The Golden State Valkyries turned their home opener into another loud reminder that Chase Center has become a problem for visiting teams. They beat the Phoenix Mercury 95-79 on Sunday evening, overcoming a 7-0 opening run by Phoenix to move to 2-0.
The game felt familiar to anyone who spent last season in the building. Fans again filled the arena with the kind of noise that had every Valkyries home game selling out with 18,000 plus in the seats a year ago, when the expansion team finished 23-21 and reached the playoffs. On Sunday, the energy never dipped even after the Mercury jumped ahead early.
That atmosphere is part of the draw for people who keep coming back. Joseph Lewis, selling beer from a cart on the 200-level concourse, said he has worked at Chase Center since the Warriors moved in there seven seasons ago. He grinned as fans streamed past and said they were fired up. The vibe, he said, was different: more upbeat, happier, more fired up, with good energy.
Lewis was not alone in that view. Leighann rode Muni across town with friends Sasha and Lila to be there, and said the atmosphere at Valkyries games was unlike any professional sports anywhere. The crowd, she said, is into every single play but without the aggression and machismo she associates with many men’s games. Going to these games, she said, is much more joyful.
Ana, a season-ticket holder who drives down from Napa, said the appeal goes beyond the basketball. “It’s the best vibe, to come to a game,” she said. “Everyone is kind, everyone is nice to each other. There’s no place like Ballhalla.”
For Jhen Peer, the return of top-level women’s basketball in the Bay Area carried another kind of weight. The San Leandro native dyed her hair purple for the game and said she grew up when the Sacramento Monarchs were still around. She said she had been waiting 25 years for a team closer to home.
That sense of arrival is why the Valkyries’ second season matters beyond one win in October. A brand-new WNBA team last season now enters a year in which the question is no longer whether the market will show up, but whether the team can keep matching the crowd’s expectations on the floor. Sunday’s result suggested the answer remains yes.
