One Minute World Arts- Savannah Bananas: All the Baseball Field Is a Stage
Savannah Bananas is a Georgia-based baseball team that has been very popular and extremely eye-catching – not only because of its yellow uniforms, but also the entertaining shows full of creativity and fun it “stages” on the baseball field. “The field is a stage,” so said Jesse Cole, founder-owner of Savannah Bananas. As the owner of the team and the host of games, Cole often weaves between the audience and the baseball players to coordinate the game, and spares no effort in coming up with innovative ideas to inspire or surprise the viewers. In order to avoid the problems embedded in formal baseball games, such as lingering hours and a lack of excitement, that would bore the audience, Cole has tried to diversify the purpose of baseball and combine entertainment with the game, so that the audience’s awareness of the sport can continue to be raised. In addition, he has also designed an unconventional form of baseball - #BananaBall – with a different set of rules that streamline the process of competition and allow the audience to enjoy the game fully within two hours.
The “performances” Savannah Bananas presents on the “stage” are of a great variety, including waltz, ballet, street dance, circus-like parade, etc. Banana Nanas, the senior cheer squad, is an organized force that also adds layers of fun and excitement to the games. Over these years, shows with such richness and diversity have helped the team to build its popularity, as well as to reach its goal of balancing competition and entertainment. Baseball games driven by energy and fun are thus brought to the audience by Savannah Bananas.
棒球場上的精彩「演出」
在社群平台上關注度爆表的薩凡納香蕉棒球隊（Savannah Bananas），是一支來自美國喬治亞州的棒球隊；除了一身顯眼的黃色制服外，更吸睛的是他們將球場轉化成一個展現創意的大舞台。球隊的創辦人柯爾（Cole）表示：「球場就是舞台！」身兼球隊負責人及「表演」主持人的他，身影經常在球場上穿梭，並且不斷變換點子，推陳出新，將棒球比賽轉型成更受觀眾歡迎的樣態。為了降低正規球賽中經常出現的冗長沉悶之感，柯爾將娛樂元素 融入比賽裡，製造各種驚喜，甚至設計出另一套規則不同的比賽—香蕉球賽，縮短賽程，讓球迷們在兩小時內，就能盡情享受精彩賽事。
細數香蕉棒球隊在「舞台」上的表演項目，真可說是五花八門：包含華爾滋、芭蕾舞、街舞，以及雜耍踩街等等，甚至還有由阿嬤級球迷所組成的啦啦隊助陣，讓人看得目不暇給。如此豐富多元的表演形式，正是薩凡納香蕉棒球隊的特色；除了在娛樂與競賽間取得平衡 外，也帶給觀眾不同凡響的活力衝擊。
Photo Credit ©CNN, Shawn Brackbill for The New York Times.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/31/arts/dance/savannah-bananas-tik-tok-baseball.html
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/05/08/us/savannah-bananas-baseball-tiktok-cec/index.html