Banana Ball: A Logistics Masterpiece
Its more than just moving players and gear. There appears to be a lot that goes into turning a stadium into Bananaland for a weekend.
Those who have been reading my Taking My Bonnet Off Blog (formerly Rants from Riverton) may know that I do love the Banana Ball franchise, founded by Jesse Cole and operated under his company Fans First Entertainment. I will not get into the intricacies of the game itself as those appear in other articles, but I do want to touch on my perceptions of the logistics that take place to make the presentation possible.
Those who know me know that I am totally into BTS, not the K-pop group, but “behind the scenes”. I am the one that not only enjoys the show, but also the hard work that takes place to set up, present and then tear down. Some might say that spoils the fun of the show, such as knowing how the magician does his tricks, but to me, the presentation is just the tip of the iceberg and it is my acknowledgement of all of the people who made the show possible, but do not always get the credit.1
This past weekend, after a nearly two-year wait, I finally had a chance to see a live Banana Ball show (which is what they call it) at Nationals Park in Washington DC. For this show, thanks to my K-Club membership and the purchase of their VIB (Very Important Banana) premium ticket, I had a near front-row seat to not just the show, but to the BTS that took place on the field. Here’s where I was sitting (circled below), and oh yes, seeing Jack and Zo from Jomboy Media’s We Got Ice was an unexpected bonus:
Now, I am not coming in with any true inside information here. I have not had anyone from Jesse’s organization share any of the “secrets” with me, so I am just going off of my own observations as an observant observer (try saying that 3 times).
“The game is like the circus”: Yes, but not in the way you think
When you observe the sports media and the comments, especially from baseball loyalists, they portray Banana Ball as a “circus”; a sideshow that makes a mockery out of America’s pastime. I totally disagree with this perception. I made it clear in my past blogs and from my own in-person observation, the game is truly real. This is not the Globetrotters vs. the Generals, because in this game, the “Globetrotters” do not always win. In fact, the Savannah Bananas are 22-23 this season. Their primary nemesis, the Party Animals are playing an astounding 30-18 this season, including many games where they beat the Bananas. Fans who come to a Bananas headliner game should never expect the boys in yellow to always come up with a win.
The way it is like the circus as well as any other traveling show, is in its logistics. Banana Ball has four primary teams including the Bananas, the Party Animals, the Firefighters and the Texas Tailgaters. There is also “The Visitors”, which is their squad of reserve players waiting for a place on one of the rosters. Next season, Banana Ball will have six teams and will move to a more structured championship format. This season will have a four-day championship tournament involving all four teams that will be played at Historic Grayson Stadium in Savannah, GA.
Back in the historic days of the circus, shows would travel from town to town, at first by circus wagons and then eventually by train. There’s a lot of people, animals, props and other cargo that need to be hauled from place to place. It was a huge effort. In some cases, traveling shows such as the circus and the shows such as ice skating shows may have two or more squads traveling different parts of the country to perform two shows simultaneously. Feld Entertainment, which owns Ringling Brothers are the masters of the traveling show concept and presents other events under these concepts such as Disney On Ice, Monster Jam and Supercross.
Because of the scheduling of baseball games, Banana Ball currently technically has the need for four (soon to be six) such squads.
But its just a baseball team, right?
When professional teams in the big four leagues travel, it is a fairly simplified process as teams are going to be playing at facilities that are already set up for game play under the league’s standards that were put in place by the hosting home team. Teams usually charter a plane to transport players, their gear, staff and other incidental items to the city are playing in.
Banana Ball is different because of its uniqueness. Not only do they need to transport the players and their gear as well as support staff, but they also have to transport the entertainment cast members, their personal effects and props, instruments for the band, as well as merch, ticket scanners, the materials used for the Banana Ball specific features, such as the VIB and K Club areas, even the yellow bases (or in the case of a Party Animals headliner, pink bases) and a lot of yellow baseballs.
Since each team has its own merch, those teams travel with that merch and at the games, you will find separate merch stands for each of the teams playing and only those teams will have merch. If you go to a Bananas vs. Firefighters show, you will not find any Party Animals merch (trust me, I tried to find it). That only makes sense.
In major and minor league baseball, a typical season schedule includes homestands where teams play about 6 or so games at home and then road trips where they travel to other cities, in some cases, those that are fairly geographically close due to travel times. Banana Ball schedules more like football, where games are around the weekends, mostly on Saturdays, but also Fridays and some Sundays a few Thursday games. I can see this kind of scheduling needed because of the amount of sports and non-sports equipment that needs to be transported by surface. There are also two bye weeks in the schedule in May and July, which I assume everyone regroups in Savannah for a long overdue refresh. Again, I do not know any of the secrets, so I am just assuming.
Each ballpark is unique
Normally, when a major league team travels, they just come in, play the games and then move on. Banana Ball is different. With the exception of Historic Grayson Stadium, every venue two of the teams play at, whether it is a baseball or football stadium is very unique. Each has its own requirements, right down to the formatting of the scoreboard and auxiliary board graphics, especially for parks with unique requirements, like Kauffman Stadium, the home of the Kansas City Royals as not all ballparks are just simple 16:9 aspect ratio jumbotrons. This kind of things take a lot of collaboration with the different venues and a lot of work on both sides in order to be able to deliver a top notch performance. The AV team at Fans First is top notch, whether it comes to the in stadium presentation or the broadcast over YouTube, and at times, on an ESPN network. While I do feel that there is some room for improvement in their on screen graphics package, it is uniquely, Banana Ball.
Each ballpark visit seems to be planned well in advance. I noticed that at the Nats Park game where even the plastic tubs used to store merch for sale were meticulously tagged for specific sections of the stadium and placement within the section. This is not a case of just “set it up where it fits”, a lot of work went into this. The average fan may have not noticed this, but I did.
It’s a ballgame.. and a stage show
As I previously stated, the ballgame itself, including the trick plays and the outcome is real. However, there are many parts of the presentation that are pre-planned. This includes the dance numbers that are done whenever a team scores or wins the inning, the promotions that take place between innings and the other entertaining insanity that takes place. The cue sheets that they use have been in the public eye. A lot of this is planned, such as the walkup performances, but when the batter gets into the box and Vincent Chapman finishes his dance routine, it’s game on and things get real again.
The one thing I did notice during the Banana Ball games is the presence of what appears to be a floor director (circled above). The position has a podium with a tablet. This is something you don’t normally see in sports. On my visit to Nats Park, I noticed the person at this position would leave this spot and “work” whatever entertainment is on the field and then move back to this position for game play. This appears to be the person who makes sure that everything plays out right.
Michi’s conclusion
Jesse coins Banana Ball as the “greatest show in sports”, and he is spot on. In past interviews, he has given me the impression that he has been inspired by showbiz geniuses such as P.T. Barnum and Walt Disney and I see a lot of them in him, even right down to his trademark use of a yellow hat and tux.
Because of the nature of ballparks, much of “backstage” is right there in the park for everyone to see, if they have the eye for it. Because of how well orchestrated the presentation is for television, you don’t always see it when watching, but it is there.
Before the show, I had a chance to speak briefly with Patrick Briody, the VP of the World Tour about the logistics and my fascination of how from an analytical, process and logistics standpoint, how a great show like this can be put together. I had recommended that Fans First produce a long-form video that highlights the operations of the World Tour and how the teams move from place to place, especially given the fact that every stadium they go to, whether it is a minor league park or an 80K football stadium like at Clemson are very unique in their own ways and all of these venues are “neutral”. For now, there are some YouTube videos out there of how the NFL prepares for neutral games such as in international locations. While their process is more elaborate than Banana Ball, some of the same basic principles do apply.
Over the past couple of years, I have been in personal contact with several people in the front office at Fans First for various reasons and I am very impressed by their friendliness and willingness to make every fan experience a FANS FIRST experience. This is what sports franchises should be about.
Jesse, if you happen to stumble across this article, THANK YOU for doing this. These games bring joy to millions of people around the world every year. This franchise sends the right message about sportsmanship and role models (which I will discuss in a future blog) and provides a wholesome family show, free of elite entitlement and suitable for not just the boys but also the girls, and at a price that families can actually afford.
Now its your turn!
Start your path to Bananaland!
Fans who want to see a game live will need to first get on the mailing list to be informed of when you can sign up for a ticket lottery. The other way is to join K Club, the official fan club. K Club members get first dibs at tickets. Whatever you do, please do not attempt to purchase tickets from scalpers as some may be fraudulent. Regular tickets for games are face value at $35~$45, depending on the stadium type and between $100~$125 for the VIB meet and greet experience (which I recommend as you will get the better seats). Also, if you are lucky to get tickets for a game at Grayson (Savannah, GA), non-alcoholic concessions are included in the ticket price (this is not the case outside of Savannah where the stadium runs the concessions).
Support Bananas Foster
Finally, even when Banana Ball season is over, you can still show your potassium love by supporting Bananas Foster, a §501(c)(3) nonprofit started by Jesse and Emily Cole to help raise awareness of and to celebrate the foster care community. Every game features a foster family. It is the most emotional part of every Banana Ball game. This charity has the Michi seal of approval.
I look forward to being back in Bananaland next year!
Banana Ball is for real!
I admire Savannah Bananas president and founder Jesse Cole. He managed to do something for baseball that I wanted to do many years ago for roller derby. Making a sport that is “for the fans”. This was an uphill journey for Cole, who started with an empty stadium and a collegiate baseball franchise that started with nothing.
It would be a very nice and respectful thing if during the last show of the season, BTV runs a theatrical style credit run to highlight all of these great behind the scenes people!