🎙️ Episode 1: “Meet the Valkyries (and Us)”

Episode 1: “Meet the Valkyries (and Us)”

In our debut episode, we introduce ourselves—two former hoopers turned SF moms, educators, and entrepreneurs—and share why we’re all in on the new WNBA team in town: the Golden State Valkyries.

We officially bleed lavender now.

Whether you’re a die-hard basketball fan, a curious newcomer, or just here for community vibes and solid recs, you belong in this space. We’ll break down who the Valkyries are, why they matter, and what this podcast is all about. Let’s tip it off!

Thanks for listening to "Valkyries, Say Less"!

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are our own and not affiliated with the WNBA, the Golden State Valkyries, or any official organization.

🎙 Co-Hosted by Raina Mast — multimedia artist, educator, musician, and of course...ex-hooper.

🎙 Co-hosted by Vanessa Hutchinson-Szekely — meditation and PE teacher, writer, founder of Big Belly Breathing, and of course...ex-hooper.

Follow along for more episodes, courtside convos, and community love as we celebrate the Golden State Valkyries and everything they stand for.

💜 Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and share if this brought some lavender joy to your day!

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:00

Valkyries!

SPEAKER_02: 0:05

Okay, here we are. Vanessa and Raina. Raina and Vanessa. Yes. Okay. This is our intro. It's our intro to Valkyrie's Say Less. Say Less. And you know what we really mean by Say Less. We're going to

SPEAKER_03: 0:20

say so much more. Say more. We are here two moms from San Francisco, ex-basketball players, middle school, high school, college a little bit. And we are living in San Francisco in a historic moment.

SPEAKER_02: 0:35

Hmm. Historic. Say more. Say more about historic Because have we ever seen what is going on with women's sports like what is going on today? Thank you to all the women who have made this possible. Because what we are living, we did not experience this when we were in the mid to late 90s. When we were in high school, where there was a desert of professional women basketball players. Athletes. Not the case today. Or opportunities. There were plenty of athletes.

SPEAKER_03: 1:06

Plenty of athletes, but there weren't the opportunities. No. The dreams stopped. You could play college, but... Yeah, when did the WNBA become a thing?

SPEAKER_02: 1:16

It became a thing after we graduated from high school.

SPEAKER_03: 1:20

If only we had that opportunity, we would have been playing in the NBA.

SPEAKER_02: 1:24

I mean, maybe you would have been. Let's be honest. There's a good chance that out of the two of us, you would have been. But I was MVP senior year. So exciting. Okay, wait. Not about us yet. This is about the Valks. The Valkyries. We are so excited. Yeah. How excited are you, Raina?

SPEAKER_03: 1:45

I'm pumped, as you would say. I'm

SPEAKER_02: 1:48

sorry, so

SPEAKER_03: 1:49

pumped. So pumped, so pumped. So pumped that this is Mother's Day, and we are recording this in order to start this movement, to bring people in. We were at our first game, the first game of... The preseason. It was a preseason, yeah. So the real season, what is the real season

SPEAKER_02: 2:08

called? On Friday, May 16th. This Friday.

SPEAKER_03: 2:11

This Friday.

SPEAKER_02: 2:12

This Friday is the official start to the Valkyrie season. But I'm glad that you brought up that this is Mother's Day because this recording of a podcast is our Mother's Day gift to ourselves.

SPEAKER_03: 2:24

Yes.

SPEAKER_02: 2:25

And to the world, obviously. But really, let's be selfish a little bit. We get to hang out more and talk about women athletes. So how could this day be any better? I mean, they could be playing right now. They did. They played today. They won today. They won today. We didn't go. Well, it wasn't at home, so we weren't

SPEAKER_03: 2:46

traveling. We didn't get our personal jet out.

SPEAKER_02: 2:48

To be clear, we don't have personal jets. We're just two teachers in San Francisco. But to be clear, we were at the first home preseason game, which they lost by a point with a gorgeous three-point buzzer shot. Gorgissimo. And then today... They won on the road. People winning on the road. So, what can you expect from this awesome new pod? Loads of backstories about the different people involved in the Valkyries organization. Not just the players, but also... The coach. The coach. The... The food.

SPEAKER_03: 3:30

Thank you. We got to talk about the food.

SPEAKER_02: 3:32

Oh, the Chase Center. Thank you, Chase Center, for... We

SPEAKER_03: 3:35

got to talk about the prices

SPEAKER_02: 3:37

of the food. Okay. Well, that is not a good thing, but we'll get to it. Really, we got to

SPEAKER_03: 3:40

talk about the fans. This is a new movement in San Francisco. I was on the bus. The reason why we're doing this podcast is we were so moved by this first game. I was on the bus and lavender everywhere.

SPEAKER_02: 3:52

Tell me more about what you were thinking while you were in a stadium filled with more than 17,000 17,000 other fans. Who did you notice? Only

SPEAKER_03: 4:02

18,000 fit. Oh, my God.

SPEAKER_02: 4:04

A preseason game. It's, like, unheard of. Never before have we seen these numbers. For how many people, like, put a$25 deposit down? There was, like, something like it was over 20,000 people did that. They didn't, in the end, all buy tickets.

SPEAKER_03: 4:20

That's, like, more than Bernie.

SPEAKER_02: 4:21

But, okay. See? We go political right away.

SPEAKER_03: 4:25

Sorry,

SPEAKER_02: 4:25

sorry. So, what else did you notice about the fans online? What did you love?

SPEAKER_03: 4:29

What I really loved was that I got my ticket from a colleague at work. And then when I got there, everyone I knew was there. It was all like we had all found our way, not to sound like religious about it, but we had all found our way to the stadium. I got there on the bus by myself. Bravo. All by myself. Bravo. I was a little, I was 6.59 getting in. I missed the whole thing. pre-game

SPEAKER_01: 4:57

stuff, so you have to talk about that.

SPEAKER_03: 4:59

But it was just so moving. It was not what I expected. I mean, you were there too. It was like, to see...

SPEAKER_02: 5:08

Go on. Sorry. To

SPEAKER_03: 5:08

see a sea of women cheering on other women on a school night. Oh,

SPEAKER_02: 5:14

yeah. On a Tuesday night. Yeah, yeah. That's important to say. It's true.

SPEAKER_03: 5:18

In full garb. Lavender. Where did they get that lavender? So many people had the slag. The

SPEAKER_02: 5:25

merch already. It exceeded my expectations. Like, okay, so as a Fandingard member, I bought season tickets. I never before thought that I would ever be someone who could afford season tickets. And one of the the beautiful things about this opportunity is that they are pretty affordable. I mean, you know, it's a, it's money, but it was like, I paid$640 for my season ticket for 23 games, which I was like, that is affordable and an important investment and just going to bring so much joy. So as a founding guard member, we also earned or received free like letter jackets and and if you we use our chase card which i didn't know what to expect for that but they are they're legit you're wearing it

SPEAKER_03: 6:13

right

SPEAKER_02: 6:14

now i am thank you like ready

SPEAKER_03: 6:16

are you sleeping in this

SPEAKER_02: 6:17

i mean quasi i think i will make a point of wearing it every time we record also or every time we go to the game You get your onesie. I'll be in my jacket. Um, but I got down there with my, I have two daughters, which is also why this is like really exciting because neither one of them are like really into basketball. Like I was, but, um, so I wasn't sure like they were excited about going, but I wasn't sure like kind of what their vibe was going to be all night. And, um, Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And afterwards they were like begging me, like, you know, I bought two tickets and we're a family of four and they were just like figuring out, you know, who was going to accompany me to the next game. That made me so happy for them.

SPEAKER_03: 7:20

Yeah. I mean, so I'm a kid of an ex-NBA player. Oh, yes. Eddie Mast. I wasn't even born yet when he played.

SPEAKER_02: 7:31

Wait, shout out to Eddie Mast. That's it. Pour one out. Shout out. Shout

SPEAKER_03: 7:38

out to all the dads. To all the

SPEAKER_02: 7:39

dads. Also, just a tiny plug, but he also is on the NBA video game.

SPEAKER_03: 7:46

Oh, yeah. Like, you can play. You can be Eddie Mast. You can be my dad. Okay.

SPEAKER_02: 7:51

You can be Reina's dad. You can

SPEAKER_03: 7:54

say that. Yeah. So growing up, he had access to other, like, ex-NBA players who were coaching. And we got to go to games. And we had that same conversation with him of, like, who gets to go. Because he would only get my Philly accents coming out as I talk about this going to the Sixers game. Love this for us. Who gets to go. And it was, it was unbelievably exciting to be that VIP child of my dad and get to go to these. So I can totally relate to your daughters right now.

SPEAKER_02: 8:27

Well, how did he, and also you have brothers. I

SPEAKER_03: 8:29

have brothers who nerded out on the sports page, like would memorize all the stats.

SPEAKER_02: 8:35

But he also made a point, like, was it, was it?

SPEAKER_03: 8:38

Equal? Yeah, it was totally equal, which would piss them off because they had their stats memorized. So I think that's part of why I want to do this. It's like I want to really deep dive into the stats of these players in a way that I didn't do when I was younger. Yes. Because I feel like more invested. It's

SPEAKER_02: 8:54

really weird. Do we want to deep dive into the stats or into their backstories? Into all of it?

SPEAKER_03: 9:00

Yeah, I mean, we're not sportscasters,

SPEAKER_02: 9:03

right? Not yet, I guess. Not yet. We learn to have not a fixed mindset, but a growth mindset. So maybe this is part of our midlife transformation. I don't like to use the word crisis. And we will launch into becoming sportscasters. Maybe not. But

SPEAKER_03: 9:23

backstories. I think the backstories are why I would want to do this is that... we saw this group of women on the court and I was just like, how'd they get here? Yeah. How'd they do it? How'd they do this? Like, how are they so incredibly present in my life? All of a sudden, I have no idea who you are. And I was, I was looking at my phone the whole time. Like number two, Caitlin Chen, who's she? Everyone's cheering for Caitlin. And I would, I need to know more. Yes. And so why would I just keep that to myself? I think that's part of what we need to do is sort of to, to, to respect all they've done to get here. I think we should look at that.

SPEAKER_02: 10:03

Earlier you said something and I was like, wait, this is our new church. I'm not a religious person. But I feel like these lady warriors are our North Star for right now. And also they are our proof that even though There are many things going on in society and culture right now that we are not okay with. This is hardcore evidence that society is moving in the right direction because this did not exist when we were growing up. And the hype and the feeling that we felt, that our kids felt, that our friends felt, I mean, let's just embrace this and be a part of it.

UNKNOWN: 10:52

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_03: 10:53

Yeah. I mean, I was raised religious. And so I'm feeling a little of like, you got to tell people about this.

SPEAKER_00: 11:01

Oh,

SPEAKER_03: 11:02

yeah. And I found myself doing that. I was like, did you go to the Valkyries game? I didn't see you. And people were like, no, I didn't go. And then I'd be like, you have to go. You have to be there at the next game. It is amazing. It is both like the biggest... queer club i saw like four lesbians i know i saw like hella dads like where do you find that mix like we were sitting next to a dad with this little tiny baby in lavender and he's like probably a three month old the whole time standing watching the game cheering and it was like how do we have this

SPEAKER_02: 11:39

oh yeah okay so this is just like fun tidbit but it's true rena was mentioning like all the different people that were at the game. And I'm kind of proud because I convinced, I don't know if we're like 11 of us or something like that to buy season tickets. And one of my buddies, his mom was like, wow, I'm a little surprised you bought season tickets to the Valkyries. Like you don't go to basketball games.

SPEAKER_03: 12:06

Sports

SPEAKER_02: 12:07

ball. And there we go. Like that's how awesome this fervor is right now. So Max- Thank you. Shout

SPEAKER_03: 12:16

out. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 12:16

Shout out to Max for buying two tickets and Dom for wearing purple shoes to the game with Max. That was really a preseason highlight.

SPEAKER_03: 12:25

Yeah. And they're season ticket holders.

SPEAKER_02: 12:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 12:28

Okay. I'm going to be buying off of them. I need to figure out my people. i get my tickets from

SPEAKER_02: 12:34

i mean also okay another date like highlight it's mother's day but like i was walking in the richmond and saw somebody wearing the jacket and she was like totally in conversation with like whomever she was with and i just started going nuts i was like founding guard and she looked up and it's like this the club yeah

SPEAKER_03: 12:54

yeah that's what i mean it's like i don't have a church I hardly get out of my house.

SPEAKER_02: 12:59

No, no, no, no. You also are in your ceramic studio. I, yeah. Okay. So that's

SPEAKER_03: 13:03

the nice part. But that being said, it was, I don't get community in my pottery studio anymore because I'm not at the community studio where I used to chit chat with all the ladies there. True, true. But this is like a new spot to be where you can be like, I, I, I see someone that's like into something that I'm into and

SPEAKER_02: 13:23

we can be like auto friends. We are part of this new community. What's another word than community? What

SPEAKER_03: 13:30

about auto friends?

SPEAKER_02: 13:33

How do you spell that first word?

SPEAKER_03: 13:34

Auto?

SPEAKER_02: 13:36

A-U?

SPEAKER_03: 13:36

Auto? Like a car?

SPEAKER_02: 13:37

Like an automatic friend. Oh, okay. No, that's not going to work. No, we need something else than auto friends. We're part of the... Fangirls who are part of...

SPEAKER_03: 13:51

Fangirls has like a...

SPEAKER_02: 13:53

This is more pure respect. This is just... It's

SPEAKER_03: 13:55

not

SPEAKER_02: 13:56

a cult. This is just pure respect.

SPEAKER_03: 13:59

It is. It's inspiration plus respect. It's not a cult. It's not a cult. Yes. All right. It might just be community.

SPEAKER_02: 14:07

I'm sorry. All right, fine. We're going back to community. We are into this community and we are into promoting the community and we want to do this so that we have... More time to hang out together and talk about the Valkyries. This is like hope. Okay. Thank you, Valkyries. We are going to be so emotional on this podcast as we talk about... Yeah, I'm almost crying....all the things that we have observed and are observing. So it was an amazing preseason home game. And we're going to gear up for our first season game. And... In between then and now, we're going to do our research on the coach. All right. So next episode, we're going to give the backstory on the Valkyries head coach.

SPEAKER_03: 14:58

Do you know anything about her? Natalie Nakase?

SPEAKER_02: 15:00

Yes. I mean,

SPEAKER_03: 15:02

she's a legend. I think she's our age. Love that. Mid-40s and the first... Like, we could be WNBA coaches if we tried. Asian-American

SPEAKER_02: 15:13

head coach.

SPEAKER_03: 15:14

First, yes. First Asian-American head coach of the WNBA. Yeah, we're going to do a deep dive. We're going to study up. And we're going to compare notes. I'm going to compare notes. I also want to reflect on her coaching a little bit. Not to get into sportscaster land, but it felt like very presentation of all the people. What's that called? Like for equal play? Equal play time? No, like... Well, she... Oh, because

SPEAKER_02: 15:39

she's observing all the players?

SPEAKER_03: 15:41

Yeah, it's like when you show off all your players.

SPEAKER_02: 15:44

Yeah. She was saying how she, I think, was impressed even. Because, you know, that was their... The first preseason game was the first time that the players played against another team. And they played against... the LA Sparks, which are an established organization. And she was impressed by how her players had played. Love that.

SPEAKER_03: 16:09

Yeah. Also, I mean, can you imagine being a rookie? There are hella rookies on this team. You're a rookie playing in the first game of your life in the WNBA with a team that's playing on the court in Chase Center for the first time in their existence. It's... It's beautiful. Like, yeah. Like, it is. It's really beautiful. This is just too much

SPEAKER_02: 16:34

fun. Also, things to look forward to are some interviews

SPEAKER_03: 16:37

with just local fans. Local fans. And welcome more fans into the Valkyrie ethos. The Valkyrie, dare I say, community. Valkyries!

SPEAKER_02: 16:50

My

SPEAKER_03: 16:51

favorite

SPEAKER_02: 16:51

part of

SPEAKER_03: 16:51

this podcast.

SPEAKER_02: 16:51

Into the vanguard.

SPEAKER_03: 16:52

Yeah, we are the front line of the fans. And we want to... Share the love. Share the knowledge. As educators, we're... Trying to harmonize. Trying to, like, yeah. Study up. Share it. Yeah. Let other people know. Yeah, get other people to the games, right? Oh, my goodness. Just 19,000 seats. Let them all be filled. You can't advertise 19,000. There's only 18. Let them... Let them build more seats for all the fans that we're going to bring in.

SPEAKER_02: 17:25

Let them... Just kidding. If you build it, they will come. Thank you for listening to

SPEAKER_03: 17:32

Valkyries Say Less. This is Raina and this is Vanessa. Go Valkyries. Go Valkyries. Go lavender. Woo. Bye.

UNKNOWN: 17:48

Bye.

SPEAKER_03: 17:50

La la la. We need some tears.

SPEAKER_02: 17:52

Cheers. Like,

SPEAKER_03: 17:54

yeah, because lavender is the longest... Like, you know how when you're in high school and you're like, go red. Yeah. Well, I was in college and we were like, go gold, go blue.

SPEAKER_02: 18:02

Okay. But lavender is so long. Lavender, lavender. Is that too much? Is that too, like...

SPEAKER_03: 18:10

What about... Hi, a

SPEAKER_00: 18:19

little

SPEAKER_03: 18:35

disclaimer. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed... are our own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of the Golden State Valkyries. The material and information presented here is for general information and entertainment purposes only. The Golden State Valkyries name and all forms and abbreviation are the property of its owner and its use does not imply endorsement of or opposition to any specific organization, product, or service. The information provided by Raina and Vanessa on our podcast, Valkyrie Say Less, is for general informational purposes and entertainment only. All information on our podcast is provided in good faith. However, we make no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability, or completeness of any information on the podcast. Thank you.

UNKNOWN: 19:34

Thank you.