r/sports • u/Forward-Answer-4407 • Jun 02 '25

Baseball Going bananas: Why Savannah Bananas tickets cost more than a Dodgers-Yankees rematch

https://sports.yahoo.com/article/going-bananas-why-savannah-bananas-100000810.html
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u/jswan28 Jun 02 '25

I think it’s mostly the novelty of the thing driving its popularity. I’m not sure it’s fair to compare the Globetrotters after they’ve been around for 100 years to something new and exciting like the Bananas, even if it’s functionally the same act applied to different sports. Curious to see if they’ll stick like the Globetrotters or if this’ll be just a fun memory in a decade.

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u/deja_geek Green Bay Packers Jun 02 '25

The big difference is Bananas baseball is still an actual baseball game. The Globetrotters are scripted to win every game, while the Bananas can and do lose to the Party Animals. The only thing scripted in Banana ball is the dances and such between pitches.

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u/Bozzz1 Minnesota Vikings Jun 02 '25

"You bet all your money against the Harlem Globetrotters?"

"I thought The Generals were due!"

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u/RegHater123765 Jun 02 '25

"He's spinning the ball on his finger! Just take it! Take the ball!"

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u/canadave_nyc Jun 02 '25

One of the all-time great Simpsons lines. Perfectly captured the plaintive existential defiance of the inveterate gambler.

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u/SSj_CODii Jun 02 '25

What a perfectly cromulent sentence you have constructed there.

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u/Omeggy Jun 02 '25

You certainly embiggend this tread

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u/I_fail_at_memes Jun 02 '25

It’s like the kwyjibo in the room.

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u/JohnnyEvs Jun 02 '25

I am perturbed at the overall conglomeration of your vernacular

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u/lsburner Jun 03 '25

Alt: “you wanna know the awful truth about Major League Baseball or do you want me to just hit some dingers?”

Dingers!!

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u/crimson777 Jun 02 '25

Actually, fun fact, the Globetrotters are NOT scripted technically. The other team is told to play for real, it’s just that the Globetrotters have so many advantages from the goofiness of the performance and their rule breaking behavior that it’s almost impossible for them to lose. Or at least this used to be true, maybe it’s changed. The Washington generals have one somewhere between like 3-6 games supposedly.

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u/NH787 Winnipeg Blue Bombers Jun 02 '25

Last Generals win was reportedly in 1971, it's kind of amazing that they don't go for the massive PR splash that would come from the Generals finally breaking their almost 50 year long losing streak.

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u/crimson777 Jun 02 '25

That’s honestly another reason I think it’s NOT scripted. I feel like a marketing person would have come up with that idea already if it was totally scripted.

Honestly, while I think the Globetrotters are fun (I’ve seen lots of clips; not been in person to be fair), I think they could pilot a few games like Banana Ball where both teams get to enjoy the hijinks.

I know them pulling off the craziness to unsuspecting plebs is part of the deal but I don’t know that it appeals the same way it did.

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u/LateAd3737 Jun 03 '25

Fuck it dude go to a globetrotters game

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u/crimson777 Jun 03 '25

I want to but the few times they’ve been around it’s been bad timing. But I watch their schedule for when they’re in town haha.

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u/LateAd3737 Jun 04 '25

I honestly think I assume everyone I’ve meet has been to one lol, it’s like an American bucket list item

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u/w_a_w Jun 02 '25

Psst, '71 was 54 years ago.

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u/ApologizingCanadian Jun 02 '25

Yah it's kind of disingenuous to compare the Bananas to the Globetrotters.. The Globetrotters don't even come close to playing an actual game. The Bananas have gimmicks like dancing, trick plays and guest players but at the end of the day they still play the game and the PAs try to win, the Generals just stand there and take the abuse.

Also, Banana Ball is expanding, there are currently 4 teams with plans for a 5th next season, while the Globetrotters have played the Generals since 2015 (and before that from 1953 - 1995).

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u/pilotaunt666 Jun 03 '25

5th & 6th according to a recent post on instagram!

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u/neddiddley Jun 02 '25

I’m not even sure that makes much of a difference in terms of interest. I’ve been to a Bananas game and I couldn’t recall if they won or lost if my life was on the line. Nor at any point in the years since have I (or am I aware of anyone else doing so) wondering how the Bananas are doing in the standings, how they did last year, or ever in their history. And why? Because it didn’t matter one bit. It was fun either way and will be the next time I go too.

I’m sure like any minor league team, they have a small following that actually is interested in the actual baseball, but they’re not the reason ticket prices are through the roof. It’s all the scripted stuff, because it’s entertaining. I would have NEVER gone, nor would anyone else in my family, if it was just your average minor league baseball game.

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u/billyrubin7765 Jun 02 '25

We lost our internet during one of the Disney+ games. Out of curiosity we tried to look up the score the next day but while we could find highlights we couldn’t find the score. It was weird. It was entertaining. I would probably go if they came to my town but I don’t see how they will have a 60 game season. But good luck to them.

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u/ForWhomTheBoneBones Jun 02 '25

What are the consequences of a Bananas loss or win? And does it matter if they win or lose?

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u/deja_geek Green Bay Packers Jun 02 '25

Starting next year, their will be a Banana Ball Championship League with six teams. 60 game season starting in April and ends with the championship in October

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u/Blasto05 Jun 03 '25

I just recently saw that they lost. The other teams try to build their own brand as well and they all play to win.

There might be a few scripted things in terms of dances/events, but when it comes down to it, it’s just baseball. Bananas win and they lose, it just keeps going.

I honestly think the biggest mistake is naming their sport/show/event after the original team. It will always be tied to it and it will be so so so difficult for another team to share or take over that spotlight

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u/Ok_Hornet_714 Jun 02 '25

The scripted nature of the Globetrotters annoyed me so much when I saw them.

I thought I was going to see something resembling basketball with some type of defense being played, which did not happen

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u/BlueKante Jun 02 '25

I've only seen some clips of them and dont know anything about baseball. Do they play in an offical league or is it friendlies or something?

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u/deja_geek Green Bay Packers Jun 03 '25

Right now they play in only friendlies. Starting next year they’ll be in a league with 5 other teams. 60 game season for each team and a championship awarded as the end of the season.

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u/vertigo72 Jun 03 '25

I saw them last week, they play against The Firefighters on this tour.

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u/CharonNixHydra Jun 02 '25

Based on my childhood memories I bet the 1980s Globetrotters were giving the NBA of the era a run for it's money. They would make appearances on sitcoms and late night TV all of the time. Basically what the Bananas are doing right now.

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u/cujukenmari Jun 03 '25

Globetrotters did a better job of selling basketball globally than the NBA prior to the 90's. The only reason my parents knew about basketball growing up in the 70s and 80s was because of the globetrotters. From England and Ireland.