10/10/2026
Banana Bowl 2026: Savannah Bananas vs. Texas Tailgaters @ Nationals Park (Washington, DC)
This one's for all the scented marbles
James Calingo
Tags:Banana Ball, Baseball, Championship Game, Independent Baseball, Other Sports, Outdoor Sports, Repeat Visit, Washington DC
By now, some of you are probably tired of reading about Banana Ball - especially since this is the SIXTH time I’ve posted about it on this blog. If this is you, I can understand: on some level, it’s gotta be annoying hearing about me going to all of these games that you either don’t really care about because you think Banana Ball is too "avant garde" and/or have massive FOMO about because you couldn’t get tickets.
However...this one’s different: it’s the final Banana Ball post for 2026, and it’s a special one, as it’s the league's championship game. Before we get into the actual game, however, I do need to mention one thing:
What could have been
I know I've already seen Banana Ball four other times this year (plus one time last year)...but here's the thing: I had tickets to TWO other Banana Ball games this year that I ended up not going to (not counting the Friday night Jersey Shore game that I had to miss due to vacation1).
First, I was intending to go to Gillette Stadium in Foxboro(ugh)2, MA at the end of August. In the weeks leading up to the game, I was considering not going (because if you've never been to Gillette Stadium, getting in and out is bad PLUS the stadium was charging for lots that are normally free), but eventually felt I still wanted to do it. Unfortunately, something came up in the days before the game that required my attention, so I ended up not going (and again, I was apprehensive about the trip anyway)3. On a somewhat interesting note: the Hartford game I went to was used as a "test" of selling K Club tickets, and I guess it worked decently enough, because I was able to list my ticket on the marketplace (which is something I hadn't been able to do before outside of the whole Yankee Stadium thing).
Second, do you recall me going to the PLL Championship game back in September? Well, one of the BIG reasons I was able to do that was because I had to forego my original plan for that weekend: a trip to Savannah, GA.
I’ve talked about the K Club before (partially because I’m a member), but in case you weren’t aware, it’s a Savannah Bananas fan club which includes, among other things, early and (basically) guaranteed access to tickets for most Banana Ball games - keyword "most". Right before the org announced its 2026 schedule, they sent an email to K Club members that indicated that tickets for games IN Savannah were going to be limited to fans who joined the K Club back in 2022 and 2023; I joined in 2024, so I was not going to be able to buy tickets to see Banana Ball in Savannah...or so I thought.
However, after processing the sales to the two groups, I received an email that indicated that tickets were still available for Savannah games, and that I’d have a chance to get tickets to a game in Savannah. I had chosen a game in September as my date to head down - largely as I needed to get some things together in order to be able to make the trip down.
Alas...I wasn't able to get things in order in time. Yes, part of it is due to how wild certain things are nowadays (plus a lot of the things that also made me going to Foxboro untenable), but at the end of the day, a lot of it falls on me failing to do the things I kinda sorta NEEDED to do to make the trip to Savannah feasible.
With THAT note out of the way, let's talk about THIS game.
The League of Extraordinary Bananas
While 2026 marks the debut of the Banana Ball Championship League, it's not the first time the organization has had a playoff to determine an "overall champion". I alluded to it back at Yankee Stadium, but there was a playoff between the (then) four teams last year which the Party Animals won. Of course, now that there is a league, what does every good league need? A champion!
And if you're the Banana Ball Championship League, how do you do your first "official" championship game?
By going BIG.
In August, it was announced that the championship game - known as the Banana Bowl - would be held at Nationals Park in Washington, DC. Not only that, they announced that no matter what the matchup was, ALL SIX TEAMS and their respective casts of characters (of questionable necessity) would be present. K Club members were asked if they wanted to opt in for the chance to buy tickets, and the allure of watching a championship game (plus the fact that the other four teams that aren't playing were going to be present) made me decide to go for it. It also helped that the factors that killed my trip to Savannah (transportation and lodging) were not issues for the Banana Bowl: DC is close enough from New Jersey to drive to, and my brother lives in the city, so I wouldn't have to worry about either.
National...something
I'm not going to talk about the Washington Nationals here - they've largely been mediocre to bad since arriving in 2005 (and this somehow includes the year they won the World Series).
Their home stadium - the aplty named Nationals Park - opened in 2008 after the team spent a few years at RFK Stadium (an older stadium is scheduled to werwerwerbe demolished soon). It's in the District's Navy Yard area, and if I'm going to be honest...it's not all that unique. Much like most modern parks, it's got a full main concourse and shorter upper deck concourses which are "broken" up by the outfield, but unlike several stadiums opened in the same era, it's made of more "modern" materials (as opposed to the brick ballparks the team's divisional rivals). Swaths of the ballpark USED to have great views of the US Capitol Building, but modern construction around the stadium has obscured these views.
I should note, however, that I actually didn't explore the ballpark much during the game - I was mostly in my seat after the seating bowl opened save for a couple of times I went up to the concourse for food and...
The Plaza and Pregame (and MERCH)
I'm not sure exactly how common this is, but the main gate and team store for Nationals Park are in the outfield (as was the pre game plaza for this game). While the items here aren't exactly "earth shatteringly unique", it is the place where I "re-started" collecting hats in 2019 (which I had stopped because my childhood collection became too small for my head). I also recall a visit where I thought about getting some of their clearance jerseys (i.e. the jerseys for players who just left the team), but none were my size.
During my 2019 visit, I also recall finding a jersey from the 2018 All-Star Game which the Nationals hosted at one of the merchandise booths (that wasn't the main store). Unfortunately, it was NOT clearance priced, so I had to pass on it...
As for the Banana Bowl, speculation about merchandise was rampant in the weeks leading up to the game (as all six teams would be present), but a few days before the game, I got an email saying that merch would only be available for the two teams playing: The Savannah Bananas and the Texas Tailgaters - the matchup I WOULD HAVE seen had I made it to Savannah.
As mentioned earlier, the pre-game plaza for this game was in the outfield, but it also featured something I haven't seen in a while: a K Club area (on the upper concourse)! There was a small merchandise area here, and somehow, it was far and away the WORST part of the day. Not only was it super crowded (it took me nearly an hour to get through the line), but they didn't have a lot of things - namely, they did not have anything Bananas or Tailgaters specific (i.e. shirts, jerseys, and hats), which were available in other parts of the stadium. The K Club area did offer early views of the field, however, so you could see all the people who got the backstage pass on the field with the teams.
One note: I'd been collecting "2026 World Tour" shirts at prior games, but they didn't have either team's tour shirt here. As I skipped my only other chance to see the Tailgaters, this means that I was unable to get a "Texas Tailgaters 2026 World Tour" shirt (as well as the Firefighters, who I never saw in 20264)
The big show
In the lead up to the Banana Bowl, the organization promised a spectacle like none they'd ever done before. Sure enough, many, MANY guests showed up to make the night special. I can't remember ALL of the things that happened, but a few highlights:
- The Bananas' mascot arriving via parachute
- Famous a capella group Pentatonix singing the anthem (with a flyover)
- John Cena somehow managing to show up to deliver the game ball
- Several musical acts doing "walkups"
- Former Washington Capitals player T.J. Oshie escorting a player
After each of the first six innings, each of the six teams debuted a song that they intend to use more next year. I'm not, but it was definitely awkward having the Tailgaters introduce their song for next year immediately after giving up a walk-off home run...
Before the final inning, there was a special "Final Inning Show" featuring all six teams, several of their musical acts, and the cast of "Dancing With the Stars" (as one of the Bananas is on the current season) - but before that, the teams were accompanied on field by...
The Jonas Brothers.
I had heard rumors that they MIGHT be involved as JoBros fans noted their schedule was clear for today, but I doubted they'd show up until, well...they did.
The big game
The actual game, in my opinion, was pretty good - unlike some of the Banana Ball games I've been to this year (*coughHartford*cough), it moved rather quickly and had a lot of "action" - though it was a bit of a pitcher's duel. One of the fan-favorite moments came when one inning featured a "Zimmerman(n)-off": former Washington Nationals pitcher Jordan Zimmermann pitching for the Tailgaters against Natinals5 franchise legend Ryan Zimmerman hitting for the Bananas (Jordan won). However, I think the game was won on Texas Tailgaters manager Joe Mikulik doing something seemingly unheard of in Banana Ball: actually being a strategic baseball manager (as opposed to his infamous antics from his minor league career - look up "Joe Mikulik meltdown" on YouTube for SEVERAL examples).
It's the eighth inning, and the Tailgaters are down 1-0. Due up is a batter who is 0-2, but more importantly, he's the designated "strikeout" guy: if he strikes out, the crowd gets donuts (by which I mean munchkins are thrown into the crowd and you MIGHT get some).
Instead of having him come up with the crowd vehemently against him, the Tailgaters use their Golden Batter to "switch up" the pressure - and he responds by hitting a home run. They win the inning and the all important point to tie the game without having to hope they get the equalizer point for having more trick plays (which they BARELY missed), and they go on to win the first showdown and the game.
END
I've heard that one "thing" with Banana Ball is that once you've gone to one "show", every other game is basically the same show. In a way, the prior three venues I went to this year have kinda proven this. Of those three, each had its highlights and its lowlights (which I won't get too into); case in point: I came out of the Clowns game in Hartford liking their hosts and band...but also seeing just how UGLY things can get when the players aren't actually good at baseball (that and the Party Animals basically ducking JBJ for most of the game). Part of that was the first inning DRAGGING on for almost half an hour, while this game was basically three innings in at that point.
This game (as well as one other thing that I did on this day - more on that soon) reminded me of two of the most important things Banana Ball does:
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Access. Ticket prices are a MASSIVE issue , but I feel ithat fans are intensely disconnected from the players they cheer for: many don't often do public appearances, and when they do, it's usually not free (or cheap). With its emphasis on low price tickets, anti-scalper measures (i.e. their resale market), and having the players be accessible to fans, Banana Ball bridges the gap between the players and the fans way better than the major leagues do. There is actually ONE other thing I did before the Banana Bowl that highlights this, but I'll get to that soon...
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Atmosphere. At a lot of baseball games nowadays, the crowd only really gets into the game when something happens; outside of that...it's dead. Yes, a lot of the atmosphere of Banana Ball is manufactured and more often than not focused AWAY from the game itself, but being at a full, loud stadium is something special for any sport (this is also where I'm going to go against "popular" opinion and say that I kinda prefer the BIGGER venues - though that might just be due to me being in the K Club)
With all of this in mind...I'm conflicted about 2027. I will admit that I have some thoughts about seeing Banana Ball at an MLB stadium I've never been to before (as I'd be able to get seats that are normally WAY out of my price range), but with the MLB lockout looming, it does create some mixed feelings (as buying tickets kinda sorta supports the owners keeping the players locked out).
I've also never done the "VIP" experience before, and so MAYBE I might try and go for that just to see what it's like (I should note that I had the opportunity to get VIP tickets to the game I saw in Lakewood but ended up not).
ON DECK
When in Rome (or in this case the District of Columbia)...
Footnotes
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The story is in my post about the game I did go to, but long story short: I bought tickets for the Friday game in Lakewood, but then found out after paying that we would be on vacation in the Carolinas the week after. In order to facilitate accommodating a Myrtle Beach Pelicans game into this trip (as there was only ONE DAY during the week that worked), we would have to leave that Friday, so I wasn't able to make it to the game. ↩
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The town is OFFICIALLY spelled "Foxborough", but a lot of people - INCLUDING the USPS - use "Foxboro", so I’m not really sure how to spell the town’s name... ↩
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Had I gone, I would've missed the pregame/plaza stuff because I was planning on using the train, and it wasn't scheduled to arrive until 6:00 PM - one hour before the actual "game" started. ↩
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I had "contingency" plans to see the Firefighters in Allentown so I could get their shirt, but never went through with them. ↩
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I feel like I should apologize for making referencing one of the most infamous jersey snafus I can think of, but come on - it's one thing when a career minor league plays for the "ANGEES", but when your TOP TWO players both have the SAME misspelling... ↩