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Effingham musicians add pep to Savannah Bananas
Bananas Pep Band 1
Effingham musicians Taylor Yarbrough (kneeling) with pep band members (left to right) Eduardo Sanchez, Neal Bright, Michael Edwards, Melissa McBride and Sean McBride form the nucleus of the Savannah Bananas pep band. The members of the band had a chance to accompany the Bananas on their unique baseball show across the country. (Photos by Donald Heath for the Effingham Herald.)

By Donald Heath

Special for the Effingham Herald

 

SAVANNAH – The million dollar question is – "Did you ever see this coming?"

Did you ever envision the Savannah Bananas becoming one of the top bananas of the sports world, taking a pep band loaded with Effingham County musicians for a fantasy ride around the country as an integral part of the show?

South Effingham High School director of bands Sean McBride, who leads the Bananas pep band, doesn't hesitate.

"I thought it had potential to be something special. But this? Never," he says, needing less than a split second to formulate an answer.

"We all thought it would be a nice weekend gig when we started. A chance to play with our friends, but nothing like this," said Michael Edwards, McBride's assistant at SEHS and an original member of the pep band.

Neal Bright (Effingham County Middle School band director), Eduardo Sanchez (assistant band director at South Effingham Middle School), Melissa McBride (Sean's wife and teacher at Marlow Elementary) and Taylor Yarbrough (South Effingham Elementary music teacher) joined Sean McBride and Edwards and others to form the 12-person pep band on hand for the 2024 Banana Ball World Tour announcement party at Grayson Stadium on Oct. 5.

It was a high energy night, in typical Banana style, trumpeting a schedule that will take Banana Ball to 29 cities -- including six Major League Baseball stadiums -- across the nation next summer.

How popular are the Bananas? Consider this: thousands of fans attended the Banana lovefest on Oct. 5 just to hear where the team would play on the road.

Ball players danced. The crowd sang. Fireworks filled the air at the end. It was New Year's Eve in October.

Bananas Pep Band 2
Savannah Banana pep band musician Eduardo Sanchez, the assistant band director at South Effingham Middle School, leads an impromptu group dance during the Bananas' 2024 tour announcement on Oct. 5. (Donald Heath for the Effingham Herald.)

And the Bananas' pep band was a big part of the festivities.

"The pep band was a big goal for us when we first started," Bananas owner Jesse Cole said. "I saw it in college football and basketball and I thought, 'Why not bring it to baseball?' Bands bring so much energy."

And energy fuels the Bananas show. The Bananas started as a baseball team in the Coastal Plain League – a collegiate wood bat summer league.

But from the get-go, Cole imagined a big picture of fan-first entertainment. Donning a yellow tuxedo and top hat to match, Cole created a circus-like atmosphere. Fans loved it. Stadium sellouts followed.

Within a few years, the Bananas broke away from the league and took the show – a lot like the Harlem Globetrotters of basketball – to a broader audience.

The Bananas now boast 7.5 million TikTok followers and have been called 'The Greatest Show in Sports' by ESPN. Cole expects the Bananas to play in front of one million fans in 2024.

McBride oozes with pride. He was there from the start. His South Effingham Marching Band was asked to play the national anthem before a game during the Bananas' first season.

Things snowballed. The band was a hit while entertaining between innings.

Eventually, Cole and his management team met with McBride.

"We want a pep band, how do we do it?" McBride remembered the conversation going.

Then McBride sold his musician friends on the idea.

"Sean asked us if we wanted to be in a pep band and we were, 'Sure, but how do you do it for baseball?',” Edwards said. "We didn't know but no one had done it before so we guessed there was no wrong way to do it. Let's just go for it.

"At first, it was awkward, but after some trial and error, it took off."

Banana Ball traveled to Mobile, Alabama, for its inaugural game in 2018.

In the concourse, the pep band serenaded fans with an upbeat, jazzy sound entering and leaving games. It also participated in some on-field activities, marching out with the cast and accompanying the first batter to home plate.

"It was astounding to get there and see all the people decked out in Banana merch," said Edwards about the Mobile game. "It was crazy how many people already knew who we were.

"They bought in big time. The first thing we did was have the fans sing along with 'Hey Baby (Will You Be My Girl)' and every single fan had their hands waving, and they were dancing and singing along."

Bananas Pep Band 3
The Savannah Bananas pep band is center stage while announcing a stop on the 2024 tour across the country. (Donald Heath for the Effingham Herald.)
The tour continues to get bigger and the Effingham musicians have to juggle the gig with their day jobs – oh yeah, teaching at school.

McBride said he made most of the tour stops this season, which ended recently in Cooperstown. He left South Effingham after school on Friday night and took a red-eye flight to get to Cooperstown for the Saturday afternoon show.

It was one of his favorite trips of the season.

"I got up early to see the Hall of Fame," McBride said. "Nolan Ryan was my favorite player so it was great to see his plaque. I saw the Bananas' exhibit. Then we went over to the park and we entertained fans until they wanted to go home."