San Francisco

Warriors Fans at Chase Center Bask in Glow of Team's 4th Championship in 8 Years

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Seas of blue and gold fans flooded Chase Center in San Francisco on Thursday night to watch on a big screen as the Golden State Warriors won the NBA championship, finishing off a 4-2 series victory over the Boston Celtics with a 103-90 win.

Although it wasn't a home game, almost every seat in Chase Center was filled for the Game 6 watch party and eager eyes were glued to the jumbo screen.

During the last seconds of the fourth quarter, tears and blue and yellow streamers began to fall. Fans' eyes were lit with reflections of yellow confetti falling from the sky as they cupped their mouths with their hands in disbelief and happiness.

PHOTOS: Fans Celebrate in SF as Warriors Win NBA Title

More cheering ensued when Stephen Curry was awarded his first NBA Finals MVP award.

Following the win, massive crowds of Warriors fans celebrated in the Thrive City plaza outside of Chase Center. They chanted "Warriors," blew horns and clapped and danced together.

Muni buses were crammed full of Warriors fans who shared their excitement over the win. Even the bus drivers, alongside every car outside of Chase Center and throughout much of the city, honked their horns in excitement.

Alejandro Valencia, an avid Warriors fan wearing a custom-made Mexican Lucha Libre wrestling mask, said this championship, the team's fourth in the last eight years but the first since moving from Oakland to San Francisco in 2019, means "everything."

"Winning it again tops it off. Here in the city, you know, it's a different vibe, same energy. It feels the same, you know, similar," Valencia said.

His friend Ladis Rodriguez, wearing a matching white Warriors mask, said he's been a Warriors fan since birth. He said the win means "vindication" for Curry.

Married couple June Vasquez and Jennifer Esguerra, Oakland and Sunnyvale locals, said they've been Warriors fans for 20 years. Vasquez wore a "Chef Curry" chef's hat that Esguerra made for him before the game. She sported blue and gold pom poms. Although the Warriors move from Oracle Arena in Oakland to the new Chase Center sparked some mixed reactions from fans, they still believe in the high energy of the Warriors community.

The Golden State Warriors are once again NBA champions after beating the Boston Celtics on Game 6 Thursday, and their home, the Chase Center in San Francisco, put on a fireworks show in their honor.

"Actually, it's the same. We're still hype. We still love the Warriors just the same. Just because we've moved over the bridge, we ain't gonna act any different," Vasquez said.

Armelia YB Hampton, a Warriors fan of 23 years from San Francisco, said she is the ultimate superfan and had attended the team's last game in Oakland, Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors that ended in defeat.

"I cried then but I'm not going to cry a sad tear today. I'm going to cry happy tears. It's our time. Warriors are back, dynasty is not over. This is a notice for the whole NBA. We're coming five more years," Hampton said.

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