Valkyries superfans geeked up for WNBA Finals at Ballhalla

By CBS Bay Area

Fans are getting ready for the Golden State Valkyries to host the Atlanta Dream in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals at Chase Center on Saturday. 

“My name is YB Babie and I’m a Valkyries superfan! Let’s go!”   

While the Valkyries have a loyal fanbase, some new fans may just be discovering the Bay Area’s latest championship contender. 

“The Valkyries are the first team to make it to the playoffs in their inaugural season and the first team to make it all the way to the finals in their second season,” Babie said. “There was another team, I’m not going to name them because they’re not the Valks. They did it in three. Also, the Valkyries are a team that brought somebody back out of retirement. My favorite girl, Tip-Tizzle, that’s right, she came out of retirement.”

The Valks are second in the Western Conference Division, with a 32-12 record this season. Head coach Natalie Nakase won last year’s WNBA Coach of the Year. 

“The ladies needed something to look up to that were here in the Bay,” Babie said. We had the [former WNBA team Sacramento] Monarchs, but it’s not the same. The Bay Area runs different. The Bay Area moves different.” 

“I am inside the stadium, in the arena, hyping up the game, hyping up the fans,” Ryan LadyRyan, co-owner of the Golden Ratio in Oakland, said. “It’s the most amazing experience to be in Balhalla.”

“The excitement is palpable. It is electric. Hard to put into words but the by area goes so hard for their team, their community, so it’s really no surprise that the Valkyries has been able to acquire such an amazing fan base. That’s how the Bay Area is,” she added.  

“The future, they can look at these women and say, ‘I can do it too, mommy,'” Babie said.