‘Ballhalla is Going to Show Up’: Valkyries Fans Rally for WNBA Finals Game 7
The Golden State Valkyries could win it all on their home court tonight, with Ballhalla right by their side.
The team’s fervent violet fanbase — masquerading as “Boohalla” for Halloween — was out in numbers on Saturday, backing the team in the first-ever Game 7 of the WNBA Finals at the Chase Center. The Valks are toe-to-toe with the Atlanta Dream after a tight series that will give either franchise its first championship.
A tense Game 6 left Valks fans outside of the Chase Center with mixed emotions about the match-up between the two teams. Both are “hungry for it,” fan Janet Lau said at Thrive City, outside of the arena.
“I think Ballhalla is gonna show up and show out just as much as the girls are going to on that court,” fan Dilara Retenu said. Retenue is dedicated to the Valks, traveling back-and-forth from the East Coast to the West Coast for the finals series.
Since the team was announced, Golden State has enthralled thousands in the Bay Area and beyond, becoming the most valuable team in the league, according to Sportico. The Valkyries rise came at the same time as a surge of interest in women’s basketball as a whole — Wednesday’s Game 6 drew in one of the highest viewership counts — 1.5 million viewers — in WNBA Finals history.
“The energy on both sides has been incredible, and the amount of attention it’s brought to both the sport and the teams has been incredible,” Retenue said.
If the Valkyries bring home a title tonight, they would be the fastest WNBA expansion franchise to do so — and the fastest expansion team across professional sports to win the championship since 1967.
The Valkyries made history in their inaugural season by being the first WNBA expansion team to reach the playoffs, but were swept in the first round.
Their dedicated fans, however, think this year is the year.
“It’s something that we’re all desiring,” fan Haley Dove said. “It’s that collective hope that we need right now, and that’s why I think it’s so powerful.”
For Gail Whang from Oakland, who was at Thrive Center ahead of the game and was born on Halloween, she said all she wanted for her birthday is a Valkyries championship.
“I’m here supporting women, supporting the Valks,” Whang said.