CHAPEL HILL – Bill Belichick heard home-crowd cheers in front of a crowd of about 50,000 spectators at Kenan Stadium.
All it took was the UNC football coach joining the Savannah Bananas’ coaching staff for the bottom of the fifth inning Saturday night.
After some theatrics, Belichick took a spot as the first-base coach. It nearly didn’t go well for the Bananas.
Robert-Anthony Cruz of the Bananas reached first base, but he was doubled off by the Texas Tailgaters on a line drive to second base. Hold on, Belichick threw a challenge flag and, after replay review, the call was overturned.
Belichick hugged Cruz amid the celebration.
“I swear to you that play was not scripted,” said Jared Orton, president of the Bananas.
Belichick didn’t stick around long as he exited after that half-inning, departing with the familiar UNC entourage that was with him for just about every step during the last football season.
But the Banana Ball show continued, so much so that it took the Banana Ball version of extra innings to determine the outcome.
The Bananas won. And they did so again Sunday afternoon (this time the special guest was UNC freshman men’s basketball player Caleb Wilson, who threw the first pitch – a strike).
What it was like
The scene for the Banana Ball visit came with back-to-back sellouts, with crowds of 50,000 for both games.
This traveling circus made its first visit to Chapel Hill. Unlike what might have been described as a circus during the 2025 football season at the stadium, the patrons seemed to enjoy this one.
As Banana Ball has moved into larger stadiums, it’s rare that back-to-back games are contested at the same football venue.
Orton said going to college venues has come about as the schools look for more revenue streams.
“They’re all getting creative with the ‘let’s use our stadium’ thing,” he said.
The weekend stop accounted for two of more than 180 Banana Ball games scheduled for this year.
It’s a major undertaking. The Bananas traveled 205 workers for the event, and hired about 250 more locally to assist.
The traveling party included Banana Nanas (senior citizen dance team), Man-Nanas (think of a dad bod cheerleading squad) and a mini-marching band.
The field at Kenan Stadium was transformed into a baseball diamond. Home plate for the ball field was in the end zone near the Blue Zone in the corner of the home side of the stadium for those familiar with the UNC football set-up.
The Saturday game began at 7 p.m., but the show commenced well before that with activities outside the stadium. The gates opened 2½ hours prior to first pitch, with a steady stream entering the stadium from lines that had twisted in various directions. Several mentioned how it was their first time on the UNC campus.
While many fans showed up already outfitted in Bananas gear, others donned apparel supporting the Texas Tailgaters. The coach for the Tailgaters was Joe Mikulik, whose managerial roles in professional baseball included time in North Carolina cities with the Burlington Indians and Asheville Tourists. He’s the winningest manager in Tourists’ history.
Bananas founder Jesse Cole, in his yellow tux, relaxed in the press box a couple of hours before the first pitch before making his way through the crowd down the stadium stairs and onto the field.
Players tossed footballs into the stands. During player warm-ups, many threw baseballs into the crowd to play catch with youngsters. Others appeared to be working on their acrobatics and dance moves.
The concourses were flooded with souvenir tents, even though a larger display was outside the gates on campus.
The in-stadium pregame entertainment rose to a fever pitch for an hour that included a choreographed session of about 30 minutes.
The Bananas produce the games on YouTube. There’s a Spanish language version as well.
When the game began, the scoreboard showed the time remaining (counting down from two hours).
From there, the party raged on.
