Valkyries bring it home in Ballhalla

On Halloween the WNBA had their first ever Game 7 in the Finals. Last year was the first year they expanded to seven games, and it only took until year 2 to get pushed to the limit.

Another thing that started last year were the Golden State Valkyries, who played their first year as an expansion team. Owned by Joe Lacob, the same owner of Steph Curry's Warriors, the Valkyries have the advantage of an enthusiastic ownership group, a rabid fan base, and a winning infrastructure.

The Valkyries fans have dubbed the Chase Center, where the both the Warriors and Valkyries play, Ballhalla, and the atmosphere has been described as a mix of playoff basketball and a Pride parade.

This year, despite the ramshackle commissioner office decisions that seemed to shoot themselves in their foot at every opportunity, has been a watershed year. The attention that Caitlyn Clark's presence has brought has elevated the game's profile. A'ja Wilson is considered the GOAT, having won multiple MVPs and three finals championships in four years. Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers and Olivia Miles and Gabby Wilson are all superstars. Olivia Miles, man!

Anyway, if it wasn't Halloween night, I would've preferred to watch the whole game, and not just the last six minutes, from the point they were tied at 53 until the end.

At one point with less than 20 seconds left, Burton, for Golden State, was sinking her second free throw to put the Valkyries up by five, and I'm pretty sure I spotted Nancy Pelosi in the crowd:

When watching those last 6 minutes of game time, and about 20 minutes of real time, the crowd was very energetic and loud, chanting "DE-FENSE" whenever the Atlanta Dream has the ball, and chanting "G-S-V" whenever the Valkyries had the ball.

It was real and it was a moment where this sport tapped into a vein of national energy, national resistance. The WNBA, and it's rise in popularity over the past few seasons, culminating with sell-outs at the Finals and a new CBA that makes the work lucrative enough to not have to go overseas in the offseason, is a manifestation of all things the right is terrified of:

• Awesome and powerful women
• Awesome and powerful Black people
• Awesome and powerful queer people

That the sport is growing in popularity at the same time a backwards looking group of terrified white men making up the ruling class fight to erase things that are celebrated by this league shows that moment of resistance. History will look unkindly upon this era's ruling class and their figurehead in the White House, and sports has given us an island upon which to camp while the bigots and pedophile-protectors flame themselves out.

These games kick ass, and hopefully new leadership in the commissioner's office will help get the league to where it should be: as a fully fledged member of the zeitgeist.

Rain on Halloween

This year's Halloween we drove to a different part of town to trick-or-treat with one of Cass's friends. It was a fancier neighborhood than the places we went the last two years, but that manifested itself with larger homes and longer walks between homes. One side of the street didn't even have a sidewalk. Ferris Bueller and Donnie Darko's respective houses, or their exteriors, were in this neighborhood, so that should say something.

It rained, too. Not too hard, and the turnout was still good, so it didn't seem to dampen anything.

Both our kids wore costumes based on One Piece characters, an anime where everyone seems to scream at each other all the time. Cass is dressed as Sanji, the chain smoking, well-dressed cook of Loofy's pirate ship:

And Camille is Vivi, a blue-haired lady:

My camera kept making the sky look brighter, but it was nice and crowded:

The people from the neighborhood mentioned this house was worth coming to see at Christmasmtime:

This Tudor style p lace has a dozen pun-adorned tombstones on their lawn:

Here's that "See it at Christmas" house:

And their lawn...look at the work:

On the way back to the car we stopped at a house that has both Sasquatch:

And Chunk, from the Goonies, complete with, "Hey...you...guys!" playing on a loop.

Another Halloween in the books, another trick-or-treating down. Happy seasons!