“California is behind you all the way,” said California Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday evening to give the Golden State Valkyries his best for Game 2. The Valkyries were the team to look out for in the 2025 WNBA season, since it is the newest expansion team in the league’s history. After a gruelling regular season campaign, it became the first expansion team to make the WNBA playoffs in its inaugural season. Despite this impressive feat, the team got eliminated by losing both games to the Minnesota Lynx. As the squad enters the off-season, Veronica Burton hopes they do so while still having the love of the crowd.
The 25-year-old point guard participated in a presser after her team’s elimination. During the same time, she gave her flowers to the Valkyries’ fanbase. Burton praised them for the way they continued riding with the team during its high and low moments. Personally, she felt that it was up to her to give her best for every game, after every game, to the thousands who watch the game from the arena and for the millions who watch it from their television screens.
“It’s so hard to put into words, but we genuinely do appreciate every single one of our fans, every person that has come out to support us, everyone that watches us on TV. Just, we feel it, we appreciate it, and I hope we made you guys proud, and just can’t wait to continue to grow with that,” Burton added.
The Golden State Valkyries entered Game 2 holding home-court advantage. This worked well for them, at first, since they entered the 4th quarter with a 63-49 lead. However, the Golden State Valkyries’ good fortune ended right then and there. They didn’t score again until nearly 4 minutes into the quarter. By that point, the Minnesota Lynx were only down 5! Kayla McBride scored 8 points in the fourth quarter, Napheesa Collier scored 6, and DiJonai Carrington dropped a few 3-pointers. Courtney Williams, who had earlier gone 2-for-8 from the field, hit a 16-footer as 29.5 seconds remained. This gave the Lynx a 75-74 lead. Had Cecilia Zandalasini not missed a buzzer-beating jumper, the Valkyries would have been preparing for a Game 3 right now.
Given how close the game was, losing it would have affected any team’s players and the team’s fanbase. Despite this, Veronica Burton appreciated the support that had been given to her and her peers. After all, even after a loss, they still hadn’t lost the love of the people.
CBS Sports Reporter Left in Disbelief After Veronica Burton and Co. Received Standing Ovation Despite Elimination
CBS Sports reporter Matt Lively was the one who covered Veronica Burton’s post-game press remarks. Along with the 2 years and 3 years of experience he has with CBS Sports, Lively has also covered sports since early 2019. Despite this, what he saw recently completely took him aback.
In the aftermath of the Minnesota Lynx’s win, the crowd at the SAP Center stood up and gave a standing ovation to the Golden State Valkyries squad. After half a minute of cheers, the crowd began chanting “GSV! GSV!”. Not an empty seat was in sight, and every member occupying that seat looked to cheer on the losing team. Matt Lively also added a caption alongside the video that read “I’ve never seen anything like this. The Valkyries lost, but the crowd stayed on their feet. GSV chants throughout. They’ve set the gold standard for a WNBA fanbase.”
A recent report by ‘Business Insider’ revealed that the Golden State Valkyries had 15,000 fans who had placed deposits for season tickets. Even before the team drafted a player. As Jess Smith, the team’s president, highlighted, “This fan base acts as if we’ve been here for 30 years”. The franchise also played a major role in fuelling record WNBA attendance this year. It reportedly sold out every home game at Chase Center, with almost 400,000 fans having packed the arena for the games.
The Golden State Valkyries, without a doubt, have a strong fanbase. Whether they deliver them a championship in the coming years is something that remains to be seen.