The Savannah Bananas are all the rage.

For folks who may be uncultured unfamiliar with the name, the Bananas are a team that plays an entertainment-focused version of baseball known as Banana Ball. One may pose the analogy that the Bananas are to the baseball world as the Harlem Globetrotters are to basketball. They only compete against one team, the Party Animals, and the games are interactive and fun for the whole family.

While the team is based out of Grayson Stadium in Savannah, Georgia, its rapid increase in popularity has allowed the group to tour the nation. They have since sold out professional baseball and football stadiums from coast to coast. In fact, the Bananas recently sold out Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In an event that had over 65,000 people in attendance, it’s clear that Banana Ball is the future of sports entertainment. And the future is now.

Later this season, the Bananas will make the trip to more professional venues, including large collegiate ones as well. In April, they will travel to Clemson for a game in Memorial Stadium. Death Valley has a capacity just north of 80,000, and tickets are already limited on the secondary market.

But one stadium is notably excluded from the tour. The cathedral of Penn State football and the mecca of college sports, Beaver Stadium, will not host the Savannah Bananas in the near future. That needs to change.

Beaver Stadium is one of the most iconic venues in all of sports. Put it up there with the Roman Colosseum. It’s that awesome. While it seats over 100,000 people, I have no doubt that Banana Ball can come close to filling it. 

The Bananas plan to make stops in Pittsburgh and Allentown this summer. But if these matchups were consolidated into one game in State College, it would make for a greater spectacle of an even greater scope. People from across the commonwealth would descend on Happy Valley to watch the one-of-a-kind event. Think of the impact that would have on not only the Banana Ball brand but also the local economy and Penn State community.

Now would also be the perfect time to invite the Bananas to Beaver Stadium due to the recent success of the Penn State baseball program. Coming off a loss in the Big Ten Championship last year, and given its strong start to this season, America’s pastime is taking off among Nittany Nation. Bringing the Bananas to campus would amplify this even further and harness an even broader appreciation for the sport.

This should also be looked at purely regarding entertainment value. In Banana Ball, if a fan catches a foul ball on the fly, the batter is out. Picture a foul ball soaring into a packed Beaver Stadium student section, with thousands of college kids trying to snag it. 

Envision a batter sprinting down the Penn State sideline trying to steal first base as the crowd roars. Yes, you can steal first base on any pitch in Banana Ball. And lastly, imagine a bright yellow ball being sent a mile into the 90th row of bleachers, scraping the sky under the Beaver Stadium lights. Cinema.

Even with the ongoing renovations, Beaver Stadium is the perfect place to host a game of Banana Ball. Students, staff members, locals, and travelers alike would relish the opportunity to see this great game being played inside the confines of one of man’s greatest wonders.

Let’s go bananas in Beaver.