The ferry was nowhere near docking before we all started screaming.
As the Golden State Valkyries and their inner circle docked at the Ferry Building Wednesday afternoon, they were met by a violet wave chanting “G-S-V,” “Go, Valks!,” and just pure screams. The coordination wasn’t on lock like it usually is at Ballhalla, but it was an amazing sight to behold.
To me, it felt like a pride celebration, winter edition. Shalom Kimble, a Valkyries fan who was decked out in a custom-made jumper, saw it the same way. Kimble, who has lived in San Francisco for 30 years, told Gazetteer SF that before the Valkyries came to town, it felt like the city was “losing the gay community,” partly because being out and queer outside the city isn’t as dangerous as it used to be.
“It's great that we can be wherever we want, we can be who we want, but then to have that resurgence of, that reminder of where we came from and who we are,” Kimble said. “And the players, the coaches, the owners really embracing the gayness and San Francisco is just beautiful, right? And I think that it brought a community together, young and old, together in a place where we can be reunited and united in a time where it can be really scary.”
Gleymi Hernandez had a front-row spot as the players stepped off the ferry. Hernandez, rocking her autographed Tiffany Hayes jersey, told Gazetteer the day was a celebration of women’s sports.
“Tip is my favorite player,” Hernandez said of Hayes. “She’s a dog. ‘Married to the floor’ as she said. And I love her because she’s a menace. Gritty. Just kind of culminates what the Valkyries are, it’s that dog mentality.”
Next to Hernandez was Allison Lee, wearing the sold-out championship T-shirt the players wore during the trophy celebration after Game 7. Lee said she waited in line for an hour after the game to snag one.
“They ran out of my size but I was like, ‘I need to get this shirt anyway,’” Lee said.
Lee had arrived at the Ferry Building about three hours before the parade started, and said she was “looking forward to seeing the players up close and being able to cheer for them, because what they did is so special and monumental to our city and for the WNBA in general.”
That sense of gratitude ran through the whole crowd. All the fans I spoke to kept coming back to the same idea, that the Valkyries did so much for this city just by being themselves, playing hard, and leading with love.
“It’s been a pride season,” Kimble said. “Even though there were a lot of naysayers and a lot of pushback, right?”
Kimble pointed to WNBA Finals MVP Gabby Williams, who said she received death threats after she came out in support of trans athletes.
“She held strong, we held strong,” Kimble said. “And as a community, even in the arena, it's just so beautiful, right? We've got little kids that are no longer on their iPads. They're like, ‘Come on, ref! Come on!’ You know what I mean? And they're just in it, and they just love it. And I think they're also seeing that being gay, having queer people in your life is just life.”
