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'Stand or hide in the tunnel' for the anthem, Valkyries WNBA fans show loyalty; ready for early Finals Game 6

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Cite

McGraw, P. B. (2026, October 27). 'Stand or hide in the tunnel' for the anthem, Valkyries WNBA fans show loyalty; ready for early Finals Game 6. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/stand-hide-tunnel-anthem-valkyries-wnba-fans-show-loyalty-ready-early-finals-game-6

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Fox News · collected 2026-10-27 · by Patricia Babcock McGraw

Quick Summary

Golden State Valkyries fans are preparing to watch Game 6 of the WNBA Finals in Atlanta at an unusually early time, 9:30 a.m. Pacific time on Thursday, due to scheduling conflicts with the NBA's Hawks team. Fans express mixed feelings about the early start, while showing strong loyalty by planning personal days or finding ways to support their team despite the inconvenient timing. Additionally, the article touches on fan reactions regarding players walking into tunnels during the national anthem, indicating little concern over this practice among Valkyries supporters.
Written by AI on 2026-10-27, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Game 6 of the WNBA Finals between the Atlanta Dream and the Golden State Valkyries is scheduled for Thursday at 12:30 p.m. ET, causing controversy among fans due to its unusual timing. The game was moved from a traditional evening slot to accommodate an NBA game between the Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers on the same day. Despite criticism over the early start time, which could affect attendance due to work and school obligations, the game is sold out with 17,099 fans expected at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. The league's decision has drawn ire from some quarters, including an emotional open letter from Dream owners who flagged scheduling issues two months ago but did not receive adequate attention. Despite the controversy, Game 6 remains crucial as it could determine the champion of the WNBA Finals; if the Valkyries win, they will clinch the title in San Francisco on Saturday night with a potential Game 7.

Written for “WNBA Finals Game 7 Forced By Dream” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 25 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 WNBA Finals Game 7 Forced By Dream
Sports · 26 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 13% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Guardian
Hedges 2 of 22 claims Outlet record 66/100
The Guardian
Hedges 1 of 24 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the WNBA Finals, with Article A focusing on fan enthusiasm and scheduling for Game 6, while Article B addresses venue concerns and the actual start time for Game 6.”
Fox News
Hedges 4 of 38 claims Outlet record 69/100
“The articles discuss related events around WNBA Finals logistics but do not describe the same specific incident.”
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 20 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A discusses the decision to host Game 6 at State Farm Arena and its scheduling details, while Article B focuses on fan reactions and preparations for the game in a different time zone.”
NBC News
Hedges 1 of 10 claims Outlet record 60/100
“Article A discusses the scheduling conflict and decision to move Game 6 to an earlier time, while Article B focuses on fan reaction to the announced early start time of the game.”
New York Post
Hedges 2 of 9 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles refer to different games and times of the WNBA Finals series, with Article A discussing Game 5 and potential scheduling issues for Game 6, while Article B focuses on fans preparing for an early start of Game 6.”
The Guardian
Hedges 1 of 20 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A describes the gameplay and outcome of Game 5, while Article B discusses fan reactions and preparations for Game 6.”
Toronto Star
Hedges 1 of 40 claims Outlet record 64/100
“While both articles discuss Game 6 of the WNBA Finals with an early start time, Article A focuses on the anticipation and setup for the game among fans, while Article B discusses fan reactions to the unusual timing. They are not describing the same specific incident or moment.”
New York Post
Hedges 2 of 35 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different stages of the game series; Article A mentions preparations for Game 6 while Article B reports on the results of Game 5.”
CBC News
Hedges 0 of 42 claims Outlet record 74/100
“While both articles discuss WNBA Finals Game 6 between Atlanta and Golden State, they describe different aspects of the event—Article A focuses on fan preparation for an early morning game, while Article B reports on ticket sales despite concerns about attendance due to timing.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
46
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
13%
6 of 46 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
69/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
26
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-27 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 6059 article(s) · 11 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 11 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Patricia Babcock McGraw
4 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Caffeine might not even be needed.
🔮 This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners.
🔮 This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners.
🔮 While Oxford, Mississippi is the epicenter of the college football world this weekend, with Ole Miss set to host its former head coach Lane Kiffin and LSU on Saturday night, the town is also home to a defending national champion in football.
Also by Patricia Babcock McGraw
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Topics

Atlanta FOX News Game 6 the Golden State Valkyries the WNBA Finals

Subjects

Atlanta GPE · 4× Dream ORG · 1× FOX ORG · 1× FOX News ORG · 1× Golden State ORG · 1× NBA ORG · 1× San Francisco GPE · 1× State Farm ORG · 1× Valkyries ORG · 1× the Golden State Valkyries ORG · 1×

Narrative

But during Monday’s Game 5 against Atlanta, which began like every other Finals game, with both teams leaving the floor moments before the playing of the national anthem only to return seconds after it completed, the packed Chase Center in San Francisco was raucous.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-27
🔮 Caffeine might not even be needed.

Claims (46 extracted, 6 hedged)

Caffeine might not even be needed. uncertain
Caffeine → need → ?
Pure adrenaline could get the job done. uncertain
job → get → ?
Fans of the Golden State Valkyries are in for an early-morning wakeup call on Thursday when Game 6 of the WNBA Finals tips off in Atlanta at 9:30 a.m. Pacific time. asserted
Game → tip → a.m.
This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. uncertain
page → contain → partners
If you sign up or place a wager, FOX News may be compensated. uncertain
News → sign → wager
This content was created by a team that works independently from the FOX newsroom. asserted
that → create → newsroom
But during Monday’s Game 5 against Atlanta, which began like every other Finals game, with both teams leaving the floor moments before the playing of the national anthem only to return seconds after it completed, the packed Chase Center in San Francisco was raucous. asserted
Center → begin → Francisco
Fans of this 2-year-old team, clad floor to rafters in their giveaway lavender T-shirts, were beyond keyed up. asserted
Fans → clothe → shirts
They were loud and on the edge of their seats, willing their team on every play en route to a 64-55 victory that gave Golden State a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series. asserted
that → will → series
That buzz could last a few days, which will come in handy when that alarm clock rings. uncertain
clock → last → days
"I will be taking time off of work that day, for sure," one female fan said, planning a personal day for Thursday. asserted
fan → take → Thursday
"It’s really disappointing that more fans won’t be able to be cheering for the Valkyries on the West Coast," said another female fan, who brings her kids to games. asserted
who → ’ → games
"It’s pretty hard to do with kid drop-offs and school, but I’m going to make it work somehow." asserted
it → ’ → offs
Some retirees said they get up early anyway, so they’re not sweating it and will be glued to their TVs for a road game, per usual. asserted
they → say → game
A couple of male fans said they would be watching on their laptops … at work. asserted
they → say → work
The Dream, who normally play at Gateway Center Arena, have played playoff games at State Farm Arena because Gateway has a capacity of only 3,500 for basketball games. asserted
Gateway → play → games
But now that the NBA season has started, State Farm, home of the Atlanta Hawks, has gotten busy. asserted
Farm → start → Hawks
Some juggling was required once it became clear that the WNBA Finals would be going back to Atlanta for a Game 6 on Thursday. asserted
Finals → require → Thursday
Several other options were considered before the early game time was chosen to create an unusual doubleheader of sorts. asserted
time → consider → sorts
Many fans in the Bay Area seemed far more concerned about the scheduling chaos for Game 6 than they are about the controversy surrounding the national anthem walkouts that have been swirling around the WNBA Finals since Game 1. asserted
that → seem → Game
"I don’t understand why we’re singing the national anthem [before games] to begin with, that’s all there is to it," one female fan said. asserted
fan → understand → it
"If they want to go back [in the tunnel] and re-group, great. asserted
they → want → tunnel
We’ve been doing it for two seasons." asserted
We → do → seasons
"This is a non-controversy that people are trying to make into a controversy," a male fan said. asserted
fan → try → controversy
"I don’t think not being out on the floor for the national anthem says anything about patriotism or loyalty to the United States." asserted
being → think → States
Many fans said that being on the court for the national anthem should be a personal choice for athletes, even if that isn’t the choice they would make for themselves. asserted
they → say → themselves
"We have strong feelings about this," said a female fan who came to the game with her husband and both were dressed from head to toe in Valkyries lavender. asserted
both → have → lavender
"We’re both retired military. asserted
We → ’re → ?
So we stand, we put our hands on our hearts and we honor the flag. asserted
we → stand → flag
The players … are doing something to get ready for the game. asserted
players → do → game
"It’s not new to us that they leave the court for the national anthem. asserted
they → ’ → anthem
If they stayed and saluted the flag [during the anthem], I’d be fine with that [too]. asserted
I → stay → that
This country is so divided anyway. asserted
country → divide → ?
Everyone just has to support their own true feelings. asserted
Everyone → have → feelings
There is actually a provision in the WNBA rulebook stating that players should stand respectfully on the court while the national anthem is being played. asserted
anthem → be → court
But the league has not enforced that rule since 2017. asserted
league → enforce → 2017
"I wish they would stand out there for the national anthem," one female fan said. asserted
fan → wish → anthem
"But it’s one of those ‘to each their own’ [things] and they’ve been doing it from the beginning. asserted
they → ’ → beginning
"Maybe the national anthem means different things for different people. asserted
anthem → mean → people
But for me, as an American, I think about people who gave up their lives for us to be free, so that we could decide to stand or hide in the tunnel or sit down. uncertain
we → think → tunnel
…and 6 more, not listed.
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