The Savannah Bananas
After taking the Melrose exit and arriving in Iowa City around 5:30, traffic was surprisingly light. We were lucky to have a parking pass for the Field House ramp near the hospital. By the time we got to Finkbine, traffic was as heavy as you would expect for game day. It took us all of 30 minutes to get from Finkbine to the hospital campus. The sidewalks lined with people walking toward the stadium. Cars attempting to turn into driveways to park or tailgate. Humans darting across the street whenever they felt like it to cross. We made it to our assigned parking eventually.
A quick walk from the ramp to the stadium, the entrance gate was smooth, no waiting. But once we were in Kinnick the chaos started. A thunderstorm was heading right for us. The staff announced a lightning delay and asked all the fans to exit their seats and head to the shelter of the concourse. The problem is there wasn’t enough space for everyone. The 90° heat, thousands of bodies packed in like sardines, you couldn’t move. We were stuck in one spot near the entrance for twenty minutes watching police and EMS workers make paths to care for those who had fainted from heat exhaustion.
Our party of five split up. Hannah and I were going to head for our seats while the other three waited in line for merchandise. Moving from the outdoor space near the entrance into the concourse, the heat got more intense. I dragged Hannah toward our tunnel, weaving through the masses. Just as we made it to the tunnel, the storm hit. Hundreds more people started filtering out of the stands toward the already full concourse. With nowhere to go, some had to stand in the rain.
We found a nice spot against the wall in the tunnel and that’s where we waited for the next two hours. Every thirty minutes or so, a crowd of people would head back to the bleachers, only to retreat to shelter when the next rainstorm hit. It was like seeing distant relatives. We made some friends in our makeshift home. A family to the right of us had three little boys. Every break in the crowd the father and I would poke our heads into the field to get cell reception, talk about the weather and wonder if they were going to cancel. Another family to the left of us with three little girls. The father, complaining about “missing work for this.” Two teenage girls, very contently watching World Cup Soccer on their phones as we waited. A mother with her two daughters playing rock paper scissors.
Finally our friends rejoined us, wet, but bearing gifts. A golden banana finger, beers, and food. They had battled the masses and won. Shortly after, the rain was finished for the night and we shuffled to our seats. A chilly evening was a stark contrast from the sweltering afternoon we had endured. Bananaball was upon us. Dancing introductions from the team members, guest appearances from former Hawkeye football players and the lead singer of “The Fray.” It was a night to remember.
It wasn’t just a baseball game, it was a performance spectacle with some baseball sprinkled in. The crowd was wild for it, cheering and chanting along, rainy woes forgotten. This was my first time at Kinnick stadium and it almost made me want to brave a Hawkeye game.