Having another sleepless night, so I messed around with my Fursty, turning it from a drifty to a racey. I’m still experimenting with fade vinyls. Thanks to @PJTierney, I was able to sticker it up pretty good. I tried hard to stop short of sticker-bombing it. I might have failed.
Apologies in advance, but this is probably going to be a long winded post. It’s all about Banana Ball, a pro sports league based on baseball but with its own unique set of rules. It’s been compared to the Harlem Globetrotters in terms of trick plays, showmanship and fan entertainment. While the games have lots of scripted moments like player walkups and between-inning skits, unlike the Globetrotters, Banana Ball games are unscripted and competitive. All the games are shown on YouTube live which is how I watch them.
While watching the weekend slate of games, I thought it would be fun to create some liveries based on the team uniforms. There are only six teams. How hard could it be? 24 hours later, I’m finally ready to show them.
Let’s start with the original team that is the namesake of the sport, the Savannah Bananas, based in Savannah, Georgia. I used the Nissan Figaro for reasons I can’t quite explain. I don’t know, it just seemed banana-y. It was the first team, mostly playing against college teams in its early years.
When the Bananas started forming their own rules, they needed a team to play against, and the Party Animals were born. I thought the Sián Roadster fit the bill.
This year, the league expanded to six teams. They now play to sold out crowds all around the country, from 100,000 seat coliseums, major league stadiums, football stadiums, all the way down to 1,000 seat county ball parks in what are essentially pop up games
The Firefighters honor not just the men and women who fight fires, but all who serve others like police, doctors and nurses, teachers, etc. Every game they bring out a local retired firefighter to pay them tribute for their service. There are no fire trucks in the game, but the F-450 FE seemed like a good substitute.
The Loco Beach Coconuts have a beach party vibe. Nothing says beach party better than the Meyers Manx, which I painted in their orange and teal colors.
If you’re going to have sports, then you’re going to have tailgaters, which explains the Texas Tailgaters. Their uniform is based on the Texas state flag. And if it’s Texas, it has to be a big American pickup.
Finally, we have the Indianapolis Clowns. A team that originally formed in the mid-1930s, they joined the Negro Leagues in 1943, winning three Negro American League pennants in the early 1950s. They left the league in 1955, continuing to barnstorm for the next three decades until disbanding in 1989. Banana Ball partnered with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum to revive the team name, and to honor the history of the league through the modern Clowns. I chose the Isetta since it looks like a clown car. I tried to find clown vinyls in the storefront, but it was all Krusty or evil clowns. People really have a thing about evil clowns. So I chose Pomni from The Amazing Digital Circus. She’s the anti-evil clown. She’s a very likable jester.
