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The Philly Special, backflip catches, and more of the best moments from the Savannah Bananas game

Here are eight of the wackiest things that happened at Citizens Bank Park on Saturday night.

Savannah Bananas owner Jesse Cole watches over the crawling baby race during the 2024 Banana Ball World Tour, featuring the Savannah Bananas vs. the Party Animals at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Saturday.
Savannah Bananas owner Jesse Cole watches over the crawling baby race during the 2024 Banana Ball World Tour, featuring the Savannah Bananas vs. the Party Animals at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Saturday.Read moreElizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer

The Savannah Bananas’ most recent stop on their Banana Ball World Tour was a sold-out game at Citizens Bank Park. The Bananas and their opponents, the Party Animals, paid homage to the city of Philadelphia with Philly-themed walkup songs throughout the night, including the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song and Meek Mill’s “Dreams and Nightmares.” The teams also relived iconic Philly sports moments in front of the Philly faithful and several members of the 2008 Phillies returned to their old home.

The experience of Banana Ball was unique and unlike any other traditional baseball game. It was a complete sensory overload for two hours, but in the best way possible. Here are the top eight wackiest things that happened at the game.

8. Fans a-peeling looks of the night

Banana Ball may have different rules compared to Phillies games, but the fan experience is the same. Fans showed up in their favorite team’s gear, whether that’s the Bananas or the Party Animals, to cheer on their favorite players. But, fans are trading in the plain, boring T-shirts and jerseys for bright colors and animal prints.

7. The Man-nanas cheer squad

The Bananas have their own cheer squad and they call themselves the Man-nanas — a group of fans who wear kilts, shorts with “man-nana” stamped across the backside, with bright yellow pom-poms, and they have the “greatest dad bods in cheer.” Their words, not ours.

6. The Party Animals enter in style

The Party Animals showed love to Philly multiple times. The one that stood out the most was their entrance onto the field at the start of the game. The Party Animals walked out to “Dreams and Nightmares.”

5. Plenty of trick plays

Trick plays are a major part of Banana Ball. The backflip and under-the-leg catches were on full display at the Bank.

4. Earth, Wind & Fire crowd entrance

Do you remember the 21st night of September? We do. And we’re going to absolutely remember this Earth, Wind & Fire “September” walk-up from Brandon Crosby.

3. Pitching in stilts

Even sitting in the press box, it was easy to spot Dakota “Stilts” Albritton.

Albritton stepped up to the mound and pitched in front of the largest crowd in Banana Ball history ... in his stilts.

2. Philly Special replay

A familiar voice took over Citizens Bank Park. Nick Foles’ Philly Special call rang through the stadium — leaving the fans with chills. Displayed across the jumbotron was a video of the now-retired Eagles quarterback Nick Foles running the iconic Philly Philly.

As the video played, the Bananas ran their own version of the most important play in Eagles’ franchise history, but it wasn’t nearly as good as the original — sorry, Bananas.

That wasn’t the only reference to the Eagles for the night, the Party Animals had a Tush Push tribute at home plate.

1. A Phillies 2008 Reunion

The Bananas aren’t new to including special guests into their routines. Some of their past guests include: John Cena, Roger Clemens, Josh Reddick, Shane Victorino, and Hunter Pence.

The Savannah Bananas reunited members of the 2008 Phillies World Series team, including Ryan Howard, Jamie Moyer, Joe Blanton, and Victorino.