Emily and Jesse Cole pictured on game day at Grayson Stadium, home of the Savannah Bananas. Savannah Bananas’ Jesse Cole: From bankrupt to breathtaking | Full Interview
The Most INSANE Baseball Team In The WORLD
Emily had learned about the need for foster families throughout her teen and college years and even more so after getting really involved with communities while working for different minor league teams in young adulthood. Once married, Jesse and Emily chatted about how to get involved with foster care and adoption, which was something both were drawn to supporting. In 2020, the Cole’s decided to become a licensed foster family, an action that would truly change their life. They knew they’d only be able to bring so many children into their own home but they kept grasping at the idea that the Savannah Bananas could use their platform to make a real difference in the foster care community. Dreams turned to discussions for a nonprofit organization and soon Jesse exclaimed, “We could call it, Bananas Foster.” Jesse and Emily locked eyes and Bananas Foster was created.
The Savannah Bananas Story Savannah Bananas Story
Emily and Jesse Cole are the owners of the Savannah Bananas, a collegiate summer league baseball team known as the Greatest Show in Sports. Founded in 2016, the team has become a social media sensation with a mantra of “Fans First” and “Entertain Always”123.
The Coles Reinvented baseball and made it a better sell than the original.
thesavbananas (@thesavbananas) Official | TikTok 172 Following 9.5M Followers 243.3M Likes
Los Angeles Dodgers (@dodgers) Official | TikTok 28 Following 2.1M Followers 44.9M Likes
New York Yankees (@yankees) Official | TikTok 94 Following 1.6M Followers 39.1M Likes
Boston Red Sox (@redsox) Official | TikTok 23 Following 854.5K Followers 16.6M Likes
New York Mets (@mets) Official | TikTok 112 Following 748.7K Followers 15.1M Likes
San Francisco Giants (@sfgiants) Official | TikTok 27 Following 586.2K Followers 14.7M Likes
Atlanta Braves (@braves) Official | TikTok 88 Following 989.1K Followers 14.5M Likes
Seattle Mariners (@mariners) Official | TikTok 73 Following 448.8KFollowers 13.6M Likes
San Diego Padres (@padres) Official | TikTok 41 Following 943.4KFollowers 12.2M Likes
Cincinnati Reds (@reds) Official | TikTok 39 Following 566.9K Followers 9.4M Likes
Philadelphia Phillies (@phillies) Official | TikTok 60 Following 582.9K Followers 8.3M Likes
Houston Astros (@houstonastros) Official | TikTok 45 Following 379.3K Followers 5.9M Likes
Baltimore Orioles (@orioles) Official | TikTok 35 Following 319.1KFollowers 5.9M Likes
Pittsburgh Pirates (@pirates) Official | TikTok 100 Following 449.9K Followers 5.2M Likes
Milwaukee Brewers (@brewers) Official | TikTok 53 Following 310.2KFollowers 3.6M Likes
Arizona Diamondbacks (@dbacks) Official | TikTok 13 Following 280.8K Followers 3.3M Likes
St. Louis Cardinals (@cardinals) Official | TikTok 25 Following 232.4K Followers 1.7M Likes
IT STARTS WITH FANS FIRST
Jesse and Emily Cole – Search Videos are the owners of the Savannah Bananas, known as the Greatest Show in Sports. The Cole’s started the organization with the goal to make baseball fun and bring families together.
After only selling a handful of tickets the first few months, the Bananas changed the status quo of entertainment and decided to give the power to the fans. The organization was obsessed over the fan experience and did everything they could to put fans first and entertain always. After dedicating every game to the ultimate fan experience, the fans responded and fortunately, the Bananas grew in popularity.
The (Improbable) History of the Savannah Bananas
Bananas Foster is an official 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to Bringing Families Together.
Our mission is celebrating the foster care community while educating and inspiring others to get involved.
Emily Cole: Owner and Director of Fun at Savannah Bananas
Our organization is committed to helping the whole foster care community. Advocating for everyone involved, Bananas Foster celebrates those already making a difference while inviting others to get involved so we can all help make this world a better place. – Emily Cole
The Cole Family on the 2025 BananaBall World Tour.
Read more about The Cole Family, here.
We first arrived in Savannah in October of 2015 with a goal to make baseball fun and bring back fans to Historic Grayson Stadium.
For the first time, minor league baseball had left the city, after calling Savannah home for 90 years. Now because of this, we realized that getting fans excited for a college summer team was harder than we could have ever imagined.
In our first few months, we only sold a handful of tickets. By January of 2016, just months before our first game, the team had over-drafted our account. Owners, Jesse and Emily Cole were forced to sell their home to keep the team going.
Then everything changed on February 25, 2016, when we named the team the Savannah Bananas.
This announcement created massive attention locally and nationally, being covered by CBS, NBC, and Sports Illustrated, even being featured as SportsCenters’s Logo of the Year.
But the name was not liked or appreciated by most people in Savannah. We heard comments like whoever came up with the team should be fired. The owner should be thrown out of town. “You’ll never sell a ticket”. We even did a mean tweet video a year later to share some of the “love” we received.
But even with mixed reviews we were finally on the map and people knew who we were.
With all the attention, we were able to sell out Opening Night. Our fans were met with a completely unique experience featuring all-inclusive food, our senior citizen dance team, the first Banana Baby, and dancing players.
Since the first season, we’ve sold out every single game – over 200 and counting.
The Bananas were part of the Coastal Plain League, a summer collegiate league, for seven seasons.
The team won three Petitt Cup Championships while part of the CPL and had over 35 players drafted across the seven years of play.
In 2022, the Bananas announced that they were leaving the Coastal Plain League to play Banana Ball year-round. Banana Ball was born out of the idea of making baseball more fast-paced, entertaining, and FUN.
Fans First Entertainment now field four independent professional teams – The Savannah Bananas, The Party Animals, The Firefighters, and The Texas Tailgaters.
All teams are made up of players who are recruited and paid for their play.
Current and former MLB stars such as Jonny Gomes, Bill Lee, and local Savannahian, Josh Reddick, have all played with the Bananas professional team.
You can find out more about the Bananas teams here.
OUR CAST OF CHARACTERS
- Our owner, Jesse Cole, wears a yellow tuxedo. Not just sometimes, but all the time.
- We have the Banana Nanas, a senior citizen dance team; the Man-Nana’s, our Dad Bod Cheerleading Squad; and the Banana Splitz, a youth dance team.
- We have the World’s only Dancing Umpire in Vincent Chapman who will bust out the floss, robot or twerk it out on strike out calls.
- We have the World’s only Breakdancing Coach in Maceo Harrison who may do the moonwalk or the Single Ladies dance before giving a sign to the hitter.
- Every game we honor the Banana Baby. Cue the Lion King opening music and the players kneeling around the baby being lifted in a banana costume.
- We play Banana Ball– the fastest and most entertaining game of baseball.
- Our players perform choreographed dances every game – Taylor Swift, Morgan Wallen, Mariah Carey – You name it, they’ve danced to it.
- Every game we have a 3-2-2, which stands for 3rd inning, second batter, second pitch. These are unique in-game pre-pitch dances that have combined together for over 300 million views on TikTok.
- We are the only baseball team to play in kilts. That’s right, kilts.
- Our players perform in over-the-top music videos like Old Town Road, Can’t Stop the Peeling, and I Don’t Dance.
- Our hitters’ walk-ups are legendary. Bananas may be escorted to the plate by the Banana Pep Band, walk down the yellow carpet wearing the finest Dolce and Banana, or they may even introduce themselves.
- We are known for our epic scoring celebrations. From running through the crowd to performing fully choreographed country line dances. When we score, you never know what will happen next.
- We have the World’s Tallest Hitter and Pitcher with Dakota “Stilts” Albritton who stands 10 feet tall.
- We play in Historic Grayson Stadium – Wikipedia affectionately referred to as Bananaland.
- When you come to Bananaland, your experience is All-Inclusive. Our concessions in Savannah are All-You-Can-Eat hotdogs, hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, water, soda, popcorn and cookies.
- We gave the stadium back to the fans. Historic Grayson Stadium is the first ever Ad-Free ballpark.
- We serve our own Savannah Banana Beer, Banana Split Cream Soda, and specialty alcoholic drink, the Slippery Banana, in Bananaland.
- While you are visiting, be a part of Bananaland forever by signing our Fan Wall in right field to leave your very own lasting mark.
- ALL THE FULL GAMES ARE ON THE YOUTUBE CHANNEL @The Savannah Bananas youtbe – Search
- Create a ‘YOU WOULDN’T BELIEVE’ Moment | Jesse Cole