This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at FSU chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.<\/p>\n
Two weekends ago, FSU gold took on a slightly more yellow hue. Over 74,000 fans<\/a>, families, and potassium lovers of all ages took to Dick Howser Stadium and Doak Campbell to watch something reminiscent of baseball, if baseball had back-flipping umpires and the occasional TikTok dance<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Savannah Bananas kicked off their 2026 World Tour<\/a> in Tallahassee, bringing three nights of Banana Ball, something I\u2019d consider a mere cousin to baseball. The matchup on Saturday, Feb. 28, and their Lone Star opponents in the Texas Tailgaters, attracted a crowd of more than 60,000<\/a> to watch what was the first non-football event<\/a> held in the renovated Doak Campbell Stadium.<\/p>\n Who are the Savannah Bananas?<\/p>\n Perhaps the most successful \u201ccrop\u201d Georgia has ever exported, the Savannah Bananas are a wildly popular barnstorming baseball team<\/a> who put their own theatrical spin on America\u2019s pastime. Originally a collegiate summer baseball team<\/a> under the Coastal Plain League, Banana Ball emerged as an experiment to make baseball fast-paced, fun, and perhaps a bit less daunting as a traditionally three to three and a half hour affair.<\/p>\n Banana Ball is played under a unique set of rules distinct from traditional baseball, including a match play format, a two-hour time limit, and a sworn vow against bunting \u2014 that\u2019s right, all Banana Ball players are expected to swing for the fences.<\/p>\n The trademark \u201cfans first mentality\u201d<\/a> of this baseball variant is what puts it into a league of its own. The game is designed to keep fans engaged and give them opportunities to take part in the action; from having in-game photo-ops with players in the grandstands (because it didn\u2019t happen if you didn\u2019t get a selfie) to finally getting their \u201cput me in coach\u201d moment by catching foul balls for real outs.<\/p>\n While acrobatics or a knack for TikTok-ing aren\u2019t official rules of the sport, they can certainly increase one\u2019s prospects of making it big in Banana land. Banana Baseball is known for its trick plays, pre-pitch dances, and in-game promotions, the baby race being a personal favorite.<\/p>\n The success of Banana Ball, which was watched in-person by over 2 million fans in 2025<\/a>, has led to the league\u2019s expansion into six different squads. In the Banana Ball Championship League, the Bananas are joined by the Party Animals, Firefighters, Texas Tailgaters, Indianapolis Clowns, and a fruit-named counterpart in the Loco Beach Coconuts.<\/p>\n In games one and two of the Bananas\u2019 Tallahassee series, Loco Beach took the win in a Firefighters-Coconuts showdown, and the Clowns defeated the Party Animals under Friday night lights at Dick Howser Stadium.<\/p>\n The Tallahassee to Savannah Pipeline<\/p>\n The trip to Tallahassee was a homecoming for a few Bananas, including former Florida A&M baseball standouts<\/a> Malachi Mitchell and Ty Jackson, ex-Tallahassee State Eagle<\/a> Tanner Thomas, and former Seminole Logan Lacey.<\/p>\n Lacey, a Firefighter who played third base for the Noles from 2020 to 2022, settled back into the hot corner at Dick Howser Stadium on Thursday night and made the first trick play of the Bananas\u2019 2026 season. Discussing his return to Tallahassee<\/a> with WCTV, Lacey said, \u201cI almost teared up a little bit, like \u2018oh my God, I get to go home. I get to do this all over with my family,\u2019 so I was excited.\u201d<\/p>\n How did the Bananas fare in Tallahassee?<\/p>\n The Bananas\u2019 sold-out show at Doak Campbell resulted in a five-to-three Bananas win over the Tailgaters, complete with a handful of homeruns, a cellphone flashlight-lit singalong to Coldplay\u2019s \u201cYellow,\u201d a successful marriage proposal, and the inaugural stadium-wide war chant of 2026. <\/p>\n The weekend brought over 80,000 visitors to Tallahassee<\/a>, which I\u2019m sure isn\u2019t a shock to anyone who sat in Saturday evening traffic two weeks ago, and is projected to have had an economic impact of millions on the city.<\/p>\n As the squad embarks on the remainder of its world tour, with a two-day stint in Savannah next in line after its Tallahassee takeover, one thing\u2019s for sure: it has left behind a Tallahassee that\u2019s a little more yellow and a whole lot more bananas.<\/p>\n Want to see more HCFSU? Be sure to follow us on Instagram<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, and Pinterest<\/a>!<\/p>\n \t