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The Savannah Bananas reminded everyone during their game in Nashville why the Tennessee Vols are the state's flagship sports program

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Craig Smith | Last updated May 11, 2025 2:52 PM ET

University of Tennessee athletics are the biggest and most impactful sports programs in the state of Tennessee. That's debated by some, but the Power T is the logo that far and away carries the most weight from Memphis to the Tri-Cities region.

That's been on display when the Vols have played in Nashville, obviously in Knoxville, and even in Bristol, when Tennessee and Virginia Tech combined to set the college football attendance record with over 150,000 fans back in September 2016.

Speaking of Nashville, the Savannah Bananas brought their touring version of "Banana Ball" - or baseball turned on its head - to the state's capitol city on Saturday, taking on the "Party Animals" before a sold-out crowd at Nissan Stadium.

During the event, the Party Animals took the mic, and the PA system started playing "Rocky Top" as they started running around the field and playing to the crowd, who sung along.

When in Tennessee pic.twitter.com/lHEVScoRoM
— The Party Animals (@ThePrtyAnimals) May 11, 2025

That's not the only time in recent years that Rocky Top has been sung by the masses from the Nissan Stadium stands. The Vols took over the stadium in the team's 2023 season opener against Virginia, turning the stadium and the parking lots around it into effectively a Knoxville home game. Tennessee won 49-13 before 69,507 fans.

There has been a running debate about whether Nashville, home of the Vanderbilt Commodores and Tennessee Titans, is a Tennessee Vols town. It's led to some nasty interactions between fans of just one or both of the Nashville-based football programs and some Tennessee fans on social media for years.

However, the Bananas, an organization from outside Tennessee, apparently had the belief that Tennessee fans were prevalent on Saturday night such that they included playing the Vols' signature tune as part of the program. That speaks volumes about the perception of the power of the T in Nashville and beyond in the Volunteer State.

We'll see if Cam Ward - who was in attendance at the Bananas game on Saturday - and the rest of the Titans can make some noise for themselves in 2025 and beyond. But for the time being, there's still nothing more iconic in the Volunteer State than the Power T and Rocky Top.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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