Inside Ballhalla, the basketball heaven in San Francisco - ESPN

SAN FRANCISCO — Things happen inside Ballhalla — the moniker given to the Chase Center for Golden State Valkyries games — that don't happen anywhere else.

The song «Blow the Whistle» seems to be the unofficial theme song inside the building, playing before games, during them and at almost at any moment. During one break in play during Game 2 of the WNBA Finals, the most famous line from the song comes over the speakers. «What's my favorite word?!» recording artist Too Short, an Oakland native, asks. In unison, it feels like the entire sellout crowd of more than 18,000 responds with his Bay Area drawl: Bi-ah-tch!

Even Too Short chuckles at the development.

«The best part is how generational it is,» Too Short told ESPN. «That the senior citizens, the moms and dads, and the kids, everybody knows it. I laugh at the kids who know they got a pass. This one time, this one time you're not going to get in trouble if you say Too Short's favorite word. I've seen it… the parents: 'You can say it, you can say it, you can say it.'

»It's a Too Short song that is family friendly — in quotation marks."

Ballhalla — so named as a play on Valhalla, in Norse mythology the resting place for great warriors who died in battle — has become famous for having the most raucous environment in the league — and during two WNBA Finals games so far, it has lived up to that reputation. It has sold out for every home game in the franchise's existence, and the Valkyries became the first team in WNBA history to average an attendance of over 18,000 per game.

And as the Valkyries return home to San Francisco for Game 5 of the WNBA Finals with the series against the Atlanta Dream tied 2-2, they know their fans will show up big again. During Games 1 and 2, fans