THE SAVANNAH BANANAS JUST AREN’T MY THING

Unpopular opinion: the Savannah Bananas are boring.

Which is weird coming from me, because I’m usually the first person yelling for baseball to loosen up. I love the pitch clock. I love infielders playing wherever they want. I love bat flips. I even love the runner at second in extra innings. I’ve spent years arguing against baseball traditionalists who are in heaven’s waiting room, acting like every change is going to kill the sport that’s desperate to capture the younger fan base.

So naturally, I thought I’d love Banana Ball.

To be fair, there are parts of it I genuinely dig the vibe of. I actually love the scoring system where every inning is worth a point. That’s smart and keeps every inning meaningful and stops games from feeling over after one crooked number early.

With that said, every time I try watching Banana Ball on ESPN+, it feels like the same bit over and over again. It’s literally the same old song and dance. Literally.

You have to give credit to the founder and owner of the Bananas, Jesse Cole. The guy is a marketing genius, likeable, and loyal to the fans. He built something insanely successful from scratch, and even when faced with adversity, he doubled down and bet on himself.

It’s just not for me.

What’s interesting is that I’ve seen many people state online that the huge football stadium tours are actually hurting the product. Banana Ball is supposedly way better in smaller parks, where it feels more intimate and less like traveling to the Ringling Brothers Circus.

And maybe they’re right. Maybe this is one of those things you have to experience live before you can fairly judge it, kind of like what people have always told me about hockey. The atmosphere probably elevates the whole product.

The funny thing is, with my luck, by the time I finally win the lottery to get tickets, it’ll be because the popularity has already cooled off and demand has dropped anyway.

As for whether this type of popularity is sustainable in the long run or just a fad? I have no clue, but time will tell.