BOISE, Idaho — It's official. Banana Ball buzz has finally made it to Idaho as the Texas Tailgaters and Party Animals play the first Banana Ball game in the Gem State Friday and Saturday.
36,000 fans packed into Albertsons Stadium this week as Banana Ball made its long-awaited Idaho debut, bringing music, dancing and nonstop entertainment to Boise. The tour turned the famous turf at BSU into a baseball field.
“It’s fun, it’s exciting, and there’s never a dull moment,” said fan Joyce Mauck. “You’ll be singing and dancing with them. It’s fun.”
Mauck is no stranger to the unique brand of baseball. From choreographed dances to electric guitar performances, Banana Ball blends America’s pastime with a high-energy show designed to keep fans entertained from start to finish.
Even though many of the Texas Tailgaters and Party Animals had never visited Idaho, for some players, the stop in Boise carried a personal connection.
“I went to Treasure Valley Community College right over the Payette border there in Ontario,” said Texas Tailgaters pitcher Brett Allen. “I spent a lot of time coming here to Boise. Boise State was the first American football game I’d ever watched.”
Allen moved from Australia to Idaho six years ago and now finds himself returning to the Gem State as part of one of the most popular touring baseball events in the country.
Watch the Banana Ball fun here:
Playing baseball inside Albertsons Stadium — better known as the home of the Boise State Broncos and its iconic blue turf — was a surreal experience for the pitcher.
“Seeing a baseball field on it is definitely throwing me for a loop,” Allen said. “It feels very full circle to come back here to Idaho.”
Allen says he’s glad Banana Ball chose Boise as one of its tour stops, calling Idaho one of his favorite places in the country.
“It’s absolutely awesome,” he said. “Forty-five minutes in every direction from Boise there’s waterfalls, kayaking, the mountains I snowboarded on my freshman year — you can do absolutely anything here.”
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