Instagram | Dave Portnoy (left) Instagram | Jesse Cole (right)

The Savannah Bananas may have brought their trademark energy to the ESPYs, but Dave Portnoy wasn’t interested in joining the fun.

The Barstool Sports founder took to social media during the broadcast to vent his frustration after the exhibition baseball team opened the show with a performance of their original song, “The Show Starts Now.”

Dave Portnoy Couldn’t Hide His Disbelief During The ESPYs

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“GET THE F-CKING BANANAS OFF MY TV!!!!” Portnoy wrote on X alongside a video of his reaction, where Portnoy repeatedly expressed disbelief as he watched the routine unfold. “What is this? This is the ESPYs? Oh my God,” he said.

“I didn’t even know what channel this was. I was on ABC. I wasn’t on ESPN. I was watching Chronicle. I look up and the f-cking bananas are on my TV. What the f-ck? The bananas? This guy is doing a pirouette. Get the bananas off my f-cking TV.”

The rant quickly spread across social media, drawing reactions from both supporters and critics.

Fans Turned The Criticism Back On Portnoy

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While Portnoy clearly wasn’t impressed by the Bananas’ appearance, many social media users felt his reaction was far more dramatic than the performance itself.

“Every single one of them is probably a better athlete than Portnoy. His attempt at being part of the upper crust of athletics is laughable,” one person wrote.

Another commenter took a direct shot at the Barstool founder, responding, “That’s the same reaction everybody has when they see your dumb a-s on the screen.”

Others questioned why Portnoy didn’t simply change the channel. “Bruh, it’s your TV. Change the channel or turn it off….” one user joked.

A fourth commenter compared the Bananas’ unconventional rise to Portnoy’s own success, writing, “They are an anomaly Ports, just like your dumb pizza reviews.”

The Savannah Bananas Continue To Divide Sports Fans

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Love them or hate them, the Savannah Bananas have transformed from a quirky baseball experiment into one of the most successful live sports attractions in the country.

The team regularly sells out major stadiums and has built a massive online following by blending baseball with dancing, comedy, fan participation, and trick plays. Their unique style of play, known as Banana Ball, was created with one goal in mind: making the game more entertaining for fans.

Speaking about the origins of Banana Ball, Savannah Bananas founder Jesse Cole explained that many of the league’s unconventional rules were inspired by what he viewed as baseball’s slowest and least exciting moments. “You put yourself in the fan’s shoes, and you look at all the friction points of the game experience,” Cole said during an interview.

He pointed specifically to mound visits, lengthy pauses between pitches, and traditional walks as examples of moments that often lose the audience’s attention. “Who gets excited going to a game and says, ‘Oh, I hope they have some mound visits tonight, I can’t wait?’ It just doesn’t happen,” Cole explained.

How Banana Ball’s Rules Differ From Traditional Baseball

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Several other traditional baseball conventions have also been tossed out entirely. Batters are not allowed to step out of the batter’s box, bunting is prohibited, and players can even attempt to “steal first” during an at-bat. Walks have been replaced by the league’s signature “Ball Four Sprint,” which sends the batter racing around the bases while every defensive player must touch the ball before recording an out.

Probably the most important Banana Ball rule is that rather than playing a standard nine-inning game, Banana Ball awards one point per inning to the team that scores the most runs. Games are also capped at two hours, ensuring a faster pace and eliminating marathon contests. In the final inning, every run scored counts as a point, creating the potential for dramatic comebacks.

How A 2018 Concept Helped Reinvent Baseball Entertainment

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Cole said many of the ideas that eventually became Banana Ball were first developed in 2018 for a concept he called “Showball.” Several of those concepts have since become official rules, including the “Golden Batter” rule, which allows teams to send their best hitter to the plate at any point during a game.

According to Cole, the philosophy behind Banana Ball has always been simple: identify the parts of baseball fans find boring and replace them with something more engaging. That formula has helped turn the Savannah Bananas from a minor league sideshow into a national phenomenon, and, as their ESPYs appearance proved, one of the most talked-about brands in sports entertainment.

The Dave Portnoy Gets Absolutely Cooked After Savannah Bananas Meltdown first appeared on The Blast