‘Better Than I Ever Dreamed’: Valkyries Fans Reflect on Historic First Season

“I need a cigarette,” Gerri Bordash said as she flung open one of the many doors at San José’s SAP Center on Wednesday and walked out into the warm night air.

Like many other fans of the Golden State Valkyries, Bordash had some processing to do. Her team had just been eliminated from the first round of the WNBA playoffs, losing by a solitary point to the Minnesota Lynx, the top-seeded team in the league. On the other hand, this was the Valkyries’ inaugural season, and Bordash found a lot to be proud of.

“ They were graceful. They fought like the valiant warriors that they are. Everyone can’t win, right? But for a first-time team, they did tremendously well and we’re very proud of them,“ Bordash said. She said she had tears in her eyes when the final buzzer sounded.

The Valkyries’ 75–74 loss ended a phenomenal first season, in which they christened San Francisco’s Chase Center as “Ballhalla,” proceeded to sell out every home game and became the first WNBA expansion team to make it to the postseason in their debut season. For fans, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to welcome a WNBA team of their own to the Bay Area.

Still inside the arena after the game, Rita Garcia stood alone with her back against a column, staring blankly as others lined up to buy Valkyries jerseys at 40% off.

“One basket. We could have won by just one basket,” said Garcia, her voice faltering. “Those last couple of minutes were so heartbreaking.”

Wearing a Valkyries letterman jacket, she said she was feeling “a lot of emotions.”

“ I just feel a deep connection with the team, with the essence of Ballhalla, the other fans, the community. The community is really welcoming to everyone,” Garcia said.

Even longtime fans of the WNBA are surprised by how quickly — and how fiercely — the Bay Area embraced the Valkyries.

“ I’ve been waiting years for this and it’s been better than I ever dreamed it would be,” said Carissa Perkins of Oakland, who has followed the WNBA for six years.

In just one 44-game season, the Valkyries have built a diehard following. Deafening cheers rattled SAP Center on Wednesday night as a sell-out crowd of 18,543 — some wearing lavender-sequin jackets, others in Valkyries-themed helmets — roared during the team’s first-ever home playoff game.

“This is what it’s supposed to be like to love sports,” Perkins said.

Although a scheduling conflict prevented the team from hosting the Lynx at Chase Center, fans were determined to make SAP Center feel like theirs.

“Ballhalla is a mentality,” read one sign in the crowd.

Outside, DJs worked the block party while 11-year-old Eloise Annerau shot hoops on a temporary court.

“It’s gotten me more into basketball,” Eloise said of the team’s success. “ I started last year and I’ve gotten so much better. They’re really inspiring to me.”

Her mother, Kristen Hutchins, leaned against a barricade and watched.

“Since she started coming to Valkyries games, I’ve seen her play with more confidence and have more confidence in school and with friends,” Hutchins said. “ So sports is doing everything that I wanted it to do for her, which is to give her self-confidence and learn to be a leader.”

Ahead of the game, Caltrain rolled out a Valkyries-themed train. Purple tassels decorated the cars as staff passed out rally towels and hosted Valkyries trivia. Jason Schafer rode the train with his 8-year-old son.

“Valkyries games have every kind of person, families, food and music,” Schafer said. “It’s just the most Bay Area thing ever.”

While Valkyries fans are rabid about the team, frustration with the WNBA surfaced in the stands.

Some wore shirts reading, “Pay them what you owe them,” referring to players’ push for a larger share of league revenue in negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement to replace the one that expires Oct. 31.

“This is a huge moment,” said E Gilliam, who held up a sign that read, “Pay the players.”

“There’s been a surge in viewership. There’s been a massive surge in attendance, and the players are not seeing a bump in wages,” Gilliam said.

The Valkyries broke multiple league attendance records this year and sold out all 22 home games. In just their first year, they have become the first women’s sports team to be valued at $500 million, according to an analysis by the sports industry publication Sportico.

Yet most players on the Valkyries roster, like many across the WNBA, are on contracts that pay them less than $80,000 a year on average. The team’s highest-paid player is 13-year veteran Tiffany Hayes, who signed a one-year, $200,000 contract in February.

At the game’s end, it was difficult to tell that the Valkyries had lost amid the thunderous cheers.

Chinaka Hodge, a member of the Valkyries’ “founding guard” of inaugural season ticket holders, said the night was “incredible” as she walked down the back stairs out of the arena with her mother.

“ I remember when the WNBA came out and people said, ‘No one will ever come see women’s basketball,’” Hodge said. “ To see young boys cheering for these young women — to see people of all different sexual orientations, creeds, nationalities, races cheering for these women — was a dream of mine.”

Across the street from SAP Center, it was hard to find a seat on the 9:53 p.m. train headed toward San Francisco. Its cars were packed with fans chatting about the game, but the vibe was anything but downtrodden.

Lily Brown hung on to a rail as the train rocked its way down the tracks, with her seven-months-pregnant wife sitting nearby. The San Francisco couple were season ticket holders this year. Next year, they’re planning on investing in a good pair of earmuffs so they can bring their newborn.