So I was watching a YouTube video of a charity football match in England, where the players were … well, I don’t really know, but they’re not professional footballers. One player on one side (Max Fosh) was a YouTuber known for goofy pranks, who in previous matches had joked with his yellow cards. And true to form, he got a yellow card and promptly set it on fire. Lulz.
Now, I don’t know if jokes and chicanery are an expected part of these annual matches, or if only Max Fosh brings the funny. But it did get me to thanking: jokes and tomfoolery are a big part of the appeal of the Harlem Globetrotters (basketball) and the Savannah Bananas (baseball). Do any other sports, inside or outside of the US, have “joke” teams, or failing that, periodic exhibition games where pranks and laughs are part of the fun?
NB: Decades ago a friend and I were at Busch Stadium for a Cards game, and before the game there was an Old Timers (exhibition) game featuring retired Royals vs. retired Cardinals. On the mound for the Cards was pitcher Al Hraboski who, in his day, was known for being quite the firebrand. He threw two curveballs for Ball 1 and Ball 2, and the announcer said, “Come on Al! Throw the heat!” So he pulled a can of lighter fluid from his pocket and set the ball on fire and threw it towards the stunned Royal in the batter’s box. The crowd roared.
Pro wrestling doesn’t seem like an analogue. There’s not some legitimate pro wrestling league that’s a frame of reference, not like the Globetrotters or the Bananas. Pro wrestling is its own universe.
I dunno, I mean, it kind of is. I mean, unlike Roller Derby, people do wrestle against each other for sport. But no one watches it. But we’re splitting hairs here.
What pro wrestling takes from the Globetrotters (besides humor) is the demonstration of skilled moves and tricks that while impressive would either not be advantageous in actual competition nor comply with the rules.
Marty Reisman and Douglas Cartland played novelty table tennis matches during halftime at Harlem Globetrotters games using objects like frying pans and garbage can lids, as fictionalized in Marty Supreme.
Not a team, but in sumo, there are often “matches” between lower level wrestlers that are entertaining and educational. The wrestlers will use prohibited moves (eg hair pulling) and sometimes dance around the dohyo with each other. I don’t think these matches are part of the six major tournaments, but it’s my understanding that they’re included in the nationwide tours the Japan Sumo Association puts on throughout the year between tournaments.
Fast-pitch men’s softball had Eddie Feigner, whose four-man barnstorming team was called “The King and His Court.” They traveled the U.S. (and the world), playing against local teams, and mixed in trick plays and banter along with typically dominating their competition.
When I was growing up in Green Bay, WI in the 1970s and early 1980s, men’s fast-pitch was a popular semi-pro spectator sport in the area, and Feigner’s team made an annual, and highly anticipated, visit to play against one or two of the top teams.
The Bananas had a ball game televised yesterday that I caught. They were playing the Party Animals, and the irreverence was entertaining.
I struggled to figure out some of their rule changes, but the game was fun to watch. (Once? It may get old…) One of the changes results in the batter being out if a fan catches a foul ball.
It’s played straight, but 7 vs 7 and shorter play time (40 mins games) and with crazy rules like unlimited substitutions, “secret weapon” cards, allowing teams to gain advantages like an instant penalty, a 2-minute expulsion for an opponent, or double-counting goals. The teams are owned/managed by social media influencers and retired professional players. It’s a fun watch, but not quite the same at Globetrotters/Banana ball.
I just saw a game between the Firefighters and the Coconuts, two teams in the Banana circuit. Interesting to be sure, but I was ready to leave when the game ended.
Some other rules:
Games are two hours or nine innings, whichever comes first. The timer is on the scoreboard.
Points are scored by ‘winning’ innings. If Team A outscores Team B in a particular inning, Team A earns a point. The exception to this rule is the ninth inning, when all runs count.
No bunts.
If a batter walks, the ball is live and must be touched by all nine members of the defense before the batter/runner can be tagged out. The batter can advance as far as he is able before being tagged out after everybody touches the ball.
The batter can ‘steal first’ on a wild pitch or passed ball.
Not exactly pure baseball, but it is entertaining.
For some years, Montreal hosted a mid-January “snow cricket World Cup” competition, in which a number of teams were formed by (ex) residents of the country they represented. Example: Cricketers keep game alive even during cold Montreal winters