Purple wave, blue wave: Valkyries parade doubles as election celebration
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Giddy energy from Tuesday night's Democratic electoral sweep seemed only to grow Wednesday morning as revelers gathered for the Valkyries WNBA championship parade.
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That much was clear from the sign that Serena Poon held aloft as she stood on the ferry lawn at Jack London Square, where the players and their entourage would soon depart by boat to San Francisco.
"Purple wave 10/31; Blue wave 11/2," it said, linking the team's come-from-behind victory on Halloween night to a national blowout by Democrats, one so overwhelming that pundits ran out of tidal metaphors to describe it.
The connection seemed fitting when a procession of Democratic politicians strode down the Embarcadero to welcome the Valkyries players when their boat was set to dock near the Ferry Building at noon. Among the delegation: Sen. Adam Schiff, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, state Sen. Scott Wiener (who is now leading in the race to succeed Pelosi) and Mayor Daniel Lurie in a violet shirt.
For Poon, the political contact high was palpable.
"We're just riding the high of Valks win, and then last night was just historic with blue wave," she said. "It was like a blue tsunami, and I'm just so stoked."
Every Embarcadero-bound BART train and Muni bus became a purple and black menagerie as fans flocked in with jerseys, feathery boas and birdlike headdresses. If the attire seemed apolitical, the placards were not.
Beth Jaeger of San Francisco arrived at the Embarcadero at 8 a.m. dressed as a Valkyrie, complete with purple face paint - and a sign that said "In a world of Sophies, be a Gabby." The slogan referenced public comments by Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, who has insisted that trans women should be barred from the WNBA.
Henry, from Oakland, holds a sign celebrating both the Valkyries' championship and Democrats' sweeping wins in Tuesday's midterm election. (Saul Pink / S.F. Chronicle)On the back of Jaeger's sign: "Welcome to the Gay Area."
Others echoed pro-LGBTQ messages that, while not directly tied to an election wedge issue on Tuesday, generally defied the Trump Administration's stances on gender politics and diversity. As the morning wore on, "Gay Area" logos proliferated along the Embarcadero: in shimmery ink on card stock, emblazoned on T-shirts, embroidered on denim jackets, scrawled onto decals.
"It was already so hopeful to see them win, and then to see and then to see so much hope across the country," said Cat De La Pena of San Jose, dangling her own hand-made "Gay Area" sign with a portrait of Valkyries forward and championship MVP Gabby Williams, arms outstretched to sink a 3-pointer into the basket.
Williams isn't the only player to become a mascot and de facto ambassador for progressive ideals.
"I think Kiah Stokes swept Iowa herself," De La Pena's friend remarked, referring to the team's center, who hails from the battleground state, where Democrat Rob Sand flipped the governor's seat Tuesday night.
Bee Garcia, 27, stood in front of the barricade near the beginning of the parade holding a sign that praised the team and its support for the queer community, while also celebrating transit systems that won big after Bay Area voters approved a pair of tax measures to shore up their operating budgets.
"My MUNI is quick, My AC is trans, My team 4 the Gays, Our Valks are Champs!" Garcia's sign said.
Flanked by friends who got her "obsessed" with the team this season, Garcia explained why her attachment feels overtly political.
Bee Garcia, 27, of San Francisco, holds a sign at the Valkyries parade. (Matthias Gafni / S.F. Chronicle)"They're very open about who they are and they are open about being queer and supporting the trans community," she said.
Shalom Kimble of San Francisco wove many political statements into her purple-and-gray coveralls, which featured buttons supporting Black Lives Matter and decrying ICE, a rainbow heart pride patch, and a sparkling "For the Gays" inscription on the back. Kimble carried a to-go coffee cup from a Ferry Building cafe where every customer in line had been talking politics, she said.
"It just all came together," she said, referring to the convergence of sunny weather and Democratic winds on the day of the parade.
Brad Porter and Colleen Johnston, a couple from Walnut Creek, reverted to more traditional symbolism to show their Democratic pride on the Embarcadero. Although both wore Valkyries-themed apparel, they waved old-school American flags.
The pair hadn't initially planned to bring politics to the festivities on Wednesday, Porter said. "We just felt so exuberant after the results came in" Tuesday night.
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There’s more to San Francisco with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at Purple wave, blue wave: Valkyries parade doubles as election celebration.