I had a first on Friday: I attended a Savannah Bananas game.
The viral baseball team took over a sold-out Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, the first of two games this weekend in the Queen City.
I didn’t know what to expect, but I learned that while so much takes place during each game, fans will certainly think “that was a pretty cool night” when they relive these memories years later.
Here are my four takeaways from the festivities.
The game is sensory overload to the max
I had become a fan of the Bananas on TikTok. Their videos are fun to watch, and I found myself singing along to them. They often include players walking up to the plate while dancing to hit songs from over the decades.
That was all I knew, though. I had no clue what a game actually looked like. What one felt like.
I’ll be blunt: There is so much going on every second of the night. If you get overstimulated easily, a Bananas game may not be for you.
The players stand outside the dugouts during every at-bat. A new song plays every few seconds (I wanted many to last longer than they did because I enjoyed hearing songs I hadn’t thought of in years). There was a fan sing-off during an at-bat in the second inning. Players took breaks in between plays to dance. At one point, the catcher crawled between the batter’s legs.
That’s all on top of the Banana Ball rules. If you aren’t familiar with them, they can take a minute to get used to. I admittedly should’ve listened when they went over them before the game.
If a spectator in the crowd catches a foul ball, it’s an out. There aren’t any walks. On ball four, the batter runs to first and can advance to as many bases as possible until every position player touches the ball. At that point, the ball becomes live. Each inning is worth one point. Whichever team wins the inning gets that point, until the final inning when every run counts.
Those are just a few of the unique rules.
Once I understood everything, though (the format and the vibe), I thought “You know what, hell yeah.” The rules speed up the game, which is notoriously slow. And the antics break up the monotony of baseball. Everyone will also be entertained one way or another. They’ll make sure of it.
Athleticism was on full display
This may be obvious, but these dudes are incredibly athletic. I don’t know if many MLB players obtain this level of athleticism.
One player completed a backflip as he caught a fly ball on the warning track. Another pitched from the mound while on stilts, and someone else took an at-bat while on a unicycle.
Many pros would go on the injured list immediately after attempting these stunts.
These guys play baseball at a high level, too. They aren’t just putting on a show. They are throwing high-speed pitches and taking competitive at-bats. While dancing.
This is something you can’t see anywhere else.
They played to the home crowd
You can tell the entire organization embraces the city they’re visiting. Perhaps the most popular player on the team, Jackson Olson, took batting practice in a University of Cincinnati Bearcats basketball jersey. The players I talked to before the game had also made sure they tried Cincinnati-style chili, even if they didn’t like it.
And this love for our hometown continued through the night. There was a routine to “Shut Up and Dance” by Cincinnati’s Walk The Moon. Three Reds legends also made appearances: Todd Frazier, Bronson Arroyo and Sean Casey.
Frazier, the 2015 Home Run Derby champion, came out to an electric crowd cheering him on before he took an at-bat. He grounded out, but, as I said, the Bananas can play.
Arroyo performed a cover of Coldplay’s “Viva la Vida” for Reese Alexiades’ walk-up song, and Casey also surprised the crowd with an at-bat (he made it to first base on a passed ball).
“It means everything,” Casey told me after the game while discussing what it meant to get an at-bat in front of Reds fans again. “I’m so grateful for these fans, and I’m just so grateful the way they’ve treated me all these years. Coming here as a 23-year-old little kid and growing up here and having two kids here and being here for eight years. I’m just beyond grateful.”
Chick-fil-A or Disney World-level hospitality
My biggest takeaway was just how friendly everyone within the organization was all day. The players I spoke to were warm and engaging. Random staff members went out of their way to have conversations with me. It felt like everyone was excited to meet us.
That’s rare for journalists, especially while covering an event.
They also made it a safe and fun place for kids and families. I was pleasantly surprised when co-founder Emily Cole honored a family they dubbed the Foster Family of The Game between innings. The team has a nonprofit called Bananas Foster, which celebrates the foster care community. That’s pretty cool.
Anyone can appreciate the time and care the Bananas put into making sure every kid has a smile on their face, even if the antics aren’t your jam. As a dad myself, I know how much joy it brings me seeing my kids have fun. And that’s enough to make the entire night worth it.
I can’t wait for them to (hopefully) return to Great American Ball Park again.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Savannah Bananas in Cincinnati: 4 takeaways from an electric night 1