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 \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12056563/better-than-i-ever-dreamed-valkyries-fans-reflect-on-historic-first-season\">“Ballhalla is a mentality”\u003c/a> and brought their intensity to San José’s SAP Center. This season, the Valkyries will finally get to play some postseason games in Ballhalla, painting San Francisco all shades of violet.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Over the course of the team’s inaugural season, Ballhalla became known for having the toughest home crowd to play against, drawing parallels to the Warriors’ “Roaracle” 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 \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12056563/better-than-i-ever-dreamed-valkyries-fans-reflect-on-historic-first-season\">“Ballhalla is a mentality”\u003c/a> and brought their intensity to San José’s SAP Center. This season, the Valkyries will finally get to play some postseason games in Ballhalla, painting San Francisco all shades of violet.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>I describe the Valkyries fandom to my friends as “a sea of purple boarding the Muni bus.” Even during the offseason, you’ll notice people wearing Valkyries gear around the Bay Area — fans from all walks of life have embraced the team. Of course, it helps that women’s basketball isn’t 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, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13989177/monarchs-sacramento-wnba-team-history\">disbanded in 2009\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>I describe the Valkyries fandom to my friends as “a sea of purple boarding the Muni bus.” Even during the offseason, you’ll notice people wearing Valkyries gear around the Bay Area — fans from all walks of life have embraced the team. Of course, it helps that women’s basketball isn’t 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, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13989177/monarchs-sacramento-wnba-team-history\">disbanded in 2009\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Perhaps that’s why, at a time when multiple major league men’s 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’ popularity in the Bay Area by hosting the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12095766/san-francisco-to-host-2027-wnba-all-star-game-at-chase-center\">2027 WNBA All-Star Game\u003c/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’s 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 \u003cem>this\u003c/em> is the moment to host the first WNBA All-Star Game in California — where the Los Angeles Sparks have been hooping for 30 years.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Perhaps that’s why, at a time when multiple major league men’s 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’ popularity in the Bay Area by hosting the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12095766/san-francisco-to-host-2027-wnba-all-star-game-at-chase-center\">2027 WNBA All-Star Game\u003c/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’s 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 \u003cem>this\u003c/em> is the moment to host the first WNBA All-Star Game in California — where the Los Angeles Sparks have been hooping for 30 years.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/250917-ValkyriesPlayoffs-12-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"a purple bird mascot stands at center court over Valkyries logo\" class=\"wp-image-13993417\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/250917-ValkyriesPlayoffs-12-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/250917-ValkyriesPlayoffs-12-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/250917-ValkyriesPlayoffs-12-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/250917-ValkyriesPlayoffs-12-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Golden 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.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/250917-ValkyriesPlayoffs-12-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"a purple bird mascot stands at center court over Valkyries logo\" class=\"wp-image-13993417\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Golden 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.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Rooting for the Valkyries is easy, even if you aren’t 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. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Rooting for the Valkyries is easy, even if you aren’t 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. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>There’s a relatability to their underdog narrative — we all feel like we’re being overlooked sometimes, like we could thrive if only someone knew our worth. In the Valkyries players’ 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.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>There’s a relatability to their underdog narrative — we all feel like we’re being overlooked sometimes, like we could thrive if only someone knew our worth. In the Valkyries players’ 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.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/250501-ValkyriesOpenerTeamProfile-37-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"Asian woman smiles in black hoodie during press coference\" class=\"wp-image-13993418\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/250501-ValkyriesOpenerTeamProfile-37-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/250501-ValkyriesOpenerTeamProfile-37-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/250501-ValkyriesOpenerTeamProfile-37-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/250501-ValkyriesOpenerTeamProfile-37-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Golden State Valkyries’ Head Coach Natalie Nakase speaks with the press during training camp held at the Sephora Performance Center in Oakland on May 1, 2025.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/250501-ValkyriesOpenerTeamProfile-37-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"Asian woman smiles in black hoodie during press coference\" class=\"wp-image-13993418\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Golden State Valkyries’ Head Coach Natalie Nakase speaks with the press during training camp held at the Sephora Performance Center in Oakland on May 1, 2025.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>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, “I would welcome a trans athlete on my team or against my team, anytime. I don’t think it’s a problem in the world. It’s just another way to kind of attack trans people.” Indeed, trans people make up \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/trans-women-in-sports-facts-over-fear\">less than 10 of 500,000 U.S. college athletes\u003c/a>, and even fewer Olympians, making the right-wing fearmongering look asinine at best.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>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, “I would welcome a trans athlete on my team or against my team, anytime. I don’t think it’s a problem in the world. It’s just another way to kind of attack trans people.” Indeed, trans people make up \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/trans-women-in-sports-facts-over-fear\">less than 10 of 500,000 U.S. college athletes\u003c/a>, and even fewer Olympians, making the right-wing fearmongering look asinine at best.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In just over a year, the Valkyries have become a symbol of the Bay Area’s 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’ve become the point person for all-things Valkyries for my friends (and coworkers). I even spent my birthday this year in Philadelphia attending Unrivaled — a women’s basketball league co-founded by two WNBA stars to allow WNBA players to play domestically and earn income during the offseason. I’ve made and strengthened friendships over a shared love of women’s sports. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In just over a year, the Valkyries have become a symbol of the Bay Area’s 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’ve become the point person for all-things Valkyries for my friends (and coworkers). I even spent my birthday this year in Philadelphia attending Unrivaled — a women’s basketball league co-founded by two WNBA stars to allow WNBA players to play domestically and earn income during the offseason. I’ve made and strengthened friendships over a shared love of women’s sports. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And, like any sports fanatic, I cannot wait for the day the Valkyries bring home the championship.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>And, like any sports fanatic, I cannot wait for the day the Valkyries bring home the championship.\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "As the WNBA team approaches the playoffs, sold-out crowds at Balhalla have turned even sports skeptics into fans.",
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"title": "The Valkyries Make it Easy to Be a Women’s Sports Fan | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>It’s a Friday night in May and I’m 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 “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13977457/rikkis-first-womens-sports-bar-bay-area-open-castro-sf-valkyries\">sports bar feel\u003c/a>” in a place that doesn’t even have a television — just a projector we stow away when not in use — or enough seats in the living room for our guests.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"alignright size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/ValksFan_2000.jpg\" alt=\"smiling person with long dark hair in violet sports jersey in front of giant poster of athlete in same uniform\" class=\"wp-image-13993426\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/ValksFan_2000.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/ValksFan_2000-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/ValksFan_2000-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/ValksFan_2000-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The author poses in front of a poster of Valkyries player Veronica Burton. (Ugur Dursun)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>About a dozen friends trickle in before the 7 p.m. tip-off for the first \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/golden-state-valkyries\">Golden State Valkyries\u003c/a> game of the regular WNBA season, where the team convincingly defeats the Seattle Storm. I try my best to fill in newer fans on the team’s historic inaugural season, the players to watch, and how excited we should be to have Gabby Williams on our roster. I have become the go-to expert, despite not having touched a basketball since I was in middle school.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When the Valkyries were announced in 2023 as the WNBA’s first expansion team since 2008, I must admit, I did not have much of a reaction beyond “that’s cool.” Aside from a couple of Olympics, I had never consistently followed any sport or league. And yet, that all changed when the Valkyries came to town. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>I went to my first game at Chase Center, or “Ballhalla,” in June 2025, and was immediately hooked by the energy of the crowd, the colorway of the team, and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13980855/golden-state-valkyries-wnba-bay-area-djs-ladyryan-shellheart-chase-center\">DJs that spin certified bangers all night long\u003c/a>. Coincidentally, that was another game when the Valkyries came out on top against the Seattle Storm, which made my first Ballhalla experience all the more memorable.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00605_TV-KQED-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13980949\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00605_TV-KQED-3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00605_TV-KQED-3-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00605_TV-KQED-3-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00605_TV-KQED-3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">DJ Shellheart plays a set for the Golden State Valkyries during a game at Chase Center in San Francisco on Aug. 19, 2025. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Over the course of the team’s inaugural season, Ballhalla became known for having the toughest home crowd to play against, drawing parallels to the Warriors’ “Roaracle” 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 \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12056563/better-than-i-ever-dreamed-valkyries-fans-reflect-on-historic-first-season\">“Ballhalla is a mentality”\u003c/a> and brought their intensity to San José’s SAP Center. This season, the Valkyries will finally get to play some postseason games in Ballhalla, painting San Francisco all shades of violet.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>I describe the Valkyries fandom to my friends as “a sea of purple boarding the Muni bus.” Even during the offseason, you’ll notice people wearing Valkyries gear around the Bay Area — fans from all walks of life have embraced the team. Of course, it helps that women’s basketball isn’t 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, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13989177/monarchs-sacramento-wnba-team-history\">disbanded in 2009\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Perhaps that’s why, at a time when multiple major league men’s 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’ popularity in the Bay Area by hosting the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12095766/san-francisco-to-host-2027-wnba-all-star-game-at-chase-center\">2027 WNBA All-Star Game\u003c/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’s 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 \u003cem>this\u003c/em> is the moment to host the first WNBA All-Star Game in California — where the Los Angeles Sparks have been hooping for 30 years.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/250917-ValkyriesPlayoffs-12-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"a purple bird mascot stands at center court over Valkyries logo\" class=\"wp-image-13993417\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/250917-ValkyriesPlayoffs-12-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/250917-ValkyriesPlayoffs-12-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/250917-ValkyriesPlayoffs-12-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/250917-ValkyriesPlayoffs-12-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Golden 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. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Rooting for the Valkyries is easy, even if you aren’t 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. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There’s a relatability to their underdog narrative — we all feel like we’re being overlooked sometimes, like we could thrive if only someone knew our worth. In the Valkyries players’ 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.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/250501-ValkyriesOpenerTeamProfile-37-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"Asian woman smiles in black hoodie during press coference\" class=\"wp-image-13993418\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/250501-ValkyriesOpenerTeamProfile-37-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/250501-ValkyriesOpenerTeamProfile-37-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/250501-ValkyriesOpenerTeamProfile-37-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/250501-ValkyriesOpenerTeamProfile-37-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Golden State Valkyries’ Head Coach Natalie Nakase speaks with the press during training camp held at the Sephora Performance Center in Oakland on May 1, 2025. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>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, “I would welcome a trans athlete on my team or against my team, anytime. I don’t think it’s a problem in the world. It’s just another way to kind of attack trans people.” Indeed, trans people make up \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/trans-women-in-sports-facts-over-fear\">less than 10 of 500,000 U.S. college athletes\u003c/a>, and even fewer Olympians, making the right-wing fearmongering look asinine at best.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In just over a year, the Valkyries have become a symbol of the Bay Area’s 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’ve become the point person for all-things Valkyries for my friends (and coworkers). I even spent my birthday this year in Philadelphia attending Unrivaled — a women’s basketball league co-founded by two WNBA stars to allow WNBA players to play domestically and earn income during the offseason. I’ve made and strengthened friendships over a shared love of women’s sports. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And, like any sports fanatic, I cannot wait for the day the Valkyries bring home the championship.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Here’s a sports history fact: In 2005, Wheaties released their first-ever special-edition box that featured an \u003ca href=\"https://www.alamy.com/wheaties-cereal-has-issued-a-special-edition-commemorative-package-honoring-the-wnba-championship-sacramento-monarchs-following-their-victory-over-the-connecticut-sun-in-the-wnba-finals-in-minneapolis-on-november-5-2005-thjs-package-marks-the-first-wheaties-appearance-for-the-monarchs-and-the-second-time-wheaties-has-honored-wnba-players-in-the-leagues-nine-year-history-upi-photobggeneral-mills-image258290158.html\">entire women’s professional team\u003c/a>. The famous breakfast of champions cereal had established a reputation for celebrating Olympians like Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan, but never a women’s team.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The athletes who finally made executives at General Mills change their minds? The Sacramento Monarchs of the WNBA.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Monarchs — who played basketball in the state capital as one the league’s founding eight franchises, beginning in 1997 — won a national championship that year, and later went to the White House to meet the President. To date, the Monarchs are the only professional team from Sacramento in any sport to achieve such a feat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989181\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-71779722.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1364\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13989181\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-71779722.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-71779722-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-71779722-768x524.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-71779722-1536x1048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ticha Penicheiro of the Sacramento Monarchs throws a pass under the basket against Ruth Riley of the Detroit Shock during Game 3 of the 2006 WNBA Finals September 3, 2006 at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California. \u003ccite>(Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Led by Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame stalwarts like Yolanda Griffith, Ruthie Bolton and Ticha Penicheiro, the Monarch squad became an enduring contender in a rugged, nascent era of the “W,” winning two Western Conference championships en route to their coveted league trophy. In their heyday, the Monarchs ranked among the league’s premier units, regularly amassing an army of women’s hoop supporters from across Northern California at Arco Arena. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So what happened? Today, with record-breaking attendance for the WNBA and a zealous fanbase for the Golden State Valkyries in San Francisco, why do so few people remember the Monarchs? \u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘A Sacramento that could have been’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Despite disbanding in 2009, the Monarchs’ legacy remains intact in Sacramento, if you know where to look. Step inside Golden 1 Center in downtown Sacramento — home of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, and where the NCAA hosted games for the women’s March Madness tournament this season — and you’ll find Monarchs banners hanging high from otherwise empty rafters. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since 1985, when the Kansas City Kings originally migrated to Sacramento to become the city’s first major professional sports team, the area has struggled to maintain credible franchises. They’ve even been the butt of jokes in national sports discourse (see: \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13988509/oakland-as-athletics-west-sacramento\">the “West Sacramento” Athletics\u003c/a>). The Monarchs were the city’s defiant exception, reaching the postseason nine times in 13 seasons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989184\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1306px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-592470.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1306\" height=\"2000\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13989184\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-592470.jpg 1306w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-592470-160x245.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-592470-768x1176.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-592470-1003x1536.jpg 1003w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1306px) 100vw, 1306px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ticha Penicheiro of the Sacramento Monarchs shoots a layup during the game against the Seattle Storm at Key Arena in Seattle, Washington.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Unfortunately, off the court, poor ownership decisions led to the team’s financial unraveling. After threats of moving both the Kings and Monarchs to Seattle or Anaheim, the Maloof family, who took control of both teams in 1998, decided to divest from the Monarchs and focus on their male NBA counterparts. The sudden announcement left a gaping vacuum in Northern California’s professional women’s basketball landscape for the next 15 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the Kings floundered, the Monarchs were largely forgotten by most. But not all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='news_12080384']“I’m a part of various Facebook groups for ‘Bring Back the Monarchs’ campaigns. With the rise of the WNBA and other teams, there’s a lot of chatter here to bring the team back,” says Terra Lopez, 41, a Sacramento-raised musician whose first job was as a Monarchs ball girl at age 15. “Why don’t we have them anymore? That love has never been lost. Around town, there are folks, including myself, who rock our Monarchs gear still. There’s an appreciation for the team.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Daniel Tutupoly, a 35-year-old barista, agrees. Though he first fell in love with basketball through the Kings, he quickly realized that the Monarchs were equally entertaining, not to mention more successful, than their male counterparts. Like Lopez, he has refused to completely relinquish his nostalgia for Sacramento’s bygone WNBA glory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[The loss of the Monarchs] doesn’t make any sense, in hindsight,” says Tutupoly, who grew up in Sacramento. “The owners just treated it like a business, rather than considering any of the cultural value. The team was an afterthought, always secondary to Kings. I know a bunch of people here who are excited about the Valkyries right now and drive out to games regularly. So imagine the support there would be for the Monarchs, compared to 20 years ago.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989186\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/Monarchs7.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1321\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13989186\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/Monarchs7.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/Monarchs7-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/Monarchs7-768x507.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/Monarchs7-1536x1015.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘Long Live the Monarchs,’ a special issue of Daniel Tutupoly’s Late Pass zine. \u003ccite>(Daniel Tutupoly)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In April, Tutupoly released “Long Live The Monarchs,” a DIY zine dedicated solely to memories of the Monarchs. Inspired by old school issues of \u003ci>Sports Illustrated for Kids\u003c/i>, the Monarchs-edition zine — part of a larger series,\u003ci> Latepass\u003c/i>, that Tutupoly began making during the pandemic — includes crossword puzzles, digital collages, individual player statistics, stickers and more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a physical vestige of the city’s pride and pain, of having lost despite winning, of everything that Sacramento was and no longer is.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Monarchs represent a Sacramento that could have been, in sports but also in every sector of the city,” says Lopez, who played basketball at Sacramento High School as a teenager and recalls the team’s social and cultural impact early on. “[The Monarchs] really took the time outside of their games to connect with younger players in the city. That meant everything to me and all of my teammates, and Sacramento in general. It gave us something to embody and envision in a future that we didn’t have before.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Queens on and off the court \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2020, Lopez launched \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/show/17eCJqKWuWejH6qKPFRrH5\">\u003ci>The WNBA History Club\u003c/i>,\u003c/a> a podcast that briefly looks at the league’s founding and figures (Lopez later hosted the NPR-syndicated podcast, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/1199077847/this-is-what-it-feels-like\">\u003ci>This is What It Feels Like\u003c/i>\u003c/a>, in 2023). Through it all, she has maintained a vociferous fandom of the Monarchs, having attended the inaugural Monarchs game in 1997 and participated in early community events hosted by the team in local parking lots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989183\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1495px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-55731316.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1495\" height=\"2000\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13989183\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-55731316.jpg 1495w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-55731316-160x214.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-55731316-768x1027.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-55731316-1148x1536.jpg 1148w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1495px) 100vw, 1495px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yolanda Griffith of the Sacramento Monarchs celebrates after defeating the Connecticut Sun during Game 4 to win the WNBA Finals September 20, 2005 at Arco Arena in Sacramento, California. \u003ccite>(Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In addition to the larger-than-life players, an essential element of the Monarchs’ social contributions to Sacramento came from the fans themselves, many of whom were openly queer. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As a queer person, that was my first representation of seeing queer elders,” Lopez says. “That was out in the open for me for the first time. Queer, older people experiencing joy. That was powerful for me, to know I could have that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It all ended far too quickly. In an interview on \u003ci>Knuckleheads\u003c/i>, a reputable NBA player podcast, Monarchs’ All-Star point guard Ticha Penicheiro said that “the team folded in 2009 and it was kind of out of nowhere, nobody expected it. We never really had a chance to say goodbye to our fans. To thank them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a commonly held sentiment by local fans. The way in which the team’s demise came out of thin air is particularly Sacramentan, according to Lopez, who says the city has constantly fumbled good opportunities due to a conservative mindset. Perhaps that has been the hardest part of it all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989180\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-57625648.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1463\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13989180\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-57625648.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-57625648-160x117.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-57625648-768x562.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-57625648-1536x1124.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">President George W. Bush looks at a jersey as Yolanda Griffith, from the 2005 WNBA Champion Sacramento Monarchs, presents it to him at the White House May 16, 2006 in Washington, DC. \u003ccite>(Win McNamee/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“You had to be there to really understand the significance of it for Sacramento: historically, culturally, not only in sports,” Lopez says. “From a fan’s perspective, we had so much going. There was so much more potential left. But as tragic as losing the Monarchs was, the people who were in the building at Arco [have] a love and pride for the team that is so palpable. That still exists in Sacramento, too.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As it turns out, the most important words that Monarchs fans would ever hear came from the in-game announcer during the 2005 WNBA Finals, who enthusiastically called out for the first and last time in Sacramento’s tormented sporting existence: “Rejoice, capital city, rejoice!”\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Here’s a sports history fact: In 2005, Wheaties released their first-ever special-edition box that featured an \u003ca href=\"https://www.alamy.com/wheaties-cereal-has-issued-a-special-edition-commemorative-package-honoring-the-wnba-championship-sacramento-monarchs-following-their-victory-over-the-connecticut-sun-in-the-wnba-finals-in-minneapolis-on-november-5-2005-thjs-package-marks-the-first-wheaties-appearance-for-the-monarchs-and-the-second-time-wheaties-has-honored-wnba-players-in-the-leagues-nine-year-history-upi-photobggeneral-mills-image258290158.html\">entire women’s professional team\u003c/a>. The famous breakfast of champions cereal had established a reputation for celebrating Olympians like Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan, but never a women’s team.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The athletes who finally made executives at General Mills change their minds? The Sacramento Monarchs of the WNBA.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Monarchs — who played basketball in the state capital as one the league’s founding eight franchises, beginning in 1997 — won a national championship that year, and later went to the White House to meet the President. To date, the Monarchs are the only professional team from Sacramento in any sport to achieve such a feat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989181\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-71779722.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1364\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13989181\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-71779722.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-71779722-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-71779722-768x524.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-71779722-1536x1048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ticha Penicheiro of the Sacramento Monarchs throws a pass under the basket against Ruth Riley of the Detroit Shock during Game 3 of the 2006 WNBA Finals September 3, 2006 at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California. \u003ccite>(Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Led by Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame stalwarts like Yolanda Griffith, Ruthie Bolton and Ticha Penicheiro, the Monarch squad became an enduring contender in a rugged, nascent era of the “W,” winning two Western Conference championships en route to their coveted league trophy. In their heyday, the Monarchs ranked among the league’s premier units, regularly amassing an army of women’s hoop supporters from across Northern California at Arco Arena. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So what happened? Today, with record-breaking attendance for the WNBA and a zealous fanbase for the Golden State Valkyries in San Francisco, why do so few people remember the Monarchs? \u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘A Sacramento that could have been’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Despite disbanding in 2009, the Monarchs’ legacy remains intact in Sacramento, if you know where to look. Step inside Golden 1 Center in downtown Sacramento — home of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, and where the NCAA hosted games for the women’s March Madness tournament this season — and you’ll find Monarchs banners hanging high from otherwise empty rafters. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since 1985, when the Kansas City Kings originally migrated to Sacramento to become the city’s first major professional sports team, the area has struggled to maintain credible franchises. They’ve even been the butt of jokes in national sports discourse (see: \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13988509/oakland-as-athletics-west-sacramento\">the “West Sacramento” Athletics\u003c/a>). The Monarchs were the city’s defiant exception, reaching the postseason nine times in 13 seasons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989184\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1306px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-592470.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1306\" height=\"2000\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13989184\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-592470.jpg 1306w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-592470-160x245.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-592470-768x1176.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-592470-1003x1536.jpg 1003w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1306px) 100vw, 1306px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ticha Penicheiro of the Sacramento Monarchs shoots a layup during the game against the Seattle Storm at Key Arena in Seattle, Washington.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Unfortunately, off the court, poor ownership decisions led to the team’s financial unraveling. After threats of moving both the Kings and Monarchs to Seattle or Anaheim, the Maloof family, who took control of both teams in 1998, decided to divest from the Monarchs and focus on their male NBA counterparts. The sudden announcement left a gaping vacuum in Northern California’s professional women’s basketball landscape for the next 15 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the Kings floundered, the Monarchs were largely forgotten by most. But not all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“I’m a part of various Facebook groups for ‘Bring Back the Monarchs’ campaigns. With the rise of the WNBA and other teams, there’s a lot of chatter here to bring the team back,” says Terra Lopez, 41, a Sacramento-raised musician whose first job was as a Monarchs ball girl at age 15. “Why don’t we have them anymore? That love has never been lost. Around town, there are folks, including myself, who rock our Monarchs gear still. There’s an appreciation for the team.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Daniel Tutupoly, a 35-year-old barista, agrees. Though he first fell in love with basketball through the Kings, he quickly realized that the Monarchs were equally entertaining, not to mention more successful, than their male counterparts. Like Lopez, he has refused to completely relinquish his nostalgia for Sacramento’s bygone WNBA glory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[The loss of the Monarchs] doesn’t make any sense, in hindsight,” says Tutupoly, who grew up in Sacramento. “The owners just treated it like a business, rather than considering any of the cultural value. The team was an afterthought, always secondary to Kings. I know a bunch of people here who are excited about the Valkyries right now and drive out to games regularly. So imagine the support there would be for the Monarchs, compared to 20 years ago.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989186\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/Monarchs7.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1321\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13989186\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/Monarchs7.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/Monarchs7-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/Monarchs7-768x507.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/Monarchs7-1536x1015.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘Long Live the Monarchs,’ a special issue of Daniel Tutupoly’s Late Pass zine. \u003ccite>(Daniel Tutupoly)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In April, Tutupoly released “Long Live The Monarchs,” a DIY zine dedicated solely to memories of the Monarchs. Inspired by old school issues of \u003ci>Sports Illustrated for Kids\u003c/i>, the Monarchs-edition zine — part of a larger series,\u003ci> Latepass\u003c/i>, that Tutupoly began making during the pandemic — includes crossword puzzles, digital collages, individual player statistics, stickers and more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a physical vestige of the city’s pride and pain, of having lost despite winning, of everything that Sacramento was and no longer is.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Monarchs represent a Sacramento that could have been, in sports but also in every sector of the city,” says Lopez, who played basketball at Sacramento High School as a teenager and recalls the team’s social and cultural impact early on. “[The Monarchs] really took the time outside of their games to connect with younger players in the city. That meant everything to me and all of my teammates, and Sacramento in general. It gave us something to embody and envision in a future that we didn’t have before.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Queens on and off the court \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2020, Lopez launched \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/show/17eCJqKWuWejH6qKPFRrH5\">\u003ci>The WNBA History Club\u003c/i>,\u003c/a> a podcast that briefly looks at the league’s founding and figures (Lopez later hosted the NPR-syndicated podcast, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/1199077847/this-is-what-it-feels-like\">\u003ci>This is What It Feels Like\u003c/i>\u003c/a>, in 2023). Through it all, she has maintained a vociferous fandom of the Monarchs, having attended the inaugural Monarchs game in 1997 and participated in early community events hosted by the team in local parking lots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989183\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1495px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-55731316.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1495\" height=\"2000\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13989183\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-55731316.jpg 1495w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-55731316-160x214.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-55731316-768x1027.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-55731316-1148x1536.jpg 1148w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1495px) 100vw, 1495px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yolanda Griffith of the Sacramento Monarchs celebrates after defeating the Connecticut Sun during Game 4 to win the WNBA Finals September 20, 2005 at Arco Arena in Sacramento, California. \u003ccite>(Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In addition to the larger-than-life players, an essential element of the Monarchs’ social contributions to Sacramento came from the fans themselves, many of whom were openly queer. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As a queer person, that was my first representation of seeing queer elders,” Lopez says. “That was out in the open for me for the first time. Queer, older people experiencing joy. That was powerful for me, to know I could have that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It all ended far too quickly. In an interview on \u003ci>Knuckleheads\u003c/i>, a reputable NBA player podcast, Monarchs’ All-Star point guard Ticha Penicheiro said that “the team folded in 2009 and it was kind of out of nowhere, nobody expected it. We never really had a chance to say goodbye to our fans. To thank them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a commonly held sentiment by local fans. The way in which the team’s demise came out of thin air is particularly Sacramentan, according to Lopez, who says the city has constantly fumbled good opportunities due to a conservative mindset. Perhaps that has been the hardest part of it all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989180\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-57625648.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1463\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13989180\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-57625648.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-57625648-160x117.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-57625648-768x562.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/GettyImages-57625648-1536x1124.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">President George W. Bush looks at a jersey as Yolanda Griffith, from the 2005 WNBA Champion Sacramento Monarchs, presents it to him at the White House May 16, 2006 in Washington, DC. \u003ccite>(Win McNamee/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“You had to be there to really understand the significance of it for Sacramento: historically, culturally, not only in sports,” Lopez says. “From a fan’s perspective, we had so much going. There was so much more potential left. But as tragic as losing the Monarchs was, the people who were in the building at Arco [have] a love and pride for the team that is so palpable. That still exists in Sacramento, too.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As it turns out, the most important words that Monarchs fans would ever hear came from the in-game announcer during the 2005 WNBA Finals, who enthusiastically called out for the first and last time in Sacramento’s tormented sporting existence: “Rejoice, capital city, rejoice!”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "golden-state-valkyries-wnba-bay-area-djs-ladyryan-shellheart-chase-center",
"title": "Meet the DJs Bringing the Pride and the Party to the Valkyries’ Ballhalla",
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"headTitle": "Meet the DJs Bringing the Pride and the Party to the Valkyries’ Ballhalla | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>On a recent August afternoon, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/golden-state-valkyries\">Golden State Valkyries\u003c/a> guard Kaitlyn Chen looks up, bends her knees and releases the ball with a flick of the wrist, sinking another 3-pointer. Down the violet-tinted court, forward Cecilia Zandalasini runs drills, crouching low as she dribbles the ball between her legs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two hours before tip-off, the Valkyries are getting ready to take on the Phoenix Mercury. To hype up the players, DJ Shellheart is behind the decks, blending Soulja Boy’s nostalgic swag rap with the sad-boy crooning of Drake and the cocky, Memphis-inflected flow of GloRilla. By the time she hits a transition into E-40’s “Yay Area,” the players are clearly feeling themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What it dooo?” Kate Martin says as she jogs by and fist-bumps Shellheart, who has one eye on her DJ controller and the other on the players, making sure they’re responding to the music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I love a good DJ,” guard Tiffany Hayes tells KQED courtside, pointing to a music note tattoo on her ankle. “I think positive frequencies are important. … The DJ in here got us rockin’ right now, gettin’ ready for the game.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In their \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12039501/wnbas-newest-team-golden-state-valkyries-kick-off-first-season\">inaugural season\u003c/a>, the Valkyries have made WNBA history, consistently selling out Chase Center and breaking the record for most wins by an expansion team.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980965\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980965\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/20250516_VALKYRIESHOMEOPENER_GC-66-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1356\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/20250516_VALKYRIESHOMEOPENER_GC-66-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/20250516_VALKYRIESHOMEOPENER_GC-66-KQED-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/20250516_VALKYRIESHOMEOPENER_GC-66-KQED-768x521.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/20250516_VALKYRIESHOMEOPENER_GC-66-KQED-1536x1041.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Golden State Valkyries guard Tiffany Hayes (15) advances towards the basket as Los Angeles Sparks guard Odyssey Sims (0) defends during the Valkyries’ home opener at Chase Center on May 16, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Along the way, they’ve cultivated an unmatched energy at “Ballhalla,” as their home arena is known. For the legions of fans packing Chase Center game after game — \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12047885/how-to-be-a-valkyries-fan-a-beginners-guide-to-bay-area-wnba-fandom\">many of them women and queer people\u003c/a> — the atmosphere rivals Oracle Arena during the Warriors’ 2010s championship run. Behind the decks, Bay Area nightlife fixtures Shellheart and LadyRyan provide the soundtrack, from warmups to the final buzzer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s 18,000 people I get to DJ in front of. It’s just motivated me so much,” Shellheart says, still visibly in disbelief that this is her life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Mainey\">mainey\u003c/a>,” she says. “I got chills.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The rise of two nightlife luminaries\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Shellheart and LadyRyan have been friends and colleagues in the Bay Area music scene for a decade, but they’ve taken different paths to Ballhalla. Shellheart, who’s been DJing since 2014, is a major figure in Bay Area hip-hop: She’s the tour DJ for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13979968/rexx-life-raj-in-rhythm-new-album\">Rexx Life Raj\u003c/a>, the Berkeley-raised rapper.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When she’s not on the road, Shellheart spins at big-name events, sharing stages with stars like DJ Jazzy Jeff and Anderson .Paak, or DJing atop the San Francisco Bay Ferry for P-Lo’s album release party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980949\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980949\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00605_TV-KQED-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00605_TV-KQED-3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00605_TV-KQED-3-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00605_TV-KQED-3-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00605_TV-KQED-3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">DJ Shellheart plays a set for the Golden State Valkyries during a game at Chase Center in San Francisco on Aug. 19, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Her day party, Good Times, is an Oakland summer staple, and her annual Green Party — celebrating her birthday — recently packed San Francisco’s Midway with hundreds of partygoers in head-to-toe forest, chartreuse and lime green outfits to see Bay Area rap heavy-hitters DaBoii and Kamaiyah.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>LadyRyan began spinning at Bay Area parties in 2006 and has become one of the most influential figures in Oakland’s LGBTQ+ scene. The party she co-founded 14 years ago, Soulovely — with its eclectic mix of hip-hop, house and multicultural sounds like dembow and dabke — continues to draw a passionate following of queer and trans people of color.[aside postID=arts_13980000 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Violet-Valkyries.jpg']Over the summer, LadyRyan got thousands dancing at festivals like Stern Grove, where she most recently opened for the Pointer Sisters, and the San Francisco Hip-Hop Festival, headlined by Digable Planets. She hosts a weekly radio show on KALW, and on Sept. 7, she’ll perform at Oakland Pride. She and her partner, Dennise Acio, also recently opened Golden Ratio, a cozy, inclusive cocktail lounge with a dance floor and giant disco ball in downtown Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Chase Center, LadyRyan and Shellheart hype the crowd during interactive T-shirt-throwing moments, timeouts and halftime. For both DJs, joining the Valkyries for their inaugural season is a career highlight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When people are there at their first game, and you catch that vibe, it makes you want to be involved in this major unison of excitement and celebration,” LadyRyan says. “You get there, and you’re like, ‘Oh my god, this is bigger than I thought it would be.’ They’re loud, and I’m loud with them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As they entered the sports world, both DJs found a supporter in the Warriors’ official DJ, D Sharp. A hip-hop veteran with the team since before their mid-2010s dynasty, D Sharp guided LadyRyan and Shellheart when they became the Valkyries’ official selectors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980968\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13980968 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250901-VALKYRIESDJS00326_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250901-VALKYRIESDJS00326_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250901-VALKYRIESDJS00326_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250901-VALKYRIESDJS00326_TV-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250901-VALKYRIESDJS00326_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">DJ LadyRyan (left) and DJ ShellHeart (right) pose for a portrait before starting their “Cut a Rug” event at the venue ForTheCulture in Oakland on Sept. 1, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Especially in the male-dominated industry where people kind of look at each other as competition,” LadyRyan says, “he’s one of those DJs that knows that there’s enough for everybody.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>D Sharp has supported LadyRyan since they met almost a decade ago while performing at a pan-African festival. “She was killing it. And I was like, ‘Go, girl, do your thing,” he says. They bonded through mutual appreciation of each other’s DJing skills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Speaking about Shellheart, D Sharp beams with pride, recalling her on the jumbotron at a Valkyries game for the first time. “They gave her a DJ spotlight and she murdered that s—,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The WNBA embraces queer culture\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Valkyries’ selection of Shellheart and LadyRyan comes as the WNBA increasingly embraces its queer players and fans. When the league debuted in 1997, it marketed a feminine, straight image; in the 2000s, when WNBA greats like Sue Wicks and Sheryl Swoopes came out, it rocked the sports world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fast-forward to 2025, LGBTQ+ players’ ability to be themselves is fueling the league’s growing mainstream popularity. During All-Star Weekend, charismatic Minnesota Lynx players Court Williams and Natisha “T” Hiedeman livestreamed off-court antics on their Twitch channel, StudBudz, to give fans unprecedented behind-the-scenes access for 72 hours.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980970\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980970\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250901-VALKYRIESDJS01816_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250901-VALKYRIESDJS01816_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250901-VALKYRIESDJS01816_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250901-VALKYRIESDJS01816_TV-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250901-VALKYRIESDJS01816_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">DJ LadyRyan plays her set as a friend chats with her at the “Cut a Rug” event at the venue ForTheCulture in Oakland on Sept. 1, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>They went viral, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6507411/2025/07/22/stud-budz-studbudz-courtney-williams-natisha-hiedeman-wnba-twitch/\">\u003cem>The New York Times\u003c/em> called them a “sensation.”\u003c/a> During the same weekend, the Dallas Wings’ No. 1 overall draft pick Paige Bueckers hard-launched her relationship with University of Connecticut player Azzi Fudd, adding to a growing list of WNBA couples.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shellheart was at the center of the All-Star Weekend, hanging with the players at the celebrations and afterparties. She’d DJed NBA All-Star parties before, but the W felt different. “Just seeing all the beautiful women, all the athletic women — being around women that are wealthy, you know?” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Shellheart, this is it,” she remembers telling herself. “This is where you belong.”[aside postID=arts_13977457 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0326-fave.jpg']For LadyRyan, DJing on such a massive platform that centers women comes with a sense of pride. Her sets feature amped-up anthems like Beyoncé’s “My House” and Doechii’s “Nissan Altima.” “It just feels comfortable and really empowering,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Chase Center during Valkyries games, it’s common to see Pride flags, fashion-forward queer friend groups and couples on dates. But LadyRyan warns that openness comes with backlash: a contingent of incel-ish MNBA fans routinely post sexist and homophobic comments on social media. In the past month, three men were arrested for throwing sex toys onto the court during WNBA games.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we weren’t discriminated against to begin with, we wouldn’t have to be proud about it, you know? We’re just not past it,” LadyRyan says. “As much as people wanna say everything’s fine, we still have an administration that is working against our existence.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seeing LadyRyan and DJ Shellheart in the DJ booth is especially meaningful to fans like Vanessa Hernandez, the co-founder of Valqueeries, an LGBTQ+ Valkyries fan club that organizes meet-ups and events at games and bars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980951\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980951\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00749_TV-KQED-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00749_TV-KQED-3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00749_TV-KQED-3-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00749_TV-KQED-3-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00749_TV-KQED-3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">DJ Shellheart plays a set for the Golden State Valkyries during a game at Chase Center in San Francisco on Aug. 19, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“As the Valkyries are still figuring out their identity, I hope in the future they still continue to lean on LadyRyan and Shellheart because they’re huge influences in the Bay Area, especially in the DJ community,” she says. “In the queer community at large, these people are so essential to us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Chase Center, the Valkyries’ fandom transcends gender identity, sexual orientation, race and age. Shellheart knows that by bringing their skills, she and LadyRyan are inspiring the next generation of fans, no matter their background.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At her second-ever game spinning for the Valkyries, a young boy approached her for an autograph. “I was, like, ‘Oh, s—, nice,’” she says. “You just don’t know who you’re motivating.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>On a recent August afternoon, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/golden-state-valkyries\">Golden State Valkyries\u003c/a> guard Kaitlyn Chen looks up, bends her knees and releases the ball with a flick of the wrist, sinking another 3-pointer. Down the violet-tinted court, forward Cecilia Zandalasini runs drills, crouching low as she dribbles the ball between her legs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two hours before tip-off, the Valkyries are getting ready to take on the Phoenix Mercury. To hype up the players, DJ Shellheart is behind the decks, blending Soulja Boy’s nostalgic swag rap with the sad-boy crooning of Drake and the cocky, Memphis-inflected flow of GloRilla. By the time she hits a transition into E-40’s “Yay Area,” the players are clearly feeling themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What it dooo?” Kate Martin says as she jogs by and fist-bumps Shellheart, who has one eye on her DJ controller and the other on the players, making sure they’re responding to the music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I love a good DJ,” guard Tiffany Hayes tells KQED courtside, pointing to a music note tattoo on her ankle. “I think positive frequencies are important. … The DJ in here got us rockin’ right now, gettin’ ready for the game.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In their \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12039501/wnbas-newest-team-golden-state-valkyries-kick-off-first-season\">inaugural season\u003c/a>, the Valkyries have made WNBA history, consistently selling out Chase Center and breaking the record for most wins by an expansion team.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980965\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980965\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/20250516_VALKYRIESHOMEOPENER_GC-66-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1356\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/20250516_VALKYRIESHOMEOPENER_GC-66-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/20250516_VALKYRIESHOMEOPENER_GC-66-KQED-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/20250516_VALKYRIESHOMEOPENER_GC-66-KQED-768x521.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/20250516_VALKYRIESHOMEOPENER_GC-66-KQED-1536x1041.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Golden State Valkyries guard Tiffany Hayes (15) advances towards the basket as Los Angeles Sparks guard Odyssey Sims (0) defends during the Valkyries’ home opener at Chase Center on May 16, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Along the way, they’ve cultivated an unmatched energy at “Ballhalla,” as their home arena is known. For the legions of fans packing Chase Center game after game — \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12047885/how-to-be-a-valkyries-fan-a-beginners-guide-to-bay-area-wnba-fandom\">many of them women and queer people\u003c/a> — the atmosphere rivals Oracle Arena during the Warriors’ 2010s championship run. Behind the decks, Bay Area nightlife fixtures Shellheart and LadyRyan provide the soundtrack, from warmups to the final buzzer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s 18,000 people I get to DJ in front of. It’s just motivated me so much,” Shellheart says, still visibly in disbelief that this is her life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Mainey\">mainey\u003c/a>,” she says. “I got chills.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The rise of two nightlife luminaries\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Shellheart and LadyRyan have been friends and colleagues in the Bay Area music scene for a decade, but they’ve taken different paths to Ballhalla. Shellheart, who’s been DJing since 2014, is a major figure in Bay Area hip-hop: She’s the tour DJ for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13979968/rexx-life-raj-in-rhythm-new-album\">Rexx Life Raj\u003c/a>, the Berkeley-raised rapper.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When she’s not on the road, Shellheart spins at big-name events, sharing stages with stars like DJ Jazzy Jeff and Anderson .Paak, or DJing atop the San Francisco Bay Ferry for P-Lo’s album release party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980949\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980949\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00605_TV-KQED-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00605_TV-KQED-3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00605_TV-KQED-3-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00605_TV-KQED-3-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00605_TV-KQED-3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">DJ Shellheart plays a set for the Golden State Valkyries during a game at Chase Center in San Francisco on Aug. 19, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Her day party, Good Times, is an Oakland summer staple, and her annual Green Party — celebrating her birthday — recently packed San Francisco’s Midway with hundreds of partygoers in head-to-toe forest, chartreuse and lime green outfits to see Bay Area rap heavy-hitters DaBoii and Kamaiyah.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>LadyRyan began spinning at Bay Area parties in 2006 and has become one of the most influential figures in Oakland’s LGBTQ+ scene. The party she co-founded 14 years ago, Soulovely — with its eclectic mix of hip-hop, house and multicultural sounds like dembow and dabke — continues to draw a passionate following of queer and trans people of color.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Over the summer, LadyRyan got thousands dancing at festivals like Stern Grove, where she most recently opened for the Pointer Sisters, and the San Francisco Hip-Hop Festival, headlined by Digable Planets. She hosts a weekly radio show on KALW, and on Sept. 7, she’ll perform at Oakland Pride. She and her partner, Dennise Acio, also recently opened Golden Ratio, a cozy, inclusive cocktail lounge with a dance floor and giant disco ball in downtown Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Chase Center, LadyRyan and Shellheart hype the crowd during interactive T-shirt-throwing moments, timeouts and halftime. For both DJs, joining the Valkyries for their inaugural season is a career highlight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When people are there at their first game, and you catch that vibe, it makes you want to be involved in this major unison of excitement and celebration,” LadyRyan says. “You get there, and you’re like, ‘Oh my god, this is bigger than I thought it would be.’ They’re loud, and I’m loud with them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As they entered the sports world, both DJs found a supporter in the Warriors’ official DJ, D Sharp. A hip-hop veteran with the team since before their mid-2010s dynasty, D Sharp guided LadyRyan and Shellheart when they became the Valkyries’ official selectors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980968\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13980968 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250901-VALKYRIESDJS00326_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250901-VALKYRIESDJS00326_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250901-VALKYRIESDJS00326_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250901-VALKYRIESDJS00326_TV-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250901-VALKYRIESDJS00326_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">DJ LadyRyan (left) and DJ ShellHeart (right) pose for a portrait before starting their “Cut a Rug” event at the venue ForTheCulture in Oakland on Sept. 1, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Especially in the male-dominated industry where people kind of look at each other as competition,” LadyRyan says, “he’s one of those DJs that knows that there’s enough for everybody.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>D Sharp has supported LadyRyan since they met almost a decade ago while performing at a pan-African festival. “She was killing it. And I was like, ‘Go, girl, do your thing,” he says. They bonded through mutual appreciation of each other’s DJing skills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Speaking about Shellheart, D Sharp beams with pride, recalling her on the jumbotron at a Valkyries game for the first time. “They gave her a DJ spotlight and she murdered that s—,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The WNBA embraces queer culture\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Valkyries’ selection of Shellheart and LadyRyan comes as the WNBA increasingly embraces its queer players and fans. When the league debuted in 1997, it marketed a feminine, straight image; in the 2000s, when WNBA greats like Sue Wicks and Sheryl Swoopes came out, it rocked the sports world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fast-forward to 2025, LGBTQ+ players’ ability to be themselves is fueling the league’s growing mainstream popularity. During All-Star Weekend, charismatic Minnesota Lynx players Court Williams and Natisha “T” Hiedeman livestreamed off-court antics on their Twitch channel, StudBudz, to give fans unprecedented behind-the-scenes access for 72 hours.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980970\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980970\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250901-VALKYRIESDJS01816_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250901-VALKYRIESDJS01816_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250901-VALKYRIESDJS01816_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250901-VALKYRIESDJS01816_TV-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250901-VALKYRIESDJS01816_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">DJ LadyRyan plays her set as a friend chats with her at the “Cut a Rug” event at the venue ForTheCulture in Oakland on Sept. 1, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>They went viral, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6507411/2025/07/22/stud-budz-studbudz-courtney-williams-natisha-hiedeman-wnba-twitch/\">\u003cem>The New York Times\u003c/em> called them a “sensation.”\u003c/a> During the same weekend, the Dallas Wings’ No. 1 overall draft pick Paige Bueckers hard-launched her relationship with University of Connecticut player Azzi Fudd, adding to a growing list of WNBA couples.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shellheart was at the center of the All-Star Weekend, hanging with the players at the celebrations and afterparties. She’d DJed NBA All-Star parties before, but the W felt different. “Just seeing all the beautiful women, all the athletic women — being around women that are wealthy, you know?” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Shellheart, this is it,” she remembers telling herself. “This is where you belong.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>For LadyRyan, DJing on such a massive platform that centers women comes with a sense of pride. Her sets feature amped-up anthems like Beyoncé’s “My House” and Doechii’s “Nissan Altima.” “It just feels comfortable and really empowering,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Chase Center during Valkyries games, it’s common to see Pride flags, fashion-forward queer friend groups and couples on dates. But LadyRyan warns that openness comes with backlash: a contingent of incel-ish MNBA fans routinely post sexist and homophobic comments on social media. In the past month, three men were arrested for throwing sex toys onto the court during WNBA games.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we weren’t discriminated against to begin with, we wouldn’t have to be proud about it, you know? We’re just not past it,” LadyRyan says. “As much as people wanna say everything’s fine, we still have an administration that is working against our existence.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seeing LadyRyan and DJ Shellheart in the DJ booth is especially meaningful to fans like Vanessa Hernandez, the co-founder of Valqueeries, an LGBTQ+ Valkyries fan club that organizes meet-ups and events at games and bars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980951\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980951\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00749_TV-KQED-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00749_TV-KQED-3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00749_TV-KQED-3-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00749_TV-KQED-3-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/250819-VALKYRIESDJS_00749_TV-KQED-3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">DJ Shellheart plays a set for the Golden State Valkyries during a game at Chase Center in San Francisco on Aug. 19, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“As the Valkyries are still figuring out their identity, I hope in the future they still continue to lean on LadyRyan and Shellheart because they’re huge influences in the Bay Area, especially in the DJ community,” she says. “In the queer community at large, these people are so essential to us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Chase Center, the Valkyries’ fandom transcends gender identity, sexual orientation, race and age. Shellheart knows that by bringing their skills, she and LadyRyan are inspiring the next generation of fans, no matter their background.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At her second-ever game spinning for the Valkyries, a young boy approached her for an autograph. “I was, like, ‘Oh, s—, nice,’” she says. “You just don’t know who you’re motivating.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>She’s a purple raven. She does handsprings and shakes her booty. She hangs out with the fans. But the thing people seem most excited about when it comes to Violet, the new \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/golden-state-valkyries\">Golden State Valkyries\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/105906/10-terrifying-sports-mascots-to-get-you-in-the-mood-for-halloween\">mascot\u003c/a>, is that she’s wearing glasses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vi, as she’s also known, made her debut during Monday’s halftime show between the Valkyries and the Connecticut Sun, doing this.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/HoopHerSpeaks/status/1955257970540826751\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The online fawning began immediately.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This fan (\u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@84hoopscrew\">@84hoopscrew\u003c/a> on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/tiktok\">TikTok\u003c/a>) quickly lapsed into giggles at the first sight of Violet, and just kept saying the word “cute.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@84hoopscrew/video/7537531957564001591\" data-video-id=\"7537531957564001591\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@84hoopscrew\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@84hoopscrew?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@84hoopscrew\u003c/a> “Violet you’re turning Violet” (name that movie) Thoughts on the new @Valkyries mascot? 🐣🐦⬛💜 \u003ca title=\"wnba\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/wnba?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#wnba\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"goldenstatevalkyries\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/goldenstatevalkyries?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#goldenstatevalkyries\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - 84 HOOPS Crew\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7537532046529284878?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – 84 HOOPS Crew\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>[tiktok]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Valkyries fan named Tan (\u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@failedviner\">@failedviner\u003c/a> on TikTok) processed his feelings in a video posted on Tuesday — and they mostly had to do with eyeglass representation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m excited as a glasses wearer,” he says. “I never considered the possibility of a mascot of a basketball team just wearing glasses — and prescription glasses at that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So many times, you’ll see the glow-ups and it starts out with the quote-unquote ugly version wearing glasses and then the glowed-up version has no glasses and I just want to see more glow-ups where you keep the glasses,” he continues. “I want to see a fully confident person in their glasses more often.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@failedviner/video/7537761233290661151\" data-video-id=\"7537761233290661151\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@failedviner\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@failedviner?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@failedviner\u003c/a> thank you @Violet @Valkyries \u003ca title=\"sports\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/sports?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#sports\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"wnba\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/wnba?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#wnba\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"nba\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/nba?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#nba\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"basketball\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/basketball?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#basketball\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - Tan | YT: failedviner\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7537761246557244191?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – Tan | YT: failedviner\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>[tiktok]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The explanation for Vi’s eyewear doesn’t entirely make sense, with her official \u003ca href=\"https://valkyries.wnba.com/news/golden-state-valkyries-introduce-violet-20250811\">Valkyries online introduction\u003c/a> stating: “Because she is near-sighted, she sports gold glasses helping her achieve the excellent eyesight that ravens are known to have.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s the one raven who doesn’t come already equipped with excellent eyesight, you guys! Just go with it!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another TikTok-er named Em Woods (@emwoodscasual) is confused by just how much she instantly fell for Violet. “Maybe it’s the glasses,” she says in her video, seemingly perplexed. “Why do I love this bird?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@emwoodscasual/video/7537734705970449695\" data-video-id=\"7537734705970449695\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@emwoodscasual\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@emwoodscasual?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@emwoodscasual\u003c/a> Getting a mascot right is really difficult. I think the @Valkyries nailed it with Violet \u003ca title=\"wnba\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/wnba?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#wnba\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"goldenstatevalkyries\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/goldenstatevalkyries?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#goldenstatevalkyries\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"valkyries\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/valkyries?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#valkyries\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"wnbabasketball\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/wnbabasketball?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#wnbabasketball\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"womenssports\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/womenssports?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#womenssports\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - Em Woods\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7537734733405440798?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – Em Woods\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>[tiktok]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The emergence of Violet came five days after a giant gold-speckled egg appeared outside the Chase Center, which the Valkyries claimed to be “baffled” by.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At first sight, many X users took the opportunity to point out that Ellie, the elephant mascot for New York Liberty, finally has some competition in the sassiness stakes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/justwsports/status/1955311715815657698\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Looks like there’s a new East Coast-West Coast rivalry brewing…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/_GamerBabeJess/status/1955347643955286035\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>She’s a purple raven. She does handsprings and shakes her booty. She hangs out with the fans. But the thing people seem most excited about when it comes to Violet, the new \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/golden-state-valkyries\">Golden State Valkyries\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/105906/10-terrifying-sports-mascots-to-get-you-in-the-mood-for-halloween\">mascot\u003c/a>, is that she’s wearing glasses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vi, as she’s also known, made her debut during Monday’s halftime show between the Valkyries and the Connecticut Sun, doing this.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>The online fawning began immediately.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This fan (\u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@84hoopscrew\">@84hoopscrew\u003c/a> on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/tiktok\">TikTok\u003c/a>) quickly lapsed into giggles at the first sight of Violet, and just kept saying the word “cute.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@84hoopscrew/video/7537531957564001591\" data-video-id=\"7537531957564001591\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@84hoopscrew\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@84hoopscrew?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@84hoopscrew\u003c/a> “Violet you’re turning Violet” (name that movie) Thoughts on the new @Valkyries mascot? 🐣🐦⬛💜 \u003ca title=\"wnba\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/wnba?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#wnba\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"goldenstatevalkyries\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/goldenstatevalkyries?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#goldenstatevalkyries\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - 84 HOOPS Crew\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7537532046529284878?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – 84 HOOPS Crew\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m excited as a glasses wearer,” he says. “I never considered the possibility of a mascot of a basketball team just wearing glasses — and prescription glasses at that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So many times, you’ll see the glow-ups and it starts out with the quote-unquote ugly version wearing glasses and then the glowed-up version has no glasses and I just want to see more glow-ups where you keep the glasses,” he continues. “I want to see a fully confident person in their glasses more often.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@failedviner/video/7537761233290661151\" data-video-id=\"7537761233290661151\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@failedviner\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@failedviner?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@failedviner\u003c/a> thank you @Violet @Valkyries \u003ca title=\"sports\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/sports?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#sports\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"wnba\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/wnba?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#wnba\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"nba\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/nba?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#nba\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"basketball\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/basketball?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#basketball\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - Tan | YT: failedviner\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7537761246557244191?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – Tan | YT: failedviner\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The explanation for Vi’s eyewear doesn’t entirely make sense, with her official \u003ca href=\"https://valkyries.wnba.com/news/golden-state-valkyries-introduce-violet-20250811\">Valkyries online introduction\u003c/a> stating: “Because she is near-sighted, she sports gold glasses helping her achieve the excellent eyesight that ravens are known to have.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s the one raven who doesn’t come already equipped with excellent eyesight, you guys! Just go with it!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another TikTok-er named Em Woods (@emwoodscasual) is confused by just how much she instantly fell for Violet. “Maybe it’s the glasses,” she says in her video, seemingly perplexed. “Why do I love this bird?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@emwoodscasual/video/7537734705970449695\" data-video-id=\"7537734705970449695\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@emwoodscasual\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@emwoodscasual?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@emwoodscasual\u003c/a> Getting a mascot right is really difficult. I think the @Valkyries nailed it with Violet \u003ca title=\"wnba\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/wnba?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#wnba\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"goldenstatevalkyries\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/goldenstatevalkyries?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#goldenstatevalkyries\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"valkyries\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/valkyries?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#valkyries\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"wnbabasketball\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/wnbabasketball?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#wnbabasketball\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"womenssports\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/womenssports?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#womenssports\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - Em Woods\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7537734733405440798?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – Em Woods\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Fans of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/golden-state-valkyries\">Golden State Valkyries\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11980330/a-new-pro-womens-soccer-team-kicks-off-in-the-bay\">Bay FC\u003c/a> and the broader world of women’s athletics finally have a place in San Francisco to call their own. \u003ca href=\"https://www.rikkisbarsf.com/\">Rikki’s\u003c/a>, the Bay Area’s first bar dedicated to women’s sports, will \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/article/san-francisco-s-first-women-s-sports-bar-20365801.php\">open in the Castro on June 11\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sports bar is a passion project for co-founders Danielle Thoe and Sara Yergovich, who met as teammates on the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfspikes.com/\">San Francisco Spikes\u003c/a> LGBTQ+ club soccer team. As consulting general manager Vinny Eng tells KQED, the bar’s origin story is that for years, Thoe and Yergovich had trouble finding \u003ci>any\u003c/i> bar or restaurant in the Bay Area that would play women’s sporting events on their TVs (to say nothing of actually playing them with the volume on).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, the two decided to create the kind of place that they themselves had been dreaming of. In all, Rikki’s has 14 television screens that will be tuned into any professional or collegiate women’s sports game being broadcast on cable or a streaming platform — including, whenever possible, every Valkyries and Bay FC game.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The thing that was really important was to create a welcoming, inclusive space for everyone who celebrates women’s sports,” Eng says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977460\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977460\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0263-fave.jpg\" alt=\"Bar counter with TV screens behind it showing a soccer game.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1327\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0263-fave.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0263-fave-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0263-fave-768x510.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0263-fave-1536x1019.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The bar features 14 TV screens that will show a variety of professional and collegiate women’s sports. \u003ccite>(Molly DeCoudreaux, courtesy of Rikki's)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It also aims to be a place where sports fans can snag some delicious food and drink while they watch the game.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b2b2b;font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13956931,arts_13960599']\u003c/span>\u003c/span>Initial reports on Rikki’s have mostly, for good reason, focused on the women’s sports aspect and the community aspect — but this being the Bay Area, it should come as no surprise that the food and drinks won’t just be an afterthought. Eng’s involvement was an early clue: Before his current day job as a \u003ca href=\"https://www.openhousesf.org/interim-announcement\">community organizer\u003c/a>, he’d \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/wine/article/Tartine-s-Vinny-Eng-was-just-named-sommelier-of-13732597.php\">made a name for himself\u003c/a> as a wine director and GM in the Tartine family of restaurants, and was even named one of \u003ci>Food & Wine\u003c/i>’s \u003ca href=\"https://web.archive.org/web/20190404210827/https://www.foodandwine.com/wine/sommeliers-year-2019\">sommeliers of the year\u003c/a> in 2019.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, the food, too, will be ambitious in its own way. The menu was created by consulting chef JD Voss, who’s now based in Chicago but came to prominence locally as the owner of the well-loved SoMa wine pub Jamber, which closed at the start of the pandemic. Longtime patrons of that restaurant will find versions of its signature dishes at Rikki’s: a smash burger, a beet burger, a bacon-wrapped buffalo meatloaf. Most everything will be “scratch-made,” down to the hand-cut fries and house-made sauces and aiolis, Eng says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977461\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977461\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0136-fave.jpg\" alt=\"Fried chicken sandwich with purple cabbage topping on a plate. \" width=\"2000\" height=\"1325\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0136-fave.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0136-fave-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0136-fave-768x509.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0136-fave-1536x1018.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The food menu includes several sandwiches, like the fried chicken sandwich pictured here. \u003ccite>(Molly DeCoudreaux, courtesy of Rikki's)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Christian “Suzu” Suzuki’s cocktail menu pays homage to some of the most iconic moments and figures in women’s sports history, with specialty drinks like “The Queen Is King” (a fizzy cocktail inspired by Billie Jean King), the “Forget the Rest” (a green-chili-spiked drink that nods to a famous Kristi Yamaguchi quote) and the Miss Gaviota (a mezcal cocktail inspired by Mexico’s first trans lucha libre wrestler).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The idea is for everything to be delicious and discerning, Eng says, but not fussy. It is still bar food at the end of the day, and the bar is meant to be a place where you can also get a cold Bud Light if that’s what you want to drink while you’re rooting on the home team.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977462\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977462\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0048-fave.jpg\" alt=\"Overhead view of three appetizers: sugar snap peas, carrots, and croquettes.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1453\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0048-fave.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0048-fave-160x116.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0048-fave-768x558.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0048-fave-1536x1116.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An array of appetizers courtesy of consulting chef JD Voss. \u003ccite>(Molly DeCoudreaux, courtesy of Rikki's)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In addition to offering a fairly comprehensive slate of live televised women’s sports, the bar will also sometimes air certain iconic games from women’s sports history — say, old Billie Jean King matches or U.S. women’s Olympic or World Cup matches from the Brandi Chastain era.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than anything, though, the bar’s focus will be on providing a safe and joyous gathering place for all fans of women’s sports — and especially for the LGBTQ+ community. Eng notes that the bar is named after Rikki Streicher, who ran a pair of legendary queer and lesbian bars in San Francisco until she passed away in the early ’90s. “They were places where women felt seen, celebrated, uplifted, and also could turn to when they were feeling unsafe,” Eng says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977463\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1708px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977463\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0278-fave-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Two women pose for a portrait. The woman on the left wears a black T-shirt that reads, "Everyone watches women's sports."\" width=\"1708\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0278-fave-scaled.jpg 1708w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0278-fave-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0278-fave-768x1151.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0278-fave-1025x1536.jpg 1025w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0278-fave-1366x2048.jpg 1366w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1708px) 100vw, 1708px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Co-owners Yergovich and Thoe. \u003ccite>(Molly DeCoudreaux, courtesy of Rikki's)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And at a moment now, he says, when so many members of the community are being told that they aren’t welcome, Rikki’s hopes to provide that kind of safe space once again in the Castro. “Finding affinity is so important right now,” Eng says. “Showing up for each other is how people are getting through.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/rikkisbarsf\">\u003ci>Rikki’s\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> will be open Tuesday through Sunday 3:30–10 p.m., except Fridays and Saturdays when it will stay open until midnight. The bar is located at 2223 Market St. in San Francisco’s Castro District.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Fans of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/golden-state-valkyries\">Golden State Valkyries\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11980330/a-new-pro-womens-soccer-team-kicks-off-in-the-bay\">Bay FC\u003c/a> and the broader world of women’s athletics finally have a place in San Francisco to call their own. \u003ca href=\"https://www.rikkisbarsf.com/\">Rikki’s\u003c/a>, the Bay Area’s first bar dedicated to women’s sports, will \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/article/san-francisco-s-first-women-s-sports-bar-20365801.php\">open in the Castro on June 11\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sports bar is a passion project for co-founders Danielle Thoe and Sara Yergovich, who met as teammates on the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfspikes.com/\">San Francisco Spikes\u003c/a> LGBTQ+ club soccer team. As consulting general manager Vinny Eng tells KQED, the bar’s origin story is that for years, Thoe and Yergovich had trouble finding \u003ci>any\u003c/i> bar or restaurant in the Bay Area that would play women’s sporting events on their TVs (to say nothing of actually playing them with the volume on).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, the two decided to create the kind of place that they themselves had been dreaming of. In all, Rikki’s has 14 television screens that will be tuned into any professional or collegiate women’s sports game being broadcast on cable or a streaming platform — including, whenever possible, every Valkyries and Bay FC game.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The thing that was really important was to create a welcoming, inclusive space for everyone who celebrates women’s sports,” Eng says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977460\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977460\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0263-fave.jpg\" alt=\"Bar counter with TV screens behind it showing a soccer game.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1327\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0263-fave.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0263-fave-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0263-fave-768x510.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0263-fave-1536x1019.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The bar features 14 TV screens that will show a variety of professional and collegiate women’s sports. \u003ccite>(Molly DeCoudreaux, courtesy of Rikki's)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It also aims to be a place where sports fans can snag some delicious food and drink while they watch the game.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/span>Initial reports on Rikki’s have mostly, for good reason, focused on the women’s sports aspect and the community aspect — but this being the Bay Area, it should come as no surprise that the food and drinks won’t just be an afterthought. Eng’s involvement was an early clue: Before his current day job as a \u003ca href=\"https://www.openhousesf.org/interim-announcement\">community organizer\u003c/a>, he’d \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/wine/article/Tartine-s-Vinny-Eng-was-just-named-sommelier-of-13732597.php\">made a name for himself\u003c/a> as a wine director and GM in the Tartine family of restaurants, and was even named one of \u003ci>Food & Wine\u003c/i>’s \u003ca href=\"https://web.archive.org/web/20190404210827/https://www.foodandwine.com/wine/sommeliers-year-2019\">sommeliers of the year\u003c/a> in 2019.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, the food, too, will be ambitious in its own way. The menu was created by consulting chef JD Voss, who’s now based in Chicago but came to prominence locally as the owner of the well-loved SoMa wine pub Jamber, which closed at the start of the pandemic. Longtime patrons of that restaurant will find versions of its signature dishes at Rikki’s: a smash burger, a beet burger, a bacon-wrapped buffalo meatloaf. Most everything will be “scratch-made,” down to the hand-cut fries and house-made sauces and aiolis, Eng says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977461\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977461\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0136-fave.jpg\" alt=\"Fried chicken sandwich with purple cabbage topping on a plate. \" width=\"2000\" height=\"1325\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0136-fave.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0136-fave-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0136-fave-768x509.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0136-fave-1536x1018.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The food menu includes several sandwiches, like the fried chicken sandwich pictured here. \u003ccite>(Molly DeCoudreaux, courtesy of Rikki's)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Christian “Suzu” Suzuki’s cocktail menu pays homage to some of the most iconic moments and figures in women’s sports history, with specialty drinks like “The Queen Is King” (a fizzy cocktail inspired by Billie Jean King), the “Forget the Rest” (a green-chili-spiked drink that nods to a famous Kristi Yamaguchi quote) and the Miss Gaviota (a mezcal cocktail inspired by Mexico’s first trans lucha libre wrestler).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The idea is for everything to be delicious and discerning, Eng says, but not fussy. It is still bar food at the end of the day, and the bar is meant to be a place where you can also get a cold Bud Light if that’s what you want to drink while you’re rooting on the home team.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977462\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977462\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0048-fave.jpg\" alt=\"Overhead view of three appetizers: sugar snap peas, carrots, and croquettes.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1453\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0048-fave.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0048-fave-160x116.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0048-fave-768x558.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0048-fave-1536x1116.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An array of appetizers courtesy of consulting chef JD Voss. \u003ccite>(Molly DeCoudreaux, courtesy of Rikki's)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In addition to offering a fairly comprehensive slate of live televised women’s sports, the bar will also sometimes air certain iconic games from women’s sports history — say, old Billie Jean King matches or U.S. women’s Olympic or World Cup matches from the Brandi Chastain era.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than anything, though, the bar’s focus will be on providing a safe and joyous gathering place for all fans of women’s sports — and especially for the LGBTQ+ community. Eng notes that the bar is named after Rikki Streicher, who ran a pair of legendary queer and lesbian bars in San Francisco until she passed away in the early ’90s. “They were places where women felt seen, celebrated, uplifted, and also could turn to when they were feeling unsafe,” Eng says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977463\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1708px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977463\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0278-fave-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Two women pose for a portrait. The woman on the left wears a black T-shirt that reads, "Everyone watches women's sports."\" width=\"1708\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0278-fave-scaled.jpg 1708w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0278-fave-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0278-fave-768x1151.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0278-fave-1025x1536.jpg 1025w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/RIKKIS-0278-fave-1366x2048.jpg 1366w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1708px) 100vw, 1708px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Co-owners Yergovich and Thoe. \u003ccite>(Molly DeCoudreaux, courtesy of Rikki's)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And at a moment now, he says, when so many members of the community are being told that they aren’t welcome, Rikki’s hopes to provide that kind of safe space once again in the Castro. “Finding affinity is so important right now,” Eng says. “Showing up for each other is how people are getting through.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/rikkisbarsf\">\u003ci>Rikki’s\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> will be open Tuesday through Sunday 3:30–10 p.m., except Fridays and Saturdays when it will stay open until midnight. The bar is located at 2223 Market St. in San Francisco’s Castro District.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Know how you can tell if women’s sports has finally broken into the American mainstream consciousness? When your 82-year-old grandmother-in-law tells you, “They’ve been showing a lot more girls basketball on television these days.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With viewership for women’s basketball at an all-time high, \u003cem>Power of the Dream\u003c/em> — Amazon’s new documentary directed by Dawn Porter that highlights the WNBA’s fight for equity and representation — arrives at an apex moment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postid='arts_13957833']\u003c/span>Offering a candid look into the off-court activism of WNBAers during the COVID-ravaged 2020 season — as players mourn the loss of Black lives due to police violence and get involved in the Georgia senatorial race — the film isn’t what you’d expect from a basketball joint. There’s virtually no dribbling in it, and very little action about the sport itself. (Perhaps that’s communicated in the title, which is more poetic than it is athletic).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postid='news_11986061']\u003c/span>And yet, this isn’t a polished look at the league’s imperviousness. It’s about the ugliness of pro sports in America: the struggles that even the world’s most successful, elite basketballers face, their battles to impact greater social change, and their sacrifices to improve conditions for marginalized communities, all while juggling their own needs that aren’t being met as a unionized workforce of 144 employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With a mix of news clips, original documentary footage, and interviews with notable sports journalists and WNBA icons (including Angel McCoughtry, Layshia Clarendon, and Elizabeth Williams), the film shows multiple dimensions of player-led change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rather than glorifying the WNBA’s public image (the film shows when the league misstepped by fining players for their social actions), the camera zooms in on players in genuine states of vulnerability and uncertainty — if not utter frustration — as they coordinate to stand up for their core beliefs. It helps that two of the featured athletes, Nneka Ogwumike and Sue Bird, widely considered to be among the best women hoopers of their generations, are behind the film’s production. The documentary shines brightest in moments that feel intimate: windows of genuine urgency and (figurative) locker room access that can be gained when the players themselves have a hand in the making.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/3000x1688+0+0/resize/1200/quality/75/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff9%2F2d%2F0cec4df04f95a4e71957bbae31a2%2Fpotd-2024-fg-00070503-still018-3000.jpg\" alt=\"Layshia Clarendon in Power of the Dream.\">\u003cfigcaption>Layshia Clarendon in \u003cem>Power of the Dream.\u003c/em> \u003ccite> (Prime Video | Amazon MGM Studios)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Ultimately, the film asks: What responsibilities do modern professional athletes have? How do those responsibilities evolve, shift and deepen when layered with issues of gender, race and economics? And how do high-achieving humans respond when their dreams are challenged and interrupted?\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>A legacy of WNBActivism\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Power of the Dream\u003c/em> constructs a framework beginning with the opening scene, when a group key players prepare to discuss their political views on live television while wearing black T-shirts that read “ARREST THE COPS WHO KILLED BREONNA TAYLOR” and “SAY HER NAME.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postid='arts_13956931']\u003c/span>From the outset, the film provides a microhistory on the legacy of social advocacy among WNBA players — despite being fined, targeted and criticized by league officials, media and fans. In 2016, the Minnesota Lynx drew ire from the Minnesota Police Department after members of the team spoke out against the killing of Philando Castile in nearby Falcon Heights. The team’s franchise player and four-time WNBA champion, Maya Moore, became the face of the player-led protests. The boldness of the Lynx — who, at the time, were the WNBA’s version of Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls of the ‘90s — initiated a chain of protests in the sports world culminating with Colin Kaepernick’s infamous NFL kneel later that year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moore would eventually take her fight for justice further, stepping away from basketball in 2019 to dedicate time towards freeing a wrongly convicted man (Jonathan Irons, her now-husband), and eventually retiring to fully pursue social justice causes. Moore’s story isn’t brand new, but, through the insights of journalists like Jemele Hill, the documentary argues that the magnitude of Moore’s actions haven’t been fully grasped yet. Her work is positioned as a reflection of the WNBA’s larger ethos of compassion in ways that are rarely seen in other major leagues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/sportsiren/status/1298883521327566854\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moore isn’t the only WNBA luminary who has risked her own neck to do the right thing. Much of the documentary focuses on the coordinated efforts of the league’s players at the height of the 2020 “Wubble.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With the murders of Breonna Taylor and, months later, George Floyd, the league’s biggest stars take a unified stand. With televised games scheduled to air, they collectively refuse to compete as usual, instead gathering on the lawn of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. — where their shortened, quarantined season took place — to hold a vigil. Every single WNBA player was in attendance. It’s among the most moving things you’ll ever see in professional sports. Imagine any other league pulling that off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Holly Rowe, an ESPN reporter who was assigned to cover the WNBA’s COVID season, says in the documentary that those WNBA players embodied the most politicized group of pro athletes in U.S. history. These weren’t just individuals sharing comments on social media, or outliers spewing out-of-context, post-game press conference soundbites — it was a tactical, organized assemblage of the league’s entirety speaking out as one. And they sustained it throughout the whole season.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Labor politics in the “W”\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>For the uninitiated WNBA newbie, \u003cem>Power of the Dream \u003c/em>is an introduction to the players’ collaborative capacity for change. Indeed, the WNBA offers a case study in labor organizing that arguably no other major sports league in America can.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ogwumike — a league stalwart, Stanford alumni and former No. 1 pick in the 2012 WNBA Draft — helmed the Women’s National Basketball Players Association during pivotal contract negotiations in 2019 and 2020.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/3000x1688+0+0/resize/1200/quality/75/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F84%2F1b%2F837c76334846b66a009e79796113%2Fpotd-2024-fg-00011210-still002-3000.jpg\" alt=\"Nneka Ogwumike featured in Power of the Dream.\">\u003cfigcaption>Nneka Ogwumike featured in \u003cem>Power of the Dream.\u003c/em> \u003ccite> (Prime Video | Amazon MGM Studios)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The filmmakers show Ogwumike and her colleagues strategizing, and then, like a fastbreak on the open court, coming up big. They \u003ca href=\"https://www.wnba.com/news/wnba-and-wnbpa-reach-tentative-agreement-on-groundbreaking-eight-year-collective-bargaining-agreement\">secured an unprecedented 53% salary increase and paid maternity leave\u003c/a>, among the largest, most progressive overhauls in U.S. sports bargaining history. (There’s still a long way to go: The WNBA’s top-paid stars will make around $250,000 in salaries this year; just a fraction of the NBA’s \u003cem>minimum \u003c/em>pay of over $1 million.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The WNBA players’ victory, though a subplot in the film, serves a narrative function: it lays the groundwork for legitimizing the WNBA’s relentless efforts for improving conditions on multiple fronts — forming one spear tip in their multi-pronged demand for change that eventually reaches Congress.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>The Georgia U.S. Senate race\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The WNBA’s Atlanta Dream franchise — named after Dr. Martin Luther King’s timeless monologue — is the climactic end point of the documentary (see: \u003cem>Power of the \u003c/em>Dream\u003cem>)\u003c/em>. Though the filmmakers choose to explore league-wide issues plaguing athletes on various teams leading up to that moment, the overall exposition ultimately funnels towards Atlanta.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amid the social turmoil of the 2020 season, Atlanta’s then-majority-owner, Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler (who declined to be interviewed for the documentary) became a major source of disruption for the players when she discredited the WNBA’s women for their support of Black Lives Matter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the 2020 elections unfolded in Georgia, Loeffler was favored to win in a crucial Senate race as the incumbent candidate. WNBA players, once again, made history: they openly denounced Loeffler by strategically rallying around her opponent, Rev. Raphael Warnock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/3000x1688+0+0/resize/1200/quality/75/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F6f%2F20%2F0209a93847d99a01a79d7ae9af69%2Fpotd-2024-fg-00041411-still011-3000.jpg\" alt=\"Sue Bird featured in the new documentary Power of the Dream.\">\u003cfigcaption>Sue Bird featured in the new documentary \u003cem>Power of the Dream.\u003c/em> \u003ccite> (Prime Video | Amazon MGM Studios)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Warnock held only 9% of voter support before the WNBA’s involvement, and the documentary positions the players’ support as crucial to his win. In the film, Warnock (the only male subject) largely credits the WNBA for his unprecedented victory, becoming Georgia’s first-ever Black senator. He remains in office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite her monumental success on and off the court, Bird still grapples with the larger question of pro athletes’ responsibilities, and whether or not they should even exert their social and political influence at such a high level. It’s not lost on her, and her peers, that in order to make change for their communities, they must also do the work. For these players, that meant talking with family members and figures like Michelle Obama, getting involved with organizations like “Say Her Name,” doing research on candidates, and actually meeting Warnock before they officially endorsed him. Those duties are certainly not listed on the job description for a WNBA player — or any top-level athlete, for that matter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s never just been about basketball for us,” Bird says on camera. And for this particular group of hoopers, how could it be?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003ci>Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, \u003c/i>\u003c/b>\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\">\u003cb>\u003ci>visit NPR\u003c/i>\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cb>\u003ci>.\u003c/i>\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Know how you can tell if women’s sports has finally broken into the American mainstream consciousness? When your 82-year-old grandmother-in-law tells you, “They’ve been showing a lot more girls basketball on television these days.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With viewership for women’s basketball at an all-time high, \u003cem>Power of the Dream\u003c/em> — Amazon’s new documentary directed by Dawn Porter that highlights the WNBA’s fight for equity and representation — arrives at an apex moment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>Offering a candid look into the off-court activism of WNBAers during the COVID-ravaged 2020 season — as players mourn the loss of Black lives due to police violence and get involved in the Georgia senatorial race — the film isn’t what you’d expect from a basketball joint. There’s virtually no dribbling in it, and very little action about the sport itself. (Perhaps that’s communicated in the title, which is more poetic than it is athletic).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>And yet, this isn’t a polished look at the league’s imperviousness. It’s about the ugliness of pro sports in America: the struggles that even the world’s most successful, elite basketballers face, their battles to impact greater social change, and their sacrifices to improve conditions for marginalized communities, all while juggling their own needs that aren’t being met as a unionized workforce of 144 employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With a mix of news clips, original documentary footage, and interviews with notable sports journalists and WNBA icons (including Angel McCoughtry, Layshia Clarendon, and Elizabeth Williams), the film shows multiple dimensions of player-led change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rather than glorifying the WNBA’s public image (the film shows when the league misstepped by fining players for their social actions), the camera zooms in on players in genuine states of vulnerability and uncertainty — if not utter frustration — as they coordinate to stand up for their core beliefs. It helps that two of the featured athletes, Nneka Ogwumike and Sue Bird, widely considered to be among the best women hoopers of their generations, are behind the film’s production. The documentary shines brightest in moments that feel intimate: windows of genuine urgency and (figurative) locker room access that can be gained when the players themselves have a hand in the making.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/3000x1688+0+0/resize/1200/quality/75/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff9%2F2d%2F0cec4df04f95a4e71957bbae31a2%2Fpotd-2024-fg-00070503-still018-3000.jpg\" alt=\"Layshia Clarendon in Power of the Dream.\">\u003cfigcaption>Layshia Clarendon in \u003cem>Power of the Dream.\u003c/em> \u003ccite> (Prime Video | Amazon MGM Studios)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Ultimately, the film asks: What responsibilities do modern professional athletes have? How do those responsibilities evolve, shift and deepen when layered with issues of gender, race and economics? And how do high-achieving humans respond when their dreams are challenged and interrupted?\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>A legacy of WNBActivism\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Power of the Dream\u003c/em> constructs a framework beginning with the opening scene, when a group key players prepare to discuss their political views on live television while wearing black T-shirts that read “ARREST THE COPS WHO KILLED BREONNA TAYLOR” and “SAY HER NAME.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>From the outset, the film provides a microhistory on the legacy of social advocacy among WNBA players — despite being fined, targeted and criticized by league officials, media and fans. In 2016, the Minnesota Lynx drew ire from the Minnesota Police Department after members of the team spoke out against the killing of Philando Castile in nearby Falcon Heights. The team’s franchise player and four-time WNBA champion, Maya Moore, became the face of the player-led protests. The boldness of the Lynx — who, at the time, were the WNBA’s version of Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls of the ‘90s — initiated a chain of protests in the sports world culminating with Colin Kaepernick’s infamous NFL kneel later that year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moore would eventually take her fight for justice further, stepping away from basketball in 2019 to dedicate time towards freeing a wrongly convicted man (Jonathan Irons, her now-husband), and eventually retiring to fully pursue social justice causes. Moore’s story isn’t brand new, but, through the insights of journalists like Jemele Hill, the documentary argues that the magnitude of Moore’s actions haven’t been fully grasped yet. Her work is positioned as a reflection of the WNBA’s larger ethos of compassion in ways that are rarely seen in other major leagues.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Moore isn’t the only WNBA luminary who has risked her own neck to do the right thing. Much of the documentary focuses on the coordinated efforts of the league’s players at the height of the 2020 “Wubble.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With the murders of Breonna Taylor and, months later, George Floyd, the league’s biggest stars take a unified stand. With televised games scheduled to air, they collectively refuse to compete as usual, instead gathering on the lawn of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. — where their shortened, quarantined season took place — to hold a vigil. Every single WNBA player was in attendance. It’s among the most moving things you’ll ever see in professional sports. Imagine any other league pulling that off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Holly Rowe, an ESPN reporter who was assigned to cover the WNBA’s COVID season, says in the documentary that those WNBA players embodied the most politicized group of pro athletes in U.S. history. These weren’t just individuals sharing comments on social media, or outliers spewing out-of-context, post-game press conference soundbites — it was a tactical, organized assemblage of the league’s entirety speaking out as one. And they sustained it throughout the whole season.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Labor politics in the “W”\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>For the uninitiated WNBA newbie, \u003cem>Power of the Dream \u003c/em>is an introduction to the players’ collaborative capacity for change. Indeed, the WNBA offers a case study in labor organizing that arguably no other major sports league in America can.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ogwumike — a league stalwart, Stanford alumni and former No. 1 pick in the 2012 WNBA Draft — helmed the Women’s National Basketball Players Association during pivotal contract negotiations in 2019 and 2020.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/3000x1688+0+0/resize/1200/quality/75/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F84%2F1b%2F837c76334846b66a009e79796113%2Fpotd-2024-fg-00011210-still002-3000.jpg\" alt=\"Nneka Ogwumike featured in Power of the Dream.\">\u003cfigcaption>Nneka Ogwumike featured in \u003cem>Power of the Dream.\u003c/em> \u003ccite> (Prime Video | Amazon MGM Studios)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The filmmakers show Ogwumike and her colleagues strategizing, and then, like a fastbreak on the open court, coming up big. They \u003ca href=\"https://www.wnba.com/news/wnba-and-wnbpa-reach-tentative-agreement-on-groundbreaking-eight-year-collective-bargaining-agreement\">secured an unprecedented 53% salary increase and paid maternity leave\u003c/a>, among the largest, most progressive overhauls in U.S. sports bargaining history. (There’s still a long way to go: The WNBA’s top-paid stars will make around $250,000 in salaries this year; just a fraction of the NBA’s \u003cem>minimum \u003c/em>pay of over $1 million.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The WNBA players’ victory, though a subplot in the film, serves a narrative function: it lays the groundwork for legitimizing the WNBA’s relentless efforts for improving conditions on multiple fronts — forming one spear tip in their multi-pronged demand for change that eventually reaches Congress.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>The Georgia U.S. Senate race\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The WNBA’s Atlanta Dream franchise — named after Dr. Martin Luther King’s timeless monologue — is the climactic end point of the documentary (see: \u003cem>Power of the \u003c/em>Dream\u003cem>)\u003c/em>. Though the filmmakers choose to explore league-wide issues plaguing athletes on various teams leading up to that moment, the overall exposition ultimately funnels towards Atlanta.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amid the social turmoil of the 2020 season, Atlanta’s then-majority-owner, Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler (who declined to be interviewed for the documentary) became a major source of disruption for the players when she discredited the WNBA’s women for their support of Black Lives Matter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the 2020 elections unfolded in Georgia, Loeffler was favored to win in a crucial Senate race as the incumbent candidate. WNBA players, once again, made history: they openly denounced Loeffler by strategically rallying around her opponent, Rev. Raphael Warnock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/3000x1688+0+0/resize/1200/quality/75/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F6f%2F20%2F0209a93847d99a01a79d7ae9af69%2Fpotd-2024-fg-00041411-still011-3000.jpg\" alt=\"Sue Bird featured in the new documentary Power of the Dream.\">\u003cfigcaption>Sue Bird featured in the new documentary \u003cem>Power of the Dream.\u003c/em> \u003ccite> (Prime Video | Amazon MGM Studios)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Warnock held only 9% of voter support before the WNBA’s involvement, and the documentary positions the players’ support as crucial to his win. In the film, Warnock (the only male subject) largely credits the WNBA for his unprecedented victory, becoming Georgia’s first-ever Black senator. He remains in office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite her monumental success on and off the court, Bird still grapples with the larger question of pro athletes’ responsibilities, and whether or not they should even exert their social and political influence at such a high level. It’s not lost on her, and her peers, that in order to make change for their communities, they must also do the work. For these players, that meant talking with family members and figures like Michelle Obama, getting involved with organizations like “Say Her Name,” doing research on candidates, and actually meeting Warnock before they officially endorsed him. Those duties are certainly not listed on the job description for a WNBA player — or any top-level athlete, for that matter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s never just been about basketball for us,” Bird says on camera. And for this particular group of hoopers, how could it be?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Since the WNBA announced that the Bay Area would receive an expansion team last October, fans have clamored with excitement and speculation around what the team’s name would be. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">On Tuesday, May 14, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the franchise’s identity was finally revealed\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">: the Golden State Valkyries. One team representative described it as being “Warriors-inspired… \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/wnbagoldenstate/status/1790392163722772790\">a host of women warriors\u003c/a>.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Fittingly, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/itszenakeita/status/1790439492991529276\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the team will be hosting a block party in front of Chase Center\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> on Saturday, May 18, from 2-6 p.m. with appearances from Kehlani, P-Lo and E-40. Team merchandise will already be available for the earliest diehard fans, as the Valkyries aren’t slated to play their first game until the 2025 season.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/wnbagoldenstate/status/1790376816840146993\">The Valkyries logo is minimalistic and clean\u003c/a>, with a violet crest anchored by the central tower of the Bay Bridge that flows into a winged V-shaped symbol. The bridge’s cables double as reinforced wings spreading outwards, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.wnba.com/news/gs-valkyries-2025-identity\">the five spaces on each side represent a total of ten players facing off\u003c/a> against each other.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/wnbagoldenstate/status/1790376816840146993\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The announcement was made at 5:30 a.m., later accompanied by \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/wnbagoldenstate/status/1790360287725674855\">a Kehlani-narrated video\u003c/a> — in which a camera flies over the Bay and into San Francisco’s streets with the sound of wings flapping in the background, alluding to the flying Nordic warrior that is the Valkyries’ namesake.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“This is where legends take flight,” says Kehlani, the Oakland singer whose early mixtapes \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cloud 19 \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">and \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You Should Be Here\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> evoke a similar vibe of high-flying, pink-clouded views overlooking San Francisco’s mighty skyline. “Our story has yet to be written,” she tells fans.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Despite its recent growth in popularity, the WNBA hasn’t added a team since 2008, so anticipation has been high. (Team owner Joe Lacob previously invested in women’s basketball with the short-lived San Jose Lasers in 1996, as part of the now-defunct American Basketball League.) \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Responses to the Valkyries’ name and logo seem to be overwhelmingly positive up to this point. Warriors players \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://x.com/warriors/status/1790426521858937324\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kevon Looney and Trayce Jackson-Davis were shown repping their counterparts’ shirts\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in the Chase Center, where the Valkyries will also play. Warriors head coach \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/warriors/status/1790472288066011379\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Steve Kerr has also been spotted in the Dub’s practice facility rocking a Vs crewneck\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/wnbagoldenstate/status/1790360287725674855\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/wnbagoldenstate/status/1790402511368769841\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">San Francisco-born Olympian and freestyle skier Eileen Gu\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> shared a message for fans. \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/Caltrain/status/1790396659945587148\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Caltrain tweeted\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> about going to Chase Center to watch the new team. Robin Roberts, who covered \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/RobinRoberts/status/1790350094463803854\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the WNBA’s inaugural season in 1997\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, held up a\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/wnbagoldenstate/status/1790382211965075680\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> a Valkyries sweatshirt\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> on \u003cem>Good Morning America\u003c/em> after interviewing team president Jess Smith. And \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://wnbastore.nba.com/golden-state-valkyries/unisex-golden-state-valkyries-playa-society-eclipse-black-premium-t-shirt/t-24961574+p-574467284513361+z-9-1951373147\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Playa Society, a niche, independent clothing brand focused on the WNBA\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that has earned respect within the women’s basketball community, has already released their debut Valkyries merch. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The few criticisms have come from a handful of fans who’ve pointed out that the Valkyries’ purple and black color scheme is weirdly reminiscent of the nearby Sacramento Kings, rather than the blue and yellow of the Golden State Warriors. Another commenter also made a reference to the Dallas Wings, an WNBA team that features a mythological winged logo that appears to be Pegasus. But the detractors are far and few between.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The only remaining element is to add worthy players to their roster and watch them ball out on the hardwood. With one of the highest picks in the upcoming draft to be awarded to Golden State, many fans are hoping that \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/paigebueckers/?hl=en\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">University of Connecticut star Paige Bueckers\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> will land in the Bay Area. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As soon the Valkyries announced their name and logo, the young WNBA prospect declared that Golden State has \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/paigebueckers1/status/1790410960886227152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1790410960886227152%7Ctwgr%5E627c58dfb108a876f19909da1dc59f6ae19728c0%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nbcsportsbayarea.com%2Fwnba%2Fpaige-bueckers-valkyries-design-color%2F1734864%2F\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the “prettiest colorway ever.”\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/itszenakeita/status/1790439492991529276\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Golden State Valkyries will host a block party at Chase Center’s Thrive City\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> on Saturday, May 18, from 2-6 p.m. Free admission.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Since the WNBA announced that the Bay Area would receive an expansion team last October, fans have clamored with excitement and speculation around what the team’s name would be. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">On Tuesday, May 14, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the franchise’s identity was finally revealed\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">: the Golden State Valkyries. One team representative described it as being “Warriors-inspired… \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/wnbagoldenstate/status/1790392163722772790\">a host of women warriors\u003c/a>.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Fittingly, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/itszenakeita/status/1790439492991529276\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the team will be hosting a block party in front of Chase Center\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> on Saturday, May 18, from 2-6 p.m. with appearances from Kehlani, P-Lo and E-40. Team merchandise will already be available for the earliest diehard fans, as the Valkyries aren’t slated to play their first game until the 2025 season.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/wnbagoldenstate/status/1790376816840146993\">The Valkyries logo is minimalistic and clean\u003c/a>, with a violet crest anchored by the central tower of the Bay Bridge that flows into a winged V-shaped symbol. The bridge’s cables double as reinforced wings spreading outwards, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.wnba.com/news/gs-valkyries-2025-identity\">the five spaces on each side represent a total of ten players facing off\u003c/a> against each other.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/wnbagoldenstate/status/1790402511368769841\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">San Francisco-born Olympian and freestyle skier Eileen Gu\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> shared a message for fans. \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/Caltrain/status/1790396659945587148\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Caltrain tweeted\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> about going to Chase Center to watch the new team. Robin Roberts, who covered \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/RobinRoberts/status/1790350094463803854\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the WNBA’s inaugural season in 1997\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, held up a\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/wnbagoldenstate/status/1790382211965075680\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> a Valkyries sweatshirt\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> on \u003cem>Good Morning America\u003c/em> after interviewing team president Jess Smith. And \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://wnbastore.nba.com/golden-state-valkyries/unisex-golden-state-valkyries-playa-society-eclipse-black-premium-t-shirt/t-24961574+p-574467284513361+z-9-1951373147\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Playa Society, a niche, independent clothing brand focused on the WNBA\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that has earned respect within the women’s basketball community, has already released their debut Valkyries merch. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The few criticisms have come from a handful of fans who’ve pointed out that the Valkyries’ purple and black color scheme is weirdly reminiscent of the nearby Sacramento Kings, rather than the blue and yellow of the Golden State Warriors. Another commenter also made a reference to the Dallas Wings, an WNBA team that features a mythological winged logo that appears to be Pegasus. But the detractors are far and few between.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The only remaining element is to add worthy players to their roster and watch them ball out on the hardwood. With one of the highest picks in the upcoming draft to be awarded to Golden State, many fans are hoping that \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/paigebueckers/?hl=en\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">University of Connecticut star Paige Bueckers\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> will land in the Bay Area. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As soon the Valkyries announced their name and logo, the young WNBA prospect declared that Golden State has \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/paigebueckers1/status/1790410960886227152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1790410960886227152%7Ctwgr%5E627c58dfb108a876f19909da1dc59f6ae19728c0%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nbcsportsbayarea.com%2Fwnba%2Fpaige-bueckers-valkyries-design-color%2F1734864%2F\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the “prettiest colorway ever.”\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/itszenakeita/status/1790439492991529276\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Golden State Valkyries will host a block party at Chase Center’s Thrive City\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> on Saturday, May 18, from 2-6 p.m. Free admission.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Bay-Curious-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/news/series/baycurious",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 3
},
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"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious",
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}
},
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"id": "bbc-world-service",
"title": "BBC World Service",
"info": "The day's top stories from BBC News compiled twice daily in the week, once at weekends.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9pm-10pm, TUE-FRI 1am-2am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BBC-World-Service-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
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"source": "BBC World Service"
},
"link": "/radio/program/bbc-world-service",
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"rss": "https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02nq0gn.rss"
}
},
"californiareport": {
"id": "californiareport",
"title": "The California Report",
"tagline": "California, day by day",
"info": "KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareport",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 8
},
"link": "/californiareport",
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}
},
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"id": "californiareportmagazine",
"title": "The California Report Magazine",
"tagline": "Your state, your stories",
"info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.",
"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareportmagazine",
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"order": 10
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
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},
"city-arts": {
"id": "city-arts",
"title": "City Arts & Lectures",
"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.cityarts.net/",
"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
"subscribe": {
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/City-Arts-and-Lectures-p692/",
"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
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"info": "Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and irreverent humor.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 1
},
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"id": "code-switch-life-kit",
"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"meta": {
"site": "radio",
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},
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/commonwealth-club-of-california-podcast/id976334034?mt=2",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
"link": "/forum",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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"freakonomics-radio": {
"id": "freakonomics-radio",
"title": "Freakonomics Radio",
"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
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},
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"id": "fresh-air",
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"info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.",
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"link": "/radio/program/fresh-air",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
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},
"how-i-built-this": {
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"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Masters-of-Scale-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
"subscribe": {
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/0MxSpNYZKNprFLCl7eEtyx"
}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
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