'Bigger Than Baseball': Savannah Bananas Take World by Storm Thanks to Couple Who Risked Everything

How social media’s favorite baseball team went from near-bankruptcy to selling out stadiums: They put fans (and fun) first

It’s a crisp spring evening at Arizona’s Peoria Sports Complex, where a sold-out crowd is on their feet cheering for a baseball game unlike any other. There are team kick lines, a WWE-style shirtless weigh-in between opposing players, several stadium sing-alongs, choreographed player celebration dances, a twerking umpire, the "world's tallest player" Stilts who actually plays on stilts and much more. This isn't baseball, this is Banana Ball.

The legend of the Savannah Bananas is one of the great sports success stories in recent years. Founded in 2016 by the dynamic husband and wife duo Jesse and Emily Cole, the once-struggling collegiate summer league team went from being in massive debt to social media stardom, and six straight years of sell-outs thanks to the organization's mantra: Fans First. Entertain Always.

“Since day one, we said we'd make baseball fun,” says Jesse, 39. “That's all we try to do.”

To accomplish that, the Coles view the games through the eyes of their youngest fans, specifically what keeps them engaged and not itching to leave.

“We have little kids [a son, 4 and two daughters, 4 and 2] and look at things through their eyes and their attention spans and we believe it's the right thing to do," says Emily, 36. "There are plenty of baseball teams to choose from. we are providing a different experience for the people who don't want to sit through a three-hour baseball game with no music or dancing."

Related: A North Carolina Baseball Team Has Rebranded as the Sock Puppets — Here's Why

The Bananas' crowd-pleasing performances are frequently featured on SportsCenter, have a social media following of 9.5 million and the wait list for tickets is approaching 1 million.

"It is such a great time and the energy around the entire park was insane!" says Arizona fan and first-time Banana Ball game attendee Sebastian, 13. "The players were interacting with all of us, laughing and having fun. They all are really good too!”

For the Coles, their current winning streak was hard-earned. After meeting in 2010 while working for different minor league organizations, Jesse and Emily realized they shared not just a passion for bringing more fun and entertainment to baseball games, but a dream of running their own show.

"We had this big dream of trying to take what we've learned in making baseball fun to a bigger level," says Jesse.

In 2015 they took a leap of faith and bought a Coastal Plain League team, moved it to Savannah after the departure of the city's minor league franchise and formed their company Fans First Entertainment.

“We had bought the team, which was hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt," recalls Jesse. "And a couple months later after only selling a handful of tickets, we're out of money."

To keep it afloat, the Coles cashed in their life savings, sold their home and moved into a studio apartment where they slept on an air mattress.

"We never thought it was going to totally fail because we were just so blindly optimistic," says Emily. "We just believed in it so much."

They kept brainstorming ways to involve the community and invited the citizens of Savannah to vote for the new team name. On February 25, 2016, the Savannah Bananas were born.

"Once we announced the name, things started changing," says Jesse. "All the sudden, people resonated with how fun this name is.”

The Coles' commitment to making their games more fun for every single fan in attendance — leading stadium sing-alongs, staging on-field games, encouraging the players to interact with the crowd, hosting theme nights and more — has evolved into what they affectionately call "The Greatest Show in Sports." Their Fans First approach extends to everyone on staff and is especially embodied by the players, all of whom are former high school, college stars or MLB draft picks who are getting a second chance at living out their professional baseball dreams on an increasingly popular stage.

“I thought I was done with baseball after my career at Stetson University,” says Jackson Olsen, 25, the Bananas’ third baseman and fan favorite (with over 1 million TikTok followers). “Mentally, I kind of fell out of love with the game. And the Bananas brought that back.”

"Giving back to the kids is my favorite thing in the world to do," says catcher Bill Leroy, 25. "Like tonight, I swapped gloves with the kids over [in the stands] near third base and played in the field with their gloves. It's so much fun."

Since 2020, the Bananas have been playing their own modified version of the game, Banana Ball, against the Party Animals, a rival team created by Fans First to take the game on tour across the nation. Banana Ball has nine rules, designed to eliminate downtime and maximize fan enjoyment and entertainment.

Despite all three years of their Banana Ball World Tours selling out, the Coles and players know their show is not for everyone. The teams' assorted viral antics have been met with criticism from baseball purists.

Related: 15 of the Cutest Couples in Major League Baseball

"If we listened to what every single naysayer told us, then we wouldn't be named The Bananas and we wouldn't have Banana Ball," says Emily. "Jesse always says, ‘If you're not being criticized, you're playing it too safe.’"

Pitcher Kyle Luigs, 25, encourages any cynics to come watch before passing judgment.

"I love traditional baseball just as much as anybody else does, I love it. I think we've just found a better way to get fans to the stadium," he says. "Give us a chance before you write us off."

No matter any detractors, the teams and staff are having a blast playing their brand of ball.

"We enjoy every bit of it," says Party Animals coach and player, Mike Vavasis, 31. "It's not even an act we put on. We are literally just out there having a good time. We all genuinely love hanging out with each other, it's almost like a brotherhood and we all just enjoy it every day."

The team's tour stop in Arizona was a resounding success. Almost an hour after the game ends, hundreds of fans are still on site taking selfies, getting autographs and talking excitedly with the players and staff. Local fan Triniti, 12, who attended with her softball team, gave the experience a glowing review: "This game was so much fun!" she says. "My favorite player is Stilts. I love Stilts!"

Fan favorite Dakota "Stilts" Albritton is a former star high school player who now pitches, fields and bats on stilts, which make him 10 feet tall. It's an experience he never would have dreamt of growing up in Ellaville, Ga.

"I come from a town of 1,500 people, one stoplight," he says. "Tonight I encountered more people than I did my whole childhood."

Like his teammates, Albritton loves interacting with fans, especially the youngest ones.

"I love talking to and meeting the kids. I want to give them the encounter that I would've wanted whenever I was their age," he says.

With the growing momentum and continued success, the Coles have big plans for the future and what has become Banana Nation. Last month they launched a nonprofit near and dear to their hearts and family called Bananas Foster, dedicated to celebrating the foster care community, raising awareness and encouraging others to get involved.

"We have a four-year-old bio son and two daughters in foster care," says Emily. "I love talking about foster care, but it's kind of this taboo thing in society where people don't talk about it. Our goal with Bananas Foster is to show people we're just normal people who are foster parents and you can do it too."

In addition to the nonprofit, there is talk of launching their own Banana Ball league, themed cruises and much more. The sky (and their blind optimism) is the limit. When asked to sum up their adventures thus far, Jesse says he takes a moment to appreciate the little things every day and game.

"I look at our players and look at what we built, at the joy," he says. "And then kids, grandparents, people of all ages come up to thank me and every night those moments happen and I think, ‘Wow, it's so much bigger than baseball.' And we're just getting started."

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.