The Sporting Almanac Birthday: The Masters and The Grand National

To celebrate one whole year of the Sporting Almanac Podcast we go back to where it all began, ahead of the Grand National and with the Masters underway at Augusta National. We share some reflections on the year past, and a few new stories about the weekends two events too, including Larry Mize's legendary chip and the Race That Never Was at Aintree.

One year older, but not really any wiser, expect the usual tangents, FIFA bashing and OJ Simpson references that all have very little to do with golf or horse racing....

Clips mentioned in the episode:

Larry Mize Chip-In https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1k62_1g7b0

Bubba's Recovery https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLfhoD1kiuQ

The 1993 Grand National https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRP_5RBKm9I

The Savannah Bananas and Banana Ball

"The noblest art is that of making others happy."

P.T. Barnum

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

The Boat Race

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.

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.

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.