EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsSAN FRANCISCO -- With the Finals MVP trophy secured in the crook of her right arm and a champagne bottle in her left hand, Golden State Valkyries forward Gabby Williams turned toward the crowd lining the streets and asked a question."What's my favorite word?" She yelled. In unison, the crowd responded: "B----!"The line is from Oakland rapper Too $hort's "Blow the Whistle," a song that became an anthem during the Valkyries' title run. Williams had asked the same question to the fans at Chase Center after the Valkyries' first ever playoff win in the first round against the Dallas Wings. After Golden State won the championship, beating the Atlanta Dream in seven games, she asked the arena again. The response? "Chip!"At the Valkyries' championship parade Wednesday, which an estimated 400,000 fans attended, reciting the rap put an exclamation point on Golden State's celebration. The parade stretched nearly 2 miles from the Ferry Building at The Embarcadero to Oracle Park, home of MLB's San Francisco Giants. The team arrived by ferry after crossing the bay following a rally in Oakland, where the Valkyries are headquartered.As Williams sang along, she brought a whistle to her lips and blew, just as the lyrics told her to. Beside her, center Kiah Stokes brought a microphone and began to perform. Her voice cut through the music blasting from the speakers and the crowd roars. But it didn't stop with Too $hort. E-40's "Tell Me When to Go" and Mac Dre's "Thizz Dance," two more Bay Area classics, kept the crowd dancing.Stokes and Williams grabbed two bottles of champagne and sprayed them over the crowd. Then Williams began to pour champagne straight into Stokes' mouth."I couldn't wait to just hug these freaking goobers," Williams said. "Kaityn Chen showed up in a damn hot dog costume. [Veronica Burton] is belting 'Best Thing I Never Had' by Beyonce -- this is an hour before the biggest games of our lives. [Kaila Charles] and [Tip Hayes] are taking us to church."I just wanted to run to them. I love them."A few buses behind Williams and Stokes, Chen ran down the street, lifting a hot dog above her head. She held it up to Laeticia Amihere and Burton -- who still sat atop the float -- and pointed to it. It was a nod to Chen arriving at Game 7 of the Finals dressed as a hot dog on Halloween. Several fans dressed up as the popular concession snack along the parade route, and Chen stopped to take photos with as many as she could.Tragedy struck when Chen lost her hot dog. As she climbed back on top of the bus, she reached over the rails to record a video on an old-school camcorder. But as she shot the video, she dropped the glizzy.Later on the parade path, Chen and Burton sprinted to high-five as many spectators as they could. At one point, they hopped over a barrier to get to the other side of the street to greet more fans. Tiffany Hayes, on another bus, did the same."This means everything," Burton said. "To do it alongside incredible women every single day."The love we have for each other, the love we have for this community, for our family, it's really special. This is a dream come true."Stokes added: "It was really special seeing my teammates, a lot of them getting their first [title]. I know how much work we put in this season, and to see it come to fruition is the icing on the cake, the cherry on top."Coach Natalie Nakase, who was wearing a shirt mocking her curse-word-laden interview following Game 7-- which she says is linked to truth-telling -- jumped into a mosh pit of fans. One celebrant handed Nakase a bottle of tequila, a nod to her encouraging fans to take multiple shots before the parade.The parade featured local celebrities such as musicians Kehlani and P-Lo sitting in vintage cars, while former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sat in a cable car.Fans held up signs that referenced now-famous quotes from the Valkyries, such as "For the Gays," "Coach Natalie texted me at 4 a.m." and "two hoops, 94 feet and each other." Some hung from lampposts while others stood on top of buildings. The energy that filled Ballhalla all season spilled out into the city streets."Love is the most powerful thing in the world, and these guys embody love," Nakase said at the rally. "They are there for each other, and to be honest, it started the very first game we had, and it started with Ballhalla. You guys gave us that roar."It's an honor to play in front of Ballhalla. It's why we won it."Though the Valkyries made history with their title run -- becoming the fastest expansion franchise in American sports to win a championship -- they are far from satisfied. The day before the parade, Nakase told ESPN that it took her only 15 minutes after Game 7 to start thinking about how to repeat.She said the euphoric feeling from winning the title felt like a drug. Valkyries owner Joe Lacob, who promised a championship in the first five years, agreed. Since they already won in two years, the question is how many can they get in five?"The best is yet to come, of course," Lacob said. "What we did, it's really amazing. We can be so proud of it ... but we've got everything it takes to do this again. And we are going to do it again."Relive the Valkyries' championship parade below:
