The Sporting Almanac Podcast

<p><strong>The Savannah Bananas and Banana Ball</strong></p><p><em>"The noblest art is that of making others happy."</em></p><p>P.T. Barnum</p><p>The purity of baseball is something a lot of people take very seriously. So seriously, in fact, that orthodox approaches will be followed until stadiums are empty, sponsors have left and the team owners move the team to pastures new in search of something different.</p><p>Such had been the case over and over in the famous city of Savannah, Georgia. For years teams came and went, changed their names and their backers and still failed to engage the local community. As the historic Grayson Stadium began to show its age alongside its charm, a man, his wife and a yellow tuxedo came into town.</p><p>Since 2016 the Savannah Bananas have divided opinions. They overturned norms; Nanas replaced cheerleaders, tickets came with unlimited hot dogs and soda, and first base coaches were hired for their dance moves ahead of their baseball nous. They were taking baseball orthodoxy and doing the exact opposite. It could never work, could it?</p><p>Today, the Savannah Bananas are the biggest team in baseball outside of the Majors, and there are plenty of MLB teams who envy their ability to fill the biggest arenas across the country. But they don't actually play baseball, not exactly. They play Banana Ball, an engaging mix of ball, circus and showmanship that has exploded on and off the field - millions of fans in seats and many more still on social media have made this a multi-million dollar business that doesn't look to be slowing down.</p><p>And their secret? Put the fans first, ignore the norms, don't be afraid to try new things or be called crazy for doing so, and always remember that it's far worse to be ignored than insulted. This is Banana Ball, and you can criticise it all you want, it doesn't make it any less fun.</p>

<p><strong>The Boat Race</strong></p><p>There are some people to whom there is no bigger event in the sporting calendar than the University Boat Race. It would be a sweeping generalisation to suggest all of those people will be wearing gillet's and yelling received pronunciation support of their particular shade of blue, having started drinking as soon as the riverside pubs opened along the Thames.</p><p>It is undoubtedly an event that will always be intrinsically linked to the establishment, to the upper classes and all the trappings that go with it. It also isn't always the greatest spectacle in terms of a sporting event, though some years can take the breath away. But it is also very fun, and it has a very interesting history and some notable participants over the years.</p><p>Join us today for stories of Cambridge wearing pink, "Honest" umpires, heroic Dambusters, three boats sinking in the spring of 1912, Dr. House himself, and of swimming protesters facing the swift retribution of the establishment class. For all its arguable faults, we can't say it isn't fun.</p>

<p><strong>Six Nations - England (A Post-Mortem)</strong></p><p>We don't usually do retrospectives on the Almanac. The vast majority of sporting engagement in our modern world is built around the sharing of opinion, frustration or adulation of thing's that have just happened, and it's normally not our style. But today, we make an exception as we release our final Six Nations episode, decidedly after the fact, and with its subject this season's championships biggest disappointment - England.</p><p>What is wrong with English rugby union currently? Four games ago England were unbeaten for a dozen matches and seemed on top of the world, and then it all came crashing down. But were the signs there before the fall? Did the run flatter to decieve and is the drop less surprising than the run itself? And what is it about the English psyche, and our culture, that stops us embracing the kind of innovation that has made France and Ireland so successful, and has itself been the bedrock of English success in so many sports historically?</p><p>From old farts in boardrooms to robotic coaches, uninspiring anthems to deep seated cultural conservatism - and arguably arrogance - about yet another sport we invented that the world simply does better than us. Be warned, here there be ranting.</p>

<p><strong>Six Nations - All-Time XV</strong></p><p>In a move not entirely lacking in self indulgence, Jack and Ben discuss, debate and select their all-time Six Nations XV from 26 years of the competition's history.</p><p>Tune in to find the answers to the real big questions:</p><p><em>Can two Englishmen bear to leave Martin Johnson on the bench?</em></p><p><em>Which Jonny starts at fly half?</em></p><p><em>How can Ben's heart really be telling him to leave Brian O’Driscoll out of the team?</em></p><p><em>And how many Welshmen can they nearly pick but still end up leaving out?</em></p><p>For all these answers and more join us - and as a bonus debate to finish, we ask who has the best national anthem in the tournament as well (spoiler: it's not England).</p>

<p><strong>The Six Nations - France</strong></p><p>Les Bleus. Brilliant. Erratic. Inconsistent. Wonderful. The Six Nations has been a rollercoaster for French rugby fans, early dominance followed by a dozen wilderness years that sparked fierce criticism and debate, triggering as so often happens in France, revolution.</p><p>And that revolution, building up their domestic game, strengthening pathways and processes has given France such an abundance and depth of talent and remade them into perennial Six Nations challengers or champions and - whisper it quietly - potentially favourites for next year's World Cup.</p><p>Today, we look at the history of French rugby, how rugby league nearly won out before fascism destroyed its very foundations. We look at France's Six Nations years, the highs, the deep, long lows, and the recovery. As they sit poised to potentially make it back-to-back wins, we wonder how far this revolution can go, and what the rest of the world can do to stop them.</p>