

Let’s get something straight right out of the gate……..this isn’t your granddad’s baseball. What the Savannah Bananas are doing out there is flipping America’s pastime on its head and people cannot get enough.
We’re talking sold-out stadiums. We’re talking dancing players, grandmas as cheerleaders, acrobats, stilt-walkers, kilts, and crowds going wild for two straight hours. It’s not just baseball - it’s a full-blown family entertainment juggernaut. And like many in the entertainment business, I find myself asking the same question you probably are right now: “Why didn’t I think of this?!” The last time I went to a baseball game was the night before Pete Rose hit 4,792. The time before that Ted Kluzewski was still playing. Boring….
The Savannah Bananas were founded in 2016 by Jesse Cole - the man in the bright yellow tux who decided traditional baseball was just too slow, too stuffy, and way too predictable. DUH!!!! His idea? Take a page - no, a chapter - from the Harlem Globetrotters and inject it right into the heart of the Baseball Diamond, and America’s so-called past time. What came out of that bold idea is now known as Banana Ball, and it’s an absolute phenomenon. What he created was BASEBALL MEETS BROADWAY…..MEETS THE CIRCUS, ON EVEL KNIEVEL’S MOTORCYCLE!

Source: Savannah Bananas
Banana Ball moves fast. Games are capped at two hours - YAY! No bunting. No walks. Fans can catch foul balls for outs. Batters might walk up to the plate in kilts or moonwalk to first base. Between innings? You’re likely to see choreographed dances, t-shirt cannon battles, or the infamous Banana Nanas (yes, that’s a senior citizen dance team) showing the crowd how it’s done.
There’s a guy batting on stilts. A team of middle-aged dads called the Man-Nanas. Players doing backflips while fielding. And it’s all wrapped in a nonstop stream of music, energy, and family-friendly fun that keeps kids and parents locked in from the first pitch to the final out. And guess what? Nobody is being paid $720 million for hitting a horsehide ball (ridiculous) or laid up with a torn ACL for the season (boo hoo)! It’s like baseball met TikTok, had a baby with Cirque du Soleil, and raised it on cotton candy and rock and roll (unfortunately, no roller coasters involved…yet!)!
Let’s talk business because this thing isn’t just entertaining - it’s working - really working! Every show sells out. There’s a 500,000+ person waitlist just to get tickets. Back in 2023, the team took Banana Ball on tour, hitting major league stadiums like Fenway Park and Citi Field. Everywhere they go, it’s standing room only. They were just here in Cincy two nights, both sold out. Doing better than the REDS. It was like watching Jim Carrey in his YELLOW suit dancing in “THE MASK” - crazy and super non-stop fun!
It’s amazing they’ve turned down million-dollar ticket buyouts just to keep prices fan-friendly. For $25, you get your ticket and unlimited hot dogs, popcorn, soda and you name it. No upselling. No ads in the stadium. Just pure, joyful two hours of chaos.

Source: Savannah Bananas
And then, there’s the merchandise. Oh, the merch. Banana hats, Banana jerseys, Banana everything. They’re pulling in millions in merch and food sales annually - and that’s before you count streaming and media rights. This isn’t a novelty - it’s a brand. And a powerful one. Remember when everyone laughed at Pickle Ball? No one is laughing now.
This idea was built for the family spotlight. The media has caught on, too. They’ve been featured in The New York Times, Good Morning America, and most recently, a full-length spotlight on 60 Minutes aired last night. ESPN is airing a 10-game series this summer. Social media? Through the roof - hundreds of millions of views and climbing fast.
But what’s most impressive is how they’ve built it all from the ground up. Their own ticketing platform. Their own content production. Their own league. That’s right, there are now multiple Banana Ball teams, including the Party Animals, Firefighters, and two brand-new clubs launching in other cities. A full league is being formed to meet demand. Two new teams are being formed now. Let that sink in - an entirely new sport is being built, and people are lining up to be part of it.
Here’s why it works. At the end of the day, what Jesse Cole and his team have done is figure out what so many in entertainment miss - people want to feel something. They want laughter. Surprise and heart. They want something their whole family can enjoy together and remember. Banana Ball delivers that, inning after inning. You don’t have to be a sports fan to enjoy it. You just have to be human and have a zest for fun! It’s live theater, improv comedy, and sports all rolled into one - and the beauty is, it’s constantly evolving. No two shows are ever the same. They’ve built a product where the fans are as much a part of the show as the players themselves. And now, as more teams pop up and this league begins to form, it’s clear this isn’t a flash in the pan - it’s the future of family fun. This is the kind of idea that doesn’t just entertain; it inspires. It shows what’s possible when you dare to challenge tradition, when you put fans first, and when you lead with joy.
So here we are, watching Jesse Cole’s yellow tuxedoed dream conquer the country one sold-out show at a time. And across the entertainment industry, from sports executives to theme park designers, to arena owners - we’re all saying the same thing: “WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THIS”?!?!

Source: Savannah Bananas

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