I thought I knew the game of baseball, but that was until the Savannah Bananas took over my TikTok For You Page (FYP). Instead of seeing videos of players trying to steal the bases or hitting a home run, I was seeing choreographed dances in bright yellow uniforms and outfielders on stilts. That’s when I started looking into the Savannah Bananas and their new twist on a classic game.
In the Savannah Bananas’ bio, they refer to themselves as “TikTok’s Favorite Team” and have a following of over 5.2 million on the platform, most likely due to the entertaining nature of their games. The team’s main purpose is to entertain their fans, not to win a game. To help them accomplish this goal, they play the actual game a little differently. While the basics of baseball are incorporated, the game that is played when the Savannah Bananas take the field is the game of Banana Ball.
These rules help to ensure (on top of all their dancing) that the game is never a bore. This means that no game lasts longer than two hours no matter what, and that bunting the ball is not allowed and would lead to a player’s ejection from the game. The Bananas also have a vision of focusing on the fans, which is why one of their rules allows fans to get directly involved in the game: if a fan can catch a foul ball, it counts as an out. These games are fast-paced and are created to keep fans invested until the very end. It seems to be working out pretty well for them too as not only do they have packed games, but the team has their own docuseries on ESPN+ all about their team.
Not only does the team have its special way of playing, but the way that the Savannah Bananas’ owner, Jesse Cole, runs the team is pretty special all on its own. Starting with tickets to the games. Each basic open seating tickets are always $25 if bought directly from their webpage with no added tax! According to their Instagram highlights, they also try to stop third-party sellers who try to up the price higher than the $25 retail price!
The team is currently on their “World Tour” traveling across the United States in both home and away games, usually playing against the Savannah Party Animals (another team created by the Bananas). Now, if you get the chance to see the games played in the team’s hometown of Savannah, your $25 ticket includes all-you-can-eat of the following items: hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, chicken sandwiches, popcorn, chips, cookies, water and soda.
On top of just the rules of Banana Ball, there are so many traditions and pieces of each game that makes this team so unique. Just like a lot of professional sports teams, the Bananas have cheerleaders, however, theirs is made up of senior citizens who are called the Banana Nanas. It’s not just the older generations getting involved either, they also honor a baby in each game who gets put in a banana costume and held up to the crowd lion king style.
Each Savannah Banana game is an experience on its own, and the team has done a great job of holding its reputation of being an extremely entertaining game. I don’t know about you, but a trip to Savannah, Georgia to see them play seems pretty worth it.
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