Savannah Bananas leave indelible mark in first Chicago visit

The fans gathered in the parking lot in front of the Porte de Rate Field 5 for the party before the Peel. A swarm of yellow crowded in front of the stage to watch the festivities take place.

This is where the first celebrity cameo happened. The Afro-Mohawk, the large gold chain, the burns, the yellow sleeveless vest, the blue shorts and a layer of sweat that shone its forehead.

Ladies and gentlemen, M. … K?

“I am Mr. K and I put the T in potassium,” said Mr. K on stage. “I’m praking up anyone who is not having fun right now.”

He directed a crowd train, made the cupid bite with a daddy dance team and had water balloons throw by three mascots – Split, Benny the Bull and Southpaw.

It was at 3 p.m. Friday, four hours before the first Bananas match of Savannah in Chicago. Never. You just had to be there.

The Dancing team, Baseball Playing – Sorry, Banana Ball -Playing – finished his first trip to Rate Field on Saturday with a second match in as many nights against firefighters. The weekend included stuff, dance in heat and non-stop music at the dawn. The yellow swarm of the fans was deposited from the 35th SOX red line at 11:30 a.m. Friday to buy goods, adding to their bright color wardrobe.

It was time that the Savannah bananas came to the windy town.

Pre-match

Amber and Corey Shultz brought their 6 and 4 years old sons, Tanner and Carter, for their second banana match. They went to Indianapolis for their first experience, but 35th and Shields is a shorter journey of their Kankakee house. The children said they wanted to see Split, the banana mascot.

“I hope they will come next year,” said Amber Schultz.

Photos: Savannah Bananas made her debut in Chicago in the field

It was fun for children and adults. Edward Gordon, 35, wore his banana costume. It was a daring decision with an additional heat layer of almost 90 degrees, but it seemed to be his plan despite everything.

“When you are in the shade, it’s good, but it’s very attractive to be here,” said Gordon, smiling at the banana word game. “I am excited because you can be here. It’s worth waiting and it’s worth it. ”

The co -owner of the Jesse Cole team had a meeting with bananas and firefighters before the festivities start. His philosophy has always been to give priority to viewers, telling the teams “Fans need this” and getting out of the group with a “fans first!” song. He went to the availability of the media to answer questions about his team and the trip to this point, among other subjects. He does not sneak on anyone – it is difficult to do by carrying one of his nine bright yellow tuxedos.

“It’s incredible to do the whole country, new balls of the ball, places where we have never been for the first time and (sold) immediately,” said Cole. “Having 3.6 million people on our waiting list is crazy, but we know that it is a responsibility for us. For these people who come to see our show for the first time, we were able to make the best show on sport.

“Chicago is a special market for us, and obviously demand is enormous, more than 100,000 people on the waiting list to come here. Whenever we arrive in a city like Chicago which has a big story, to put our little stamp is exciting for us. ”

Everyone knows the bananas for their dance, but perhaps not for the effort behind. Rehearsals started at 12:45 p.m. with more than five repetitions for different figures. Ryan Kellogg, the left -handed launcher who was a choice of recovery of the Cubs in 2015, said that these choreographers change each match and were unpredictable.

“It is difficult to define expectations for games like this, because like any normal baseball game, anything can happen,” said Kellogg, 31. “I am delighted to see this place exhausted. I’m sure this place can become very strong, so I’m really excited for that. “

And it did. The energy only increased over the night, to the delight of players on the field. It looks like Cole’s encouragement speech worked.

“We feed their energy, so when they are there, we are still there,” said Kellogg. “It was always a childhood dream for life to present in the 30 major league stadiums, so to be able to cross the list and … stand on the mound and consult the third deck and see all these excited and locked in the game is special.”

White Sox memory track

The White Sox lent their stadium to the bananas, which made the favor to the fans. The firefighter receiver, Dalton Cornett, went to beat early on Friday evening with his father’s white Sox jersey. His father, Scott, was a receiver of the SOX organization for two years before becoming a baseball coach for his Alma Mater, Alice Lloyd College of Pippa, Ky., A position he has held for over 30 years.

“It’s always special to have my father there, he taught me everything and shaped me in whom I am,” said Cornett. “He always stays on his back to continue pushing (me), so it was absolutely great.”

In sixth round, Cole announced special additions to the list. The former receiver of the White Sox Aj Pierzynski came to run by wearing a banana jersey and met a roar of fans without distrust of South Side. During his 19 -year -old MLB career – eight with the SOX – he finished with 2,043 strokes, 188 circuits and 909 products. He was behind the marble when the launcher Bobby Jenks closed the victory of the White Sox World Series 2005.

In the seventh, Pierzynski had a familiar company. Cole called Mark Buehrle to pitch at the bottom of the Channel. Having launched for the White Sox from 2000 to 11, he ended his 16-year career with a record of 214-160, 3.81 MPM and 1,870 stick withdrawals. Buehrle launched seven rounds in match 2 of the 2005 series against the Houston Astros, then obtained the safeguard in the victory of the match 3 two nights later.

The SOX last month unveiled a statue of Buehrle along the right hall at the Rate field, honoring the big franchise.

Buehrle threw Pierzynski for the first time in more than a decade on Friday evening, and the two kissed marble, a meeting that would make Pope Leo XIV smile. A song “Let’s Go, White Sox” committed suicide through the closed windows. The theme continued on Saturday with the appearances of the long-standing stop of the SOX and the winning manager of the World Series Ozzie Guillen and Paul Konerko, another hero of the 2005 Champions.

It was not the only love of Chicago at Rate Field. Lucky pure and lasts White Sox that the rapper played on Friday with a dance in the central field with bananas and firefighters. He was all smiling during his moment and in his suite surrounded by family and friends. The lights went out in the eighth round, and the fans illuminated the stadium with their phone with pocket lamps while chance sang with the bananas towards Coldplay’s “yellow”. “I never bet against bananas,” he said after their 3-2 victory on Friday evening.

“I had never been to one of their games before, but I am a big fan of All-American rejections,” said luck, whose real name is Chancelor Bennett, about bananas. “I saw a video of them happening together and I thought it was so cool. When they came to Chicago, I stretched my hand. It was really cool, I like it – it’s for the whole family.”

Fans play a role

The game had a two -hour time limit, but if you blinked, you missed a turning back, Dakota “failure” Albritton delivering standing land at 10 feet, the dance referee and even a “Mike Ditka” cameo in which the imitator of celebrities released the bears – children dressed in animal costumes.

The rules of the banana balane include one in which the most precious banana can present a challenge of fans to reverse a call. There was one in the third round, when a call was changed after an exam showed that a fan in the stands caught the yellow banana ball with fly – which is an outing. Viewers were directly involved in the game.

“(It’s) just the different rotation of baseball,” said Kyle Lund, 38, wearing a banana bucket hat that his wife bought him. “Honestly, it becomes a little boring to be at night in a match and it’s slow.

Between the sleeves, the players danced with children in the stands, sang them and even distributed roses to the “beautiful fans” as thanks for your presence.

Savannah bananas can call their first trip to Chicago a success after seeing more than 80,000 fans in two nights at Rate Field. Whether they return to the South Side or the beginnings to Wrigley Field in the years to come, the yellow team has left its mark on the city, showing that a little pleasure can go very far.

“It shows children that you don’t have to be serious all the time,” said Gordon. “You can always enjoy and have fun, but you still have sports involved with him too.”