DETROIT — The Party Animals and the Firefighters, two teams in the Savannah Bananas league, went head-to-head at Comerica Park in Detroit Friday night while the Tigers were away on a road trip.
Nearly 200,000 fans entered a lottery for tickets to the sold-out weekend stop at the ballpark.
Amy Johnson, a fan from Farmington Hills, was among those who made it inside.
"Listen, I am a baseball girl and I am from a baseball family but I wanna see the back flips. I wanna see the fun stuff," Johnson said.
Johnson said the experience extended well beyond the field.
"They pulled out all the stops. There's so much outside of the stadium going on. We spent time out there before we even made it into the gates," Johnson said.
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Sarah Schwartz attended with her sister-in-law, who she said has followed the Savannah Bananas since the beginning.
"She has been in this since the beginning and we are so grateful that she included us," Schwartz said.
Sarah and her husband, Sheldon Schwartz, both volunteer firefighters in New York, said the energy inside the park was unlike anything they had experienced.
"I mean we have hugged, and taken more pictures than we have before with the helmets and whatnot but everybody is in such a great mood," Sheldon Schwartz said.
For Sheldon, the appeal was simple.
"Just the circus atmosphere, like how much fun right," he said.
The game blends baseball with entertainment, and the fans are a central part of every show. One fan said a player interaction made the night memorable.
"I got this already signed by one of the players. That's the funnest thing because I have never gotten anything signed before," the fan said.
The league is also inspiring younger fans. When I asked one young attendee named Sawyer about his baseball dreams, he did not hesitate.
"We are all baseball players," Sawyer said. When asked if he wanted to be a Party Animal one day, he replied: "Savannah Bananas is my dream."
Thousands of fans are expected back at Comerica Park on Saturday for another sold-out show.
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