Valkyries parade wasn’t just about sports. It was a celebration of who we are. All of us
Golden State Valkyries’ Gabby Williams, center, celebrates with fans along the The Embarcadero during the team’s WNBA Championship parade in San Francisco, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026. (Stephen Lam/S.F. Chronicle)
Did anyone go to school? Did anyone go to work?
Did anyone stop smiling?
It sure didn’t feel like it on a sun-splashed, joyous Wednesday afternoon, when the Bay Area showed up and showed out for their newest champions, their newest local icons.
The Golden State Valkyries championship parade, like almost everything the team has done in its brief lifetime, felt flawless, unique and perfectly Bay Area. A uniting, inclusive, delightful bolt of energy.
The event was a mashup of an impromptu holiday, Pride parade, women’s empowerment festival, Too Short concert, Blue Wave bash and – oh yeah – a sports title celebration.
"It’s like a movie," said Peter Guber, the team’s part owner and a successful film producer.
He was looking out over a cinematic scene, as the Valkyries ferry boat pulled out of the port at Jack London Square, and began the trip from Oakland to San Francisco across the sparkling bay waters. Iconic setting. Legendary characters. Spectacular story.
Everything about this team has been intentional, well thought out, from the start. And the victory celebration was no exception. It united all our disparate parts, our proud identities, our different cities. It highlighted what is uniquely us. And the day after much of the nation rejected the current regime’s divisive agenda, it was a feel-good, validating celebration.
Though most in the throngs that lined the Embarcadero parade route were far too young to have any memory of the 49ers first Super Bowl championship, this Valkyries team has brought a similar feeling to the Bay Area. The 49ers helped bring San Francisco out of a very dark space, created by the Milk-Moscone murders at City Hall, the Jonestown tragedy in Guyana and somber days of a debilitating recession. Joe Montana and Ronnie Lott soothed the city’s soul, made people proud to say they were from San Francisco.
The Valkyries were born when the city was still being vilified by conservative pundits, struggling to recover from the pandemic, serving as a national punchline. Their two years of existence have coincided with the Trump administration’s vicious attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, other marginalized groups and on women’s rights.
Which is why their victory party wasn’t just about sports. It was a celebration of who we are. All of us.
And particularly a celebration of women. This was our first sports party for a professional women’s team, representing the half of society shut out of sports for too long. One that used love and friendship and the fight for equity as keys to victory. This is the first women’s professional team to stand on the mountaintop with the Bay Area’s other sports icons.
The Valkyries started their day in Oakland, the city where they work and practice; where their star player, Gabby Williams, spent much of her youth and where she relocated when Golden State signed her last spring.
"Oakland’s just a culture, a familial feeling," Williams said this week.
After an Oakland ceremony, the team journeyed across the water to San Francisco. Along the way Williams and Natalie Nakase sat in the cockpit and drove the boat, under the watchful eye of the crew. If you were looking for a metaphor, that was a perfect one: the brilliant little coach and the graceful star piloting the team to where it needed to go.
When I first met Nakase in March 2025, she told me she had a team full of "killers." And she told me she expected to win, yes, even with an expansion team.
"Yeah, everyone thinks we’re gonna lose," she said during our hour-long talk. "Go ahead and doubt us."
I left smiling at her bravado. A brand new coach of a brand new team with championship aspirations. Cute.
She envisioned it. She believed it. She drove the boat, straight to a title.
As the amateur captains pointed toward the Ferry Building, Alcatraz – the prison island that led Tiffany Hayes to nickname the team’s lock ‘em up defense "Valkatraz" – loomed on the starboard side. Standing down on the prow of the boat was Kiah Stokes, the warden of Valkatraz. She was wearing a shirt with a replica of ESPN’s July 28 "Basketball Power Index," listing the five teams the outlet’s analytics projected as having the best chance to win the WNBA title: the Fever, the Aces, the Lynx, the Liberty and the Dream.
Yeah, the Valkyries were relishing their moment of triumph.
As they pulled into the Port of San Francisco (Williams and Nakase had abandoned the helm and let the pros dock the boat), they were greeted by an incredible sight: thousands of lavender-clad fans screaming and cheering their arrival, five lavender double-decker buses with their larger-than-life images on the side. Family members were told, "go to the bus with her face on it."
Fans lined the route, from the Ferry Building to Oracle Park, 10 deep. Hundreds more stood on roofs and lined balconies to watch. Dykes on Bikes kicked off the procession, and Nakase – having the time of her life, with her family on her bus – ended it.
The crowd was as joyous and diverse as the one that has packed Ballhalla ever since the Valkyries opened their doors. And the signs were epic. "We Skipped School with Violet Fever." "You are Very Good, Tiffany Hayes" (in a child’s writing, in crayon). "Williams, Nakase ‘26" "4 the GAYS" "PAY EQUITY – show me the money!" "Thank you for bringing us so much joy." "Trans People Belong in Sports." "Thank you for being our safe space." The irony was not lost on anyone that the parade ended in front of Oracle Park, site of the Giant’s Pride Night debacle, one of the most shameful days a local sports team has had in many years.
The happy crowd chanted "Thank you, thank you" and "we love you, we love you." They smoked pot and smuggled wine glasses out from restaurants and guzzled water because their beloved coach had taught everyone the importance of staying hydrated.
The fans came dressed as hot dogs (Kaitlyn Chen‘s lasting legacy) and wore purple wigs. They cheered Nancy Pelosi and Oakland mayor Barbara Lee and chanted "blue wave, blue wave." They roared for Oakland music star Kehlani, riding in Lee’s convertible and shouted out Too Short’s "favorite word." They waved rainbow flags and trans flags. They caught the beers that Chen and Veronica Burton tossed down to them and relished the J bubbly that Juste Jocyte sprayed on them. They parted ways
Source: sports.yahoo.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.