How The Savannah Bananas Are Redefining A Traditional Pastime

Key Concepts

• Banana Ball: A modified version of baseball focused on entertainment and fan experience.
• Fan-First Approach: Prioritizing the fan experience over traditional baseball norms.
• Entertainment-Driven Sport: Emphasizing showmanship, dancing, music, and non-stop action.
• Creating 1 Billion Fans: The overarching goal of expanding the reach and appeal of Banana Ball.
• Unscripted Competitiveness: Maintaining genuine competition while delivering a show.

The Genesis of the Savannah Bananas and Banana Ball

The Savannah Bananas started as a traditional college summer baseball team with the initial goal of making baseball fun. This evolved into creating an entirely new sport: Banana Ball. The focus shifted from simply playing baseball to providing a unique and entertaining experience for fans.

Expanding the Reach: A Fan-Centric Approach

The Bananas prioritize going to the fans rather than expecting fans to come to them. This involves:

• Traveling to various locations, including small and big cities.
• Playing in diverse venues like NFL stadiums, college football stadiums, and minor league parks.
• Organizing pop-up games to reach a wider audience.

Initially, convincing cities and players to participate was challenging. However, after gaining traction, venues and cities began reaching out to the Bananas.

The Entertainment Element: Choreography, Music, and More

The Savannah Bananas incorporate various entertainment elements:

• Choreography: They employ choreographers like Macio Harrison, who also serves as the first base dancing coach.
• Music: Each team has a live band.
• Dancing: Players, even those without prior dance experience, put in effort to entertain the crowd.

Banana Ball: More Than Just Dancing

Kelsey Whitmore, a Savannah Bananas player and Women's USA National Team member, emphasizes that Banana Ball is not just about dancing. Players still focus on honing their baseball skills, including pitching and hitting. The environment allows players to compete and have fun while making an impact on people.

The Vision Behind Banana Ball

The creator of the Savannah Bananas, driven by a passion for baseball and a desire to make it more engaging, transitioned from a playing career cut short by injury to the front office. He realized the need to inject fun and excitement into the game after finding even high-level baseball boring.

Banana Ball vs. Major League Baseball

Banana Ball is not positioned as a competitor to Major League Baseball (MLB). MLB focuses on showcasing the best baseball players in the world, while Banana Ball aims to provide the most entertaining players and experience. MLB's goal is to win championships, while Banana Ball's goal is to put on the greatest show every night.

Unscripted Entertainment and Competitive Spirit

While the games are not scripted, the competitive element remains. The Bananas aim to provide non-stop action and entertainment throughout every aspect of the game.

Success and Future Goals

The Savannah Bananas have played in 17 major league stadiums and sold them all out. The goal is to continue playing in such venues and attract more kids and fans to ballparks, contributing to the growth of baseball.

Reflections and Future Focus

Despite the success and recognition, the focus remains on continuous improvement and delivering the best possible experience for the fans. The priority is to make the show the greatest experience possible.