A Tough Defeat!

L 78-77

It has been so great to be a fan of the Golden State Valkyries. Ballhalla is great. The fans are incredible. The vibes are immaculate. And the team is winning! No, we aren't #1 in the league. But we're around .500 and we play tough and competitive basketball. We don't lose easy and it's always a challenge against us. What's not to like about that?

But fandom is not just about the good times. Every fanbase will have a game where we leave the stadium, dejected after a loss. Yes, the Valkyries will be blown out.* We will have games where we don't come ready to play. And we will have games where we are close the whole time and it just does not turn out at the end.

That was our loss against the Phoenix Mercury on July 14. It's only our team's first ever regular season 1 point defeat. And it came in the most annoying way possible--on a free throw.

Yes, it was fun to watch future HOF-er Alyssa Thomas score 17 points and throw 11 assists. Yes, it was fun to watch future HOF-er Dewanna Bonner score 22 points (on only eight

FGs? are you kidding!?) and grab 11 rebounds. Yes, it was very fun to see Janelle Salaűn hit two monster jumpers in the last minute to tie up the game.

But in the end we lost. And that stunk. Sometimes watching your team can stink. But that's also what it means to be a fan!

We start back up at Ballhalla after the All-Star Break on Friday, where the Valkyries will play the Dallas Wings. Go Team!

*I refuse to call the 5/27 game against the Liberty (67-95) a blowout. The game got out of hand because Johannes hit 6-11 from three. We played tough the whole time. If a guard off the bench beats you, that's just bad luck.