Bananaball in Baltimore

If you've been on social media the past couple years, you've probably seen clips of the Savannah Bananas. They appeal to me for obvious reasons--combining baseball and choreographed dancing? AMAZING. Naturally I was all in.

The Bananas came to Camden Yards this past weekend and we were lucky enough to get tickets (thanks to my Orioles season ticket plan; I didn't win the Bananas lottery). (They were also really awful seats; we had pretty much no say in where the tickets were--all I could indicate was the $40 right field upper deck because that was, I think, all that was available. I'm still pretty miffed at where we wound up, but oh well.)

It was a really good time. When they go to MLB parks, the Bananas line up former players to make cameos in the game; we got Adam Jones and former manager Buck Showalter, plus the band All Time Low. The crowd went absolutely nuts for all of them. 

It was pretty overwhelming. There was literally always music playing. Various "cast members" (Bananas staff and players not in the night's game--the pitcher with the hat above showed up in our section a few times) would appear in the stands randomly for things like a sing-off. The game would be actively going on and the Banana mascot would be wandering around the outfield, or a group of players would run down to the foul pole to climb it. There'd be a brief pause as players did an elaborate dance before an at-bat (and having watched countless of these online, it was interesting watching the logistics of the filming):

The Bananas do a dance for an at-bat at the game on Friday, August 1 at Camden Yards.

For the game itself, players would periodically make trick plays. It was very difficult to figure things out about what was going on during the game; there was only one place in the park that showed balls, strikes, and outs. (It also showed trick plays and the clock--Banana games have a limit of 2 hours) I had tried to remind myself of the rules specific to Bananaball, but a lot of them slipped my mind, which meant I was very confused when the Bananas left the field after scoring a run in a late inning (due to the complexities of the scoring system, which I will not bore you with). 

I had fun singing along and watching the million things going on. But I don't feel like I need to see them again for at least 5 years or so. It was all spectacle and craziness and I liked it, but I don't know that I'd call it exciting. I'm sure there are people with favorite players, but it's not like the result of the game mattered. (I can't actually find the Bananas' win-loss record for the year.) The Bananas PTB get offended when people compare them to the Harlem Globetrotters, saying that the games are real and not scripted (other than the various antics). And while they may not know who's going to win, the issue is, it doesn't matter who wins.

I chatted with a friend who isn't a baseball fan and went, and I said that people weren't invested in the game. She pointed out the many people in Bananas gear, which is true, but I couldn't discern much of a difference in crowd noise when the Bananas scored. People have Bananas gear because they like the concept and the spectacle; I don't think they particularly cared about--or wore involved in--the game on the field. 

I do wonder what it would be like to see a game in the Bananas' own stadium in Savannah. I'm pretty sure they do have season ticket holders; there probably are people who are emotionally invested. But those aren't the majority attending games at MLB (or NFL) stadiums. And clearly enough people are watching for ESPN to broadcast their games.

I also wonder about their staying power. They've been around for 5 years; I wonder what they'll look like in another 5.