I finally got to see the Savannah Bananas live in Chicago after following them online for years. Getting tickets wasn’t easy (their waitlist is currently over 3.5 million people long) but the wait was worth it. From the moment we walked in it was nonstop energy: stunts on the field, dancing players, and fan-led singalongs.
It didn’t feel like just another baseball game. Fans in the stands were dancing like no one was watching. Fielders were doing backflip catches. It felt like an experience you couldn’t replicate anywhere else. Joyful, outrageous, and unforgettable.
Which made me wonder: what made it so good? And what can DMOs learn from it?
The Savannah Bananas started out as just a summer collegiate baseball team from Georgia. No big-league affiliation, no billion-dollar payroll, no household-name stars. And yet, they’ve become one of the most talked-about teams in the world.
All because they flipped baseball on its head.
Instead of chasing traditional legitimacy, they built a phenomenon around fun.
The Bananas invented their own sport, Banana Ball, with quirky rules that took all the “boring” parts of traditional baseball out. Games are capped at two hours with a running clock, no bunting is allowed, and foul balls caught by fans actually count as outs. (Imagine what would have happened if that was a rule in the MLB with the Bartman ball!). They leaned into entertainment. Fans loved it and the gamble paid off.
Today, they boast millions of TikTok followers, a ticket waitlist equivalent to the population of 22 US states, and merchandise sales that rival major sports franchises. They’ve turned baseball into a cultural moment, and proved you don’t need major-league status to win major attention.
When the Bananas launched in 2016, they played in an old ballpark in Savannah with broken toilets and a tiny budget. Their first step wasn’t reinventing baseball. It was making sure fans left smiling. Players greeted people at the gate. Staff delivered food to seats. The team tested goofy promotions like dance-offs and grandma cheer squads.
None of it cost much, but it built a reputation. Word spread that a Bananas game felt different. That small start turned into packed stands, then viral clips, then national tours.
DMO Takeaway: You don’t need major funding to make a major impression. Start with what you can control: how visitors feel. The little moments often become the memories that spread.
The Bananas didn’t go viral because they won more games. They went viral because they made baseball look nothing like baseball.
Pitchers do choreographed dance routines before throwing a strike. Batters appear in the stands and walk up to the plate as if they’re filming a music video. At one game, the entire infield froze mid-play to take a group selfie while fans screamed from the stands.
Clips like these racked up millions of views because they broke expectations. They turned ordinary moments into pure spectacle, and people couldn’t stop sharing them.
DMO Takeaway: Normal gets overlooked. The detail that feels too odd, too local, or too playful might be the one thing that makes your destination unforgettable. Find it, lean into it, and let it lead.
The break between innings is usually considered dead time. A time you’d hit the bathroom or grab a beer. Not at a Savannah Bananas game. That’s when the fun really got started.
One inning break brought a baby crawling race across the infield. Another had a dance battle on top of the dugouts. They even had a 5-year-old get up to bat. This video is from another game, but you can catch the feeling. Between the 6th and 7th innings (when I actually was in the restroom) Chicago’s very own Chance the Rapper appeared in the outfield for a mini-concert and choreographed dance moves with both teams. The “boring parts” became the best parts.
Fans didn’t just watch the game. They left with stories about what happened between the action.
DMO Takeaway: Look at your quietest moments and ask how they could surprise people instead. Murals on a side street. A band in the airport terminal. A pop-up in a place travelers don’t expect. Those are the details that surprise and delight.
For the Bananas, connection isn’t an afterthought—it’s the job. Players don’t head straight to the locker room after the game. They stay until every autograph is signed and every photo is taken. Jesse Cole, the team’s founder, talks often about the power of “just one.” If you give one fan an unforgettable interaction, they’ll tell everyone they know.
That level of attention turns casual visitors into evangelists. People don’t just watch a game; they feel like part of the team. And once someone feels that, they’ll promote you more passionately than any ad campaign ever could.
DMO Takeaway: Engagement is the experience. Respond to visitors on social media with intention. Share stories of real people, not just polished attractions. Treat every traveler (and every local) as a potential co-creator. One authentic connection can ripple out further than you expect.
At the Bananas game in Chicago, the merch line by our seats was never shorter than 60 people deep. Fans stood in line so long for a shirt or hat that some missed entire innings. And they didn’t mind.
That’s because the merch isn’t just a souvenir. It’s proof of belonging. Limited drops, clever designs, and a strong identity turned yellow T-shirts and banana-print jerseys into a badge of pride. Demand was so high overseas that the team had to pause international orders. By their own estimates, they make $24 to $25 per fan in merchandise. For their two sold out dates in Chicago, that added up to nearly $2 million in sales.
DMO Takeaway: Merch isn’t just a revenue stream. It signals identity and extends the story beyond the visit. Travelers already spend $50 to $200 on gifts and souvenirs during trips. If your merchandise tells a real story about your place—its culture, its people, and its quirks, it carries your brand into the world long after visitors head home.
Not everyone cheered the Bananas’ approach. Some rival teams accused them of “cheapening the sport” by focusing too much on show over substance.
Even noted baseball writer Tim Kurkjian admitted:
“This is the stupidest thing I have ever seen … I loved it.”
Yes, purists mocked the dancing umpires, the selfie stunts, and the rule tweaks. But the Bananas leaned into the criticism. They shrugged off the safe path and embraced radical experimentation.
Their willingness to take risks put them in a space no other team was trying to fill.
DMO Takeaway: If you only copy what others do, you stay ordinary. What idea might raise an eyebrow but delight people anyway? Don’t wait for permission. Bravery is part of the product.
Fans First isn’t just their motto, it’s how they operate. At the end of the game, 95% of the crowd was still there, hoping for more. That’s what happens when every detail is designed to keep fans surprised, entertained, and connected.
Walking out of the stadium, I realized I couldn’t even recall who won the game. What stuck with me was the joy and the sense that I had been part of something bigger.
That’s the opportunity for destinations. Visitors won’t remember your statistics, your ad spend, or your talking points. They will remember how you made them feel.
Be bold. Be weird. Be worth the trip.
