Hartford, Conn. (WTIC Radio) - Tickets to see the Savannah Bananas at Dunkin' Donuts Park (home of the Yard Goats on a normal summer evening) as a one-night only stop on their "world tour" have been sold out for weeks and fans showed why Monday night.
A frenzied crowd rushed to the gates for opening at 5:30 p.m. Many were already inside because of a VIP Meet and Greet with players and cast alike. By 5:45 p.m., the stadium was packed for interactive entertainment that more closely resembled Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey's Circus (minus the elephants) than a baseball pre-game.
Fans loved it -- the stadium was quickly coated in a sea of yellow and people were dancing, singing, cheering and locked in to every new bit of entertainment. Whether it was throwing bananas from the upper deck into the extremely large trousers of a Banana player, a man on stilts, player autographs, synchronized dancing -- you name it, the bananas are a variety show of epic proportions.
The game, which runs on a clock of two hours, between the Bananas and their Washington General-esque opponents, the Party Animals, was purely an after thought, though don't be fooled, these guys can really swing it. In what was a slow start for the Bananas turned into a rousing finish as the Bananas won in walk-off fashion in extra innings.
The twist on sudden baseball involved only the pitcher, catcher and a fielder out there for the 10th inning and only a single out required; when both teams recorded the out in the 10th, the game turned to the 11th innings when the fielder was removed and only the pitcher and catcher remained. After the Bananas escaped the top half, Eric Jones Jr. won it in the bottom of the 11th with a walk-off home run/single to left field.
The baseball is impressive, the spectacle something much more. It's quite a delight.