Ballers, Unicorns, Valkyries, Oh My! Bay Area Sports Teams Bring Sparkle to the Summer

KQED's Forum

KQED

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.6 • 656 Ratings

🗓️ 16 May 2025

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

When you think about Bay Area sports, the Ballers, the Unicorns, or the Fire and Iron are not names that might first come to mind. But these new Bay Area sports teams are bringing the game on the baseball diamond, cricket field, and soccer pitch this summer. What these teams have going for them is not only high level play, but passionate followers who are helping redefine the fan experience. We’ll talk to the people behind these teams, and hear about the city’s newest WNBA franchise, the Valkyries. What’s an under the radar Bay Area sports team you are rooting for? Guests: Bryan Carmel, co-founder, Oakland Ballers Marisa Ingemi, women's sports reporter, San Francisco Chronicle Jack Lowery, play-by-play commentator, San Francisco City Football Club Venky Harinarayan, co-founder and co-owner, San Francisco Unicorns Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for KQBD Podcasts comes from Rancho LaPuerta, a wellness resort 45 minutes outside of San Diego.
0:07.6	Summer packages include fitness and mindfulness classes, hiking, live music, and culinary adventures featuring fresh fruits and veggies.
0:16.3	Rancho LePuerta.com.
0:18.0	Switch to Comcast Business Mobile and save hundreds a year in your wireless bill.
0:22.1	Comcast Business, powering possibilities.
0:24.6	Restrictions apply.
0:25.4	Comcast Business Internet required.
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0:32.0	Data thresholds may vary.
0:34.4	From KQED.
0:47.2	Music From KQED. From KQED. From KQED in San Francisco, I'm Alexis Madrigal.
0:50.3	The warrior season is over.
0:52.9	But if you're looking for a new team to root for, now is a great time in the Bay Area.
0:58.4	Of course, the WNBA's newest team, the Golden State Valkyries, begins play this very evening.
1:05.2	But there are other sports in the mix, too, from Oakland's ballers and routes to San Francisco City FC soccer club and new cricket team the unicorns
1:16.1	We'll talk about the newcomers and talk about what it takes to build a fan base. It's all coming up next right after this news Alexis Madrigal here. We've got a little pledge break going right now. So you get a bonus on the
1:42.3	pledge-free stream podcast or on our replay at night.
1:46.0	I write these meditations on the bay and we call the series one good thing.
1:51.1	One of the tricky things about living in or around Silicon Valley is that we actually know it
1:56.7	as a real place filled with real people. In other places around the world, Silicon Valley is much
2:03.0	more of an idea about innovation and computing and power. Here, it is those things and a specific
	...

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