The mystique of Fenway Park is a wonder of the world on any normal game day. However, when the equivalent of a traveling baseball circus phenomenon like that of the Savannah Bananas rolls into town for the weekend to take over the iconic ballpark, the magic of Bananaland is virtually untouchable.
Returning to a sold-out crowd for the second time in as many years, the vibe was strong over the course of two fun-filled days at Fenway Park during the holiday weekend (July 5 and 6) as part of the team’s Banana Ball World Tour. While Saturday curated quite the kickoff with all of the tricks and treats of a Bananas show, including appearances from beloved former Red Sox players like Keith Foulke, Matt Barnes, and Brock Holt, and even a surprise on-field performance by pop punk titans The All-American Rejects, Sunday’s matinee brought the double dose of Banana mania to a sweet, exciting conclusion. Like the last scoop of a banana split, the day brought all the fixings, different flavors, quite a few nuts, and more than one cherry on top.
Fans were lined up outside of the gates well before their 1 p.m. opening, so once it was time for the venerable ocean of stoked Bananamals to ascend on the area all around the Fenway campus, fans spilled into every crevice of Jersey Street and Van Ness, where a pre-game block party fueled by autograph signings, sing-alongs, dance parties and the Bananas’ very own Dad Bod Cheer Squad, the Man-anas pumped the area full of good vibes.
While fans filled the streets outside, droves of VIBs (Very Important Bananas) were welcomed inside the stadium for a full meet-and-greet with the team, confirming for anyone curious that, in fact, everyone is a celebrity in Bananaland. There’s no hierarchy of status or more demand for any given player or cast member. Whether it was “Radbod” or Space Cowboy from the cheer squad, viral TikTok sensation and second baseman Jackson Olson, Princess Potassia, or Banana Ball ring leader Jesse Cole (who we interviewed back in 2023), fans were lined up in bunches (ba-dum-tiss) to get pictures and autographs from anyone and everyone that had a sharpie in their hand. Fans young and old filled the lines, too, which made for an even more surreal feeling that maybe, just for a day, everyone could be a kid again and enjoy the magic of baseball as the good lord intended.
It had already felt like a full day’s work by the time the daily slate of shenanigans (or, dare we say “banan-igans”) commenced on the field ahead of the 3:30 first pitch, and everyone made their way to their seats with nearly synchronized punctuality, as to not miss any of the action. Even in the scorching 91 degree heat, the Bananas hadn’t wilted by the time things got started, and as a collective, both the Bansnas and their opponent, The Firefighters (who entered the stadium on a fire truck, sirens a’blazin’) took their positions to not only play ball, but to execute a full docket of dance moves, trick plays, and nine full innings of mischief.
With the energy of a vintage game show host and the swagger of Michael Buffer, Savannah’s emcee The Young Professor (donning a chromed out sport coat that had to had to have been sweltering) and catcher Bill Leroy got fans involved early with a grab bag of activities on the field and in the stands. From lightning rounds of rubber chicken karaoke, to more focus-intensive games like banana target practice from atop the Green Monster and choosing the perfect fan to give flowers to, the bleachers were as active as the playing field, while not proving to be too much with the stifling heat and relentless sun.
Adding to the beautiful nonsense, the team hosted a “Kiss-Off” on the first baseline, featuring three couples (the winning couple, a husband and wife of 35 years, also happened to be the horniest of the bunch, and won the crowd over with their blush-worthy friskiness), and a three-pitch strikeout resulted in players taking a lap around the field to toss bags of Dunkin munchkins into the crowd, only adding to the still-pulsating energy, even as the sun began to set and the late innings started to show.
Yes, the activities kept everyone entertained, but that didn’t mean baseball, or the crowd’s appreciation of it, took a back seat in any way. Hell, any sport is gospel in New England, and judging by the reaction to the special guests who donned the bright yellow jersey for the day, fans were looking for the good word as they always do — and the Bananas delivered with precision, finesse, and a whole lot of laughs. Primal roars echoed from the stands as Heisman Trophy winner and former New England Patriot Doug Flutie threw out several first pitches in the spirit of competition, World Series legends Johnny Damon and Jackie Bradley Jr. brought the stadium back to a simpler and more dominant time, and were greeted with a warmth that could only be reserved for royalty, while Bill “Spaceman” Lee took to the mound (or rather just behind it) to further cement his legacy in Banana Ball lore.
Throughout everything that took place, from the moment the gates opened to the final pitch, the neon chaos, and the comical doses of pomp and potassium in between, was owner and showrunner Cole. Vibrantly nestled somewhere on the same entertainment spectrum as Bill Veeck, Willy Wonka, and Walt Disney, the Scituate native grew up with aspirations to dominate Fenway from the field, and for the second time in two years, he did exactly that.
He and his wife Emily, who took a moment on the pitcher’s mound to share the vision and mission of the team’s Foster Care foundation, Banana’s Foster, have built a Banana-flavored world of their own that has truly taken the game of baseball by storm all over the map — and judging by what Cole had to say at the end of a weekend in which they hosted 74,000 fans, they’re really just getting started.
“This was great. We played well, it was much better experience, and we can still get better at what we do,” Cole tells Vanyaland. “The first one was kind of surreal last year, but to be at Fenway and be able to do this a second time shows that we really earned it, and we were ready for it. It was just such a great experience [this weekend], a great show. It’s just fun, and I’m proud to see how far this game has come.”