Rough Notes Guide To Being A Golden State Valkyries Fan
What to do if you've been dropped by a stork at the doorsteps of the WNBA.
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Okay, so a confession: like 75% of what I think about is the fact that, right now in the Bay Area, there are thousands of people becoming fans of the WNBA. I guess this is happening all the time everywhere, in cities around the country, on Tik Tok, at women’s sports bars, in the clutches of mainstream news headlines. But here in the Bay, you are part of it. On game days, processions of Muni passengers, BART riders and ferry goers stream into Chase Center like a pilgrimage, and it’s as though a lavender-clad society is arriving, forming anew. You can feel it in your chest.
So what does it mean to experience transformative WNBA fandom in 2025? Who are we? Where are we going? What does it all mean? Here are my official tips for navigating the newness of being a Golden State Valkyries fan:
#1: You are being born
The other night, my friends and I were in the middle of a heated argument about the 10+ year narrative arc of Skylar Diggins’ media persona as either a renegade villain of the league or pretty poster girl beloved from her days at Notre Dame. Confronted with the hypocrisy of being a known Notre Dame hater and a Skylar Diggins fan, my friend attempted to explain her cognitive dissonance with the reasoning that she doesn’t associate Skylar with ND at all. That’s when I blurted out “Okay! Well, everyone has their own belief system! It depends on when and how you were born!”
What I meant was that my friend and I had experienced distinct entry points into WNBA fandom: years apart, at different ages, and during contrasting moments in the league’s history. And because of this, our mythologies sometimes differ, too. Like, I will always identify the time when I fell back in love with the WNBA, after years of separation since childhood, with Brittney Griner’s unprecedented coming out while getting drafted in 2013. This moment will always be, to me, most revolutionary: whereas Skylar’s positioning as feminine model of the draft that year gives her the eternal whiff of South Bend, Indiana goodie two shoes. Meanwhile, my friend met Skylar Diggins as the best dressed and kind of androgynous WNBA superstar with a huge chip on her shoulder for how the Phoenix Mercury allegedly mistreated her during her second pregnancy. And so it is; we were born differently.
The Valkyries are birthing all kinds of WNBA fans right now, and that means you’re becoming sentient beings with full-fledged belief systems. The senses of new Valkyries fans are heightened right now, more alive. You might fly involuntarily out of your seat for any Kayla Thornton three (“WHAT A DAGGER!”) or feel your belly turn over like the ocean after each Van Loo turnover. Your visceral experience of this Valkyries season will likely shape your WNBA worldview for years to come. Your visceral experience of this Valkyries season will likely shape your WNBA worldview for years to come.
And that’s sacred. But I think it’s critical to remember that there’s so much more to know. The quality of never knowing everything is pretty fundamental to the sport of women’s basketball itself, inscribed in its DNA: this is a culture whose players have been wildly overlooked, for decades and generations, long before the formation of the WNBA. Women’s basketball has a deep history of repression and disenfranchisement: the wildly popular product we consume in San Francisco is just the tip of the iceberg, as much a destination as it is a jumping off point. Which brings me to tip number two…
#2: Keep learning bro
Sometimes I forget how coverage of the WNBA comes from outside of it. As always, there are some legacy media sites whose coverage seems nearly begrudging, an unfortunate necessity. Others use the opportunity to write sensationalized, hollow headlines that really have nothing to do with the WNBA itself and contain made-up & largely racist “controversies.”
And maybe this is true of 0 Rough Notes readers, but if you are still getting your WNBA updates from USA Today notifications on your phone, you need a (very gentle and loving) immediate intervention. What we all need is to learn about the WNBA from people who love women and Black women and queer women and who appreciate the complex histories of women’s basketball. Here are a few of my fundamental recommendations:
Newsletters: No Cap Space is a ‘lil media network offers everything… hot takes, thoughtful analytics, goofy podcast banter, basketball history. Also, I’m obsessed with Andrew Haubner’s weekly column “Five Out.” Out Of Your League by Frankie de la Cretaz seriously calls out BS (like the Las Vegas Aces partnering with the ADL) and has an active discord community that’s a chat from heaven for queer women’s basketball fans. Valkyrie Nation (no s, I guess!) from Eric Apricot is high level analysis delivered with a slightly unhinged stream-of-consciousness. His “Explain One Play” series is delicious. The Next is for voracious readers who want constant updates about the WNBA like an IV stream.
Web coverage: If you pay for the San Francisco Chronicle, you can enjoy the comprehensive writings of Marisa Ingemi. Seerat Sohi for The Ringer analyzes the WNBA with rare nuance and beauty. I also listen religiously to her WNBA Show. Maitreyi Anantharaman writes with both precision and levity for Defector.
Social media: Rough Notes on Instagram, duh! More weird takes/gossip/cute outfits. There are a bunch of aggregators on Instagram that constantly churn out new content to enjoy; I follow @overtimewbb, @wnbagotgame & @brwsports. More writers & creators I love following, who make their own rad women’s basketball work across mediums: Ari Chambers, Jordan Robinson, Fitted WNBA, Snatch Magazine, Coach Jackie J & more.
A single documentary podcast: Listen to the Tested podcast by Reo Evelyth from NPR & CBC to complicate your conception of who plays women’s sports.
#3: Just make it there and back
Getting to and from Ballhalla is a battle in and of itself. If you’re having a hard time layering properly for every single micro climate on your 3-leg multi-hour commute, know that you are the true Valkyrie warrior and no one can ever take that from you. But take care of yourself on days off: sleep extra, drink water, get a massage. Pretend you’re an Olympian. And beware that chicken tenders at Chase Center contain enough salt to dehydrate you for 72 hours (as investigated by my dear friends, thank you.) Also, if you are driving: a longtime MNBA season ticket holder gave me some top secret advice — find street parking near a bar called “Connecticut Yankee,” a 15 minute walk to Chase Center & the perfect amount of time to smoke a joint. I’m just telling you what he said.
#4: This is not normal
The Valkyries have already won as many games as the last WNBA expansion team — the Atlanta Dream — did during their inaugural season in 2008. Like, holy shit. What’s the difference? Probably that Natalie Nakase is a verified genius who has masterfully crafted a fluid offense for a singular type of player: a “killer” aka someone plays with brutal effort then smiles joyfully afterwards. She’s turned a group of seemingly rag tag role players into a cohesive unit surprising enough to sharply unsettle, if not defeat, most teams in the WNBA. Anyway: it’s hella special.
#5: Know your personnel
So who are these players, assembled like a WNBA model U.N. of defensive rebounding? Here’s a 101 cheat sheet with rough notesian essential facts about all the players, so you know not only who you’re rooting for on the court, but who you’re vibing with most. Listed in numerical order by jersey number:
#0: Carla Leite. Adorably French, worst at English, and a child (21 yo), ball control seems to defy gravity. #3: Laeticia Amihere. Canadian Olympian, amazing pre-season, got cut, back during EuroBall, South Carolina national champion (yell “Go Cocks!” to her, it’s a compliment.) #5: Kayla Thornton. My team MVP, former heartthrob of Barclays now a leader on GSV, could run through a brick wall I swear. #7: Stephanie Talbot. Australian & allegedly a great shooter, hasn’t yet played much. #13: Janelle Salaün: Young & French & bursting with talent & kinda serious, can’t wait for her to crack a smile on the court, currently at EuroBasket. #14: Temi Fagbenle. Genius (went to Harvard), supermodel (vibe-wise) and so cool (British), a solid power forward currently off for EuroBasket. #15. Tiffany Hayes. Best face in the league, protect it, so scrappy she literally beat retirement.
#20: Kate Martin. Gone too viral but still a hardworking + beloved underdog, currently fostering a puppy from Rocket Dog Rescue #22: Veronica Burton. Being reborn before our eyes as Most Improved Player candidate, defense goes nuts, from Newton, MA. #23: Aerial Powers. Bursting onto the scene with delightful energy after going unsigned this season. #24: Cecilia Zandalasini. Nicknamed Ceci (“Chetch-ee”), great shooter with a light touch and a gf, seems extra romantic because she’s Italian, off for EuroBasket of course. #25: Monique Billings. Energetic forward & defensive spark & author of a wellness book, most likely to one day own an SF yoga studio. #35: Julie Van Loo. Personally nicknamed “Belgian meatball” because she’s compact and hearty, most likely to wear a Rough Notes t-shirt before a Valks game (cross your fingies) so I’ll forgive her for EuroBasket, maybe.
#6: Do not get complacent:
I got this line from my friend Tommy, who is also sometimes my editor (but not today!!) Once part of a pirate crew disrupting the professional industrial sports complex known as Deadspin (with the badass motto "Sports news without access, favor or discretion”), Tommy has beef with what he calls “anticompetitive fandom.” That’s when a fandom ceases to care about whether their team wins or loses. His warning is that this approach “fails to respect the sport as work being done by workers, athletes who do care about winning and losing.” To prevent owners (or “state-abetted monopolists” as Tommy calls them) from taking advantage of money more money the less they have to pay their workers, we as fans have to force them to care. We cannot get complacent.
I know this might feel far from where we are now. It’s just so good to be a Valkyries fan right now (the entire WNBA wants to be us, duh), and it feels like we’re part of shaping the franchise’s culture (V’s up!) There’s the relief of having a major pro sports team with East Bay ties, and the fact that the WNBA is such a more progressive alternative to the MNBA. And there’s definitely truth to all of that. But also, none of this is simply given.
The Valkyries organization, thus far, is doing a great job capturing the feeling of a mission-driven product (women’s basketball + queer + diverse + lefty Bay Area culture), but the franchise was still created with the ultimate goal of turning a profit. Being at a Valkyries game may highlight some of the best qualities about living in the Bay, but the Golden State franchise did not invent any of them. Our participation is their currency. And the more comfortable we are, the more ‘just grateful to be here,’ the less likely a corporation will pay attention to our human hopes and dreams and desires and beliefs as anything other than white noise.
If you’re a newer fan who knows the WNBA for being politically outspoken and widely inclusive, know that this evolution was more grassroots than you might imagine. For years, the league’s original marketing insisted players adhere to a feminine ideal and kept queer fans in an unacknowledged “glass closet” for over a decade. Change came from players, from individuals who took risks without permission, like Brittney Griner and Elizabeth Williams and Layshia Clarendon.
And now, with the growth — and profit-earning power — of the league, politics of the WNBA are sometimes shifting in unnerving, even conservative directions. This year for example, there were absolute *crickets* from the WNBA following the NCAA’s ban of transgender women in sports, never mind a lack of direct support for trans folks as part of WNBA Pride celebrations so far. But on Wednesday evening, that changed when Storm guard Erica Wheeler marched into the pregame tunnel waving a trans rights flag and wearing a shirt that read “Protect Trans Youth.” The next day, the franchise posted this message on social media:
Another example: earlier this season, the Indiana Fever posted about Pride on Instagram, and in response, comments denouncing queer folks flooded in, like “Gayness. Stick to basketball.” and “Two genders only… God Bless!!!!” Will women’s basketball become so popular — and expensive — that homophobes and racists assume this is actually for them? We live in a time when right wing forces can easily reshape anything as “up for grabs.” It requires us to heighten, and strengthen, our demands.
So keep finding ways to make Valkyries fandom your own. Come up with nicknames and sayings and odd traditions and rebellious merch. Follow individual players beyond their franchise affiliations. Watch games while crafting, or talking about protest. Infuse your life with what you find inspiring about women’s basketball, and speak out about all you don’t. Remember that this sport is expansive, without clear limits, the most powerful thing of all.
Rough Notes is created and written by me, Maya Goldberg-Safir with art & design by the badass team at Rough Notes Productions: Stefania Gomez, Justine Tobiasz, and Clara May.
Interesting and thought-provoking piece!
On the conflict/negotiation about what the WNBA stands for, I’m reminded of the commercial ascent of Kurt Cobain and Nirvana, and how it deeply hurt him that his music was now being bought and enjoyed (and repurposed) by the types of people who bullied him high school and whose culture he stood against. “He’s the one / who likes all our pretty songs / and he likes to sing along / and he likes to shoot his gun / but he knows not what it means”
(Also I loved your description of my site and videos… if my work were a book, then “high level analysis delivered with a slightly unhinged stream-of-consciousness” is a great blurb to live up to.)
Yayyyyy!! Thanks for the shout, friend!