QuickTake:
Amid the grief at losing a friend, I got some smiles from the Savannah Bananas, and I know my buddy would have, too.
I can’t pinpoint exactly when my opinion of the Savannah Bananas turned from rotten to ripe.
To be clear, I’m not anti-Banana, and the traveling circus of surprisingly talented baseball players doesn’t need my approval. They’ve sold millions of tickets around the country and 60,000-plus packed into Autzen Stadium on Saturday for the first of two shows — err — games.
But it’s been a long week. It began Sunday with the news that my friend Zane Sparling had died. Throw in the mild in comparison setbacks of bumper-to-bumper traffic and no media parking for an event holding similar competitive standards to the WWE and, yeah, I was ready to sit in the press box on a summer Saturday — the one where I normally do very serious writing about a real sport — and be a curmudgeon.
So what if Autzen’s seats were packed with smiling kids in Little League, MLB, Ducks and Bananas jerseys? An eagle-eyed purist would have noticed many of the adults had gloves, too, wearing the uniforms of their favorite players.
Disgraceful.
And sure, maybe fans loved it as players in the starting lineups danced through the aisles on their way to the field, but come on — I thought these guys were professionals.
Whatever happened to acting like you’ve been here before?
Have they not read the unwritten rules?
But, of course, the Bananas haven’t been here before.
Nothing like this really has.
Banana Ball dancing umpire Vincent Chapman leaps through the air and dances for fans during a Banana Ball game held at Autzen Stadium June 27, 2026. Credit: Payton Bruni
The Bananas’ first foray into Oregon leaned fully into what’s made them one of the hottest brands in sports. The home plate umpire’s first dance came before the first inning was over. A second-inning rally was interrupted by a mound visit that ended with a rousing air-guitar version of “Thunderstruck,” with pitcher and catcher surrounded by Oregon cheerleaders.
The whole experience was an assault on the senses — one comparable, I’d reckon, to being shrunken, digitized and trapped inside an endlessly scrolling TikTok feed.
Take the third inning, for example. One second I was trying to figure out if there was a live stats page — lol — then scrambling for my camera as players broke into a rendition of the J.G. Wentworth “Cash Now” jingle, then back to my computer to estimate the distance of a home run that landed in the section usually reserved for football families in the fall.
Songs on Autzen’s PA couldn’t have lasted more than 10 seconds. Fans were pulled away from a real moment — a hard foul ball off a shin that left a batter in a heap — by a moonwalking banana in right field.
Children dressed as Ducks raced through the outfield between innings. Fly balls were occasionally caught behind the back. The loudest the crowd got for a play came when a guy in a cape legged out an infield single, took second on a bad throw and slid in just under the tag as “Dear Maria, Count Me In” blasted over the speakers. The entire Bananas roster celebrated from the third-base line. The umpire danced again as “Stanky Leg” welcomed the next batter.
Fans fill the seats at a sold-out Banana Ball game held at Autzen Stadium on June 27, 2026. Credit: Payton Bruni
I knew the “Hey! Look over here!” content stream had sunk its teeth into me when the wave started.
At first it moved like any other — slowly circling the stadium over the course of an at-bat. Then it sped up. Then again. And again. Five minutes in, I briefly wondered if 60,000 people moving in sync might rip a hole in the time-space continuum.
I cracked a grin.
It stayed there as I let the rest of the two-hour Banana Ball spectacle wash over me. The “Bohemian Rhapsody” singalong got me. So did the batter on stilts, “Shout,” and the way founder Jesse Cole sounded genuinely moved when he thanked the crowd afterward for what he called a “special” night.
“We’ve seen people come together in joy and fun,” Cole said. “And I’ll tell you right now, we need a little more fun.”
I couldn’t argue with that. There was a story there.
I’d spent a fair amount of time this week thinking how to start stories. Zane used to text me his favorite bad ledes — the perfect mix of cliché, pun and syrup this profession does best. He was a reporter who thrived in the absurd, and he would have gotten a kick out of the Bananas.
And while I wasn’t thinking about that at the beginning on Saturday, I am now at the end.
I finally got the appeal of the Bananas — just before they had to split.
Dancing With The Stars guest performer Blake Macgrath flips through the air during a dance for the Savannah Bananas at Autzen Stadium June 27, 2026. Credit: Payton Bruni
Party Animals fans cheer during a Banana Ball game held at Autzen Stadium June 27, 2026. Credit: Payton Bruni
Savannah Bananas’ Dakota Albritton walks off the field after batting on stilts during a Banana Ball game against the Party Animals at Autzen Stadium June 27, 2026. Credit: Payton Bruni
Savannah Bananas players sing the JG Wentwork commercial song while dressed in Viking apparel during a Banana Ball game against the Party Animals at Autzen Stadium June 27, 2026. Credit: Payton Bruni
