'We just really have that pride': Inside Ballhalla, a basketball heaven — SkimNews
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- Golden State Valkyries have sold out every home game in franchise history and become the first WNBA team to average more than 18,000 attendees per game; they returned to San Francisco for Game 5 of the WNBA Finals with the Atlanta Dream series tied 2-2.
- WNBA measurements during Game 1 reached 114.5 dBA on Gabby Williams’s corner three and 114.7 dBA on Kaitlyn Chen’s triple; for context, the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders says long or repeated exposure at or above 85 dBA can cause hearing loss.
- Ballhalla has made its rituals part of the show: Violet shirts were placed on every seat, cameras playfully shamed fans who skipped them, free throws brought sudden silence, and supporters stayed cheering after the Game 2 loss until the team exited.
- Jess Smith, the Valkyries’ first employee and team president, built the brand and staff from scratch and rejected what she called a “how do we make this something that doesn’t fail?” approach, opting for a big, bold experience for women’s-sports fans long underserved.
- Too Short’s “Blow the Whistle” serves as Ballhalla’s unofficial theme before, during and around games; he attended every playoff game this season and joined a giant GSV drum ritual, while LaRussell and Larry June performed at halftime of the first two Finals games.
- Golden State Warriors’ shared ownership group gave the Valkyries institutional knowledge, resources and trial-and-error experience, while the Warriors’ four NBA titles since 2015 informed unusually robust staffing not all WNBA organizations were willing or able to match.
- Allisha Gray said Ballhalla’s opposing fans stayed respectful even during runs, while Tiffany Hayes said the crowd channeled its noise into positive support rather than negativity—a contrast to recent league racial-aggression concerns.
Why it matters: Long-unserved women’s-sports fans are the clearest beneficiaries: the Valkyries became the WNBA’s first team to average above 18,000 while selling out every home game. Shared ownership with the Warriors supplied resources and know-how, and Bay Area music and rituals turned attendance into an organized community platform with partnerships, activations and merchandise.
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