Milwaukee swallows Banana Ball with 41,000 fans

Milwaukee swallows – In Banana Ball’s official Milwaukee debut at American Family Field, the Party Animals topped the Loco Beach Coconuts 4-2 in a sell-out game headlined by the kind of crowd Jesse Cole called the loudest in Banana Ball history—while the night filled up with dance

The plaza outside American Family Field didn’t feel like a warm-up—it felt like the start of something bigger.

For five hours before the 7 p.m. game time on Saturday, June 6, fans flowed through the ballpark’s pregame scene. Players signed autographs and posed for photos with ticketholders. Out on the plaza. people joined a conga line—long enough to become its own attraction—while an entertainment stage kept the energy moving.

Then, when the Party Animals took the field against the Loco Beach Coconuts, the atmosphere turned into a nonstop dance party. Even the ump got in on it, doing the splits to T-Pain’s “Booty Wurk” while the soundtrack made it hard to sit still when game action was happening, too.

The Party Animals beat the Loco Beach Coconuts 4-2 in what doubled as a landmark night: it was the first MLB stadium sell-out with the Party Animals headlining, with it said during the game that 41,000 people were in attendance.

Jesse Cole—creator of Banana Ball and founder of Fans First Entertainment—didn’t just watch the crowd. He fed it back to itself. After the game. he addressed everyone in the stands. saying. “We have been very fortunate the over last few years to travel around the country. We’ve seen a lot of crowds. And, I’ve got to tell you, this was the loudest crowd we’ve ever had in Banana Ball history.”.

Cole also told the audience, “When we started this, we had one goal: To make baseball fun. And, to see you guys come together, to see you bring the fun, to bring the energy, the world needs more fun right now. You brought it here tonight.”

On the field, Cole didn’t keep the crowd passive, either. During the game, he led fans in the league’s “Hey Baby” tradition, and he even surprised the audience by introducing a longtime former Brewer up to bat.

That cameo belonged to Geoff Jenkins. One of the top sluggers in Brewers’ history. Jenkins took an at-bat for the Party Animals and struck out swinging—but the crowd showed him plenty of love. Jenkins played 10 seasons for the Brewers before finishing his career with Philadelphia in 2008. With Milwaukee, he batted .277 with 212 home runs and 704 runs batted in over 1,234 games. His Milwaukee slugging percentage was .496, and he totaled 1,221 hits and 661 runs. He was inducted into the Crew’s Walk of Fame in 2018.

Other performances turned the stadium into a stage for everybody—kids and adults, serious baseball moments and full-on goofiness.

Ahead of the game, a 7-year-old boy got his turn up to bat at the home of the Brewers. He swung and missed. hit a foul. hit another foul off a tee. then got a hit that turned into a home run. Players kept fumbling the ball—wink, wink—until the moment landed at home plate. When he reached it. a Party Animal lifted him into the air. and then both he and the team broke into dance.

Before the first pitch, an adorable girl in a pink Party Animals T-shirt and pink glasses also got onto the field. The crowd was instructed to do whatever she did. She jumped and clapped, broke out the Scuba, and did jumping jacks as everyone copied along.

At one point during the run of festivities, players crowned several kids in the crowd with tiaras.

Even the adults had their own entertainment loop. The night began with a Wisconsin-style showdown in the form of a root beer chug: two men took to the field to see who could chug a root beer the fastest. They had to chug it on one knee, then crush the can on their heads. The winner got to throw the crushed can like a ball to the catcher behind home plate—and was also named fan challenge representative. complete with judge robe and all. Later, there was more chugging featuring Party Animal Dustin Baber and several adult fans around him, leading into his at-bat.

During a break in the action, couples on first dates had their own race around the bases. The women had to run and jump into the arms of their dates at first base. Then the fellas carried their dates to second, where they all chugged drinks, then separately sprinted to third. As the men carried the women from third to home. water guns sprayed them—tangles and tumbles included. whether the couples meant to or not.

Back on the field, there were baseball moments threaded through all of it. Greendale’s Brady Kais—who will bring Banana Ball to Milwaukee with the Party Animals—started for the Party Animals on June 6. Kais is a Wisconsin native and Brewers fan, and he wore a blue headband holding back his flow. Just a couple batters in. “I Want You Back” by The Jackson 5 came on. and it triggered a dance break for Kais and his teammates that led to his pitch. Not long after. with runners on first and third. the Animals made a double play to get out of the first inning.

Reece Hampton went down Bernie’s Slide for his player introduction. and during the game. a Party Animal slid down it. too. “Jump Around” was played at one point—adding to the unmistakably Wisconsin feel. A couple of fans even caught foul balls on the fly, which turned into outs under Banana Ball rules.

There were also details built for the crowd to wear. Attendees were given bracelets that turn pink and green, and those colors were incorporated into the production. On the jumbotron, “tarps off” made a cameo a couple of times.

All of it—dance breaks. field-level surprises. chugs. tiaras. bracelets—wrapped around the same core fact: this was Banana Ball’s official Milwaukee debut. and on Saturday. June 6 at American Family Field. the Party Animals beat the Loco Beach Coconuts 4-2 in front of a sell-out crowd that Jesse Cole called the loudest in Banana Ball history.

Banana Ball Milwaukee American Family Field Party Animals Loco Beach Coconuts Jesse Cole Geoff Jenkins Brady Kais 41 000 fans