I was born in 1985. Sociologically-speaking, this means two things:
- I can recall a mostly analog childhood & adolescence.
- I learned just enough about technology/trends in my formative years to be able to hold my own pop-culturally into my quadragenarian years.
As such, and as an enormous Major League Baseball fan, I don’t know what to make of the Savannah Bananas.
In case you are unaware (I certainly was until delving in), the Bananas started in 2016 as a legitimate participant in the collegiate wood bat Coastal Plain League. But by 2023, the organization realized its wacky exhibitions with odd rules and TikTok-inspired dance performances were the real draw and shifted that direction full-time.
The result: enormous interest around the country (and even the world).
A few months ago, the barnstorming Bananas sold out a three-game weekend series at Target Field. While not an apples to apples comparison, obviously, the Minnesota Twins have sold out two home contests since the start of the 2025 season.
I will admit that I have at least somewhat of a “get off my lawn” reaction to Banana-ball. I wince a little when looking out over the cultural landscape and seeing everything condensed into TikTok dances and short-form, attention span-killing tidbits. I’m not some super self-serious fellow either—a 40-year old with collections of Nintendo plushies and WWF Hasbro action figures.
But still—it pains me a bit to see my favorite sport repurposed for frivolity and that product filling the stadiums in which the real thing often comes up woefully short by comparison (even of the extremely short-term variety).
At the same time, I also know of the Harlem Globetrotters. I didn’t grow up in their 1970s-early 1980s peak (you’ve made it pop-culturally when you show up on Gilligan’s Island), but I know they similarly thrilled audiences with their goofy antics and impressive trick skills.
The Bananas are basically the Globetrotters of the modern epoch. They each take a beloved sporting pastime and strip out the more serious, competitive aspects until it is all fun and games. The likes of Meadowlark Lemon and Fred “Curly” Neal being popular entertainers didn’t stop hoops-junkies from also adoring Kareem, Dr. J., Magic, or Pistol Pete. In fact, one likely complimented the other in synergistic fashion.
So, as much as I—a “baseball 1%-er”—may cringe at the twerking umpires, crooning competitors, and dance trend connoisseurs plying their trade in bright yellow getups, it in no way has to squelch interest in Ohtani, Buck Truck, Judge, The Miz, or the many other hardball heroes doing it in a more competitive environment. In fact, there is perhaps a case to be made that simply getting three days worth of families into Target Field for any even tangentially baseball-based event is a win for “both sides”.
I haven’t yet attended a Bananas extravaganza—there are bridges I can create and there are bridges too far (hahaha). But for those who have, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Anything from “it was the highlight of my year” to “old man yells at cloud” is acceptable!
