TAMPA, Fla. — It's like baseball, only it can't go for longer than two hours, each team can challenge one ruling, no bunting or walking allowed — and there's a lot more choreographed dancing.
These and other quirky features have made Banana Ball an underground favorite among sports fans on social media. And in 2024, The Savannah Bananas, known for being the only baseball team to play wearing kilts, will be kicking off the World Banana Ball Tour here in Tampa Bay.
The Bananas' first match will be against rival team The Party Animals, a team billed as "The most electric team in Banana Ball." Images on their website show their hard-partying antics on the field, which include shirtless muscle flexing, line-dancing, shooting off party poppers and carrying players around the field on another's shoulders.
The sport began in 2018 when Banana Ball was first played at Lander University in Greenwood, South Carolina. According to the website, it was designed to get rid of the lulls and pauses that are common in regular baseball and to make the sport more entertaining for younger generations with fast-paced rules, continuous play and a special emphasis on performance and spectacle.
In that respect, The Savannah Bananas are somewhat in the tradition of The Harlem Globetrotters: a team that combines a sport with entertainment, laughs and spectacle. The difference is that the Bananas play by their own modified rules, and the winning team in their games is not a foregone conclusion.
The Banana Ball League consists of three teams based out of Savannah, Georgia: The Savannah Bananas, The Party Animals and The Firefighters. All three are owned by Fans First Entertainment. The league first took its games on tour in 2021 and as its popularity continues to grow, so does the reach of its Banana Ball World Tour.
The Savannah Bananas' 2024 season opener will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 8, and Friday, Feb. 9 at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. An afternoon game is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10. Information on how to get tickets (which are typically sold for $35) is available at BananaBall.com.
