What It’s Really Like Touring with the Savannah Bananas

The Savannah Bananas come to play at a portion of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Unreal. Oh, there are players on different teams that hate each other, just have each other's number, and it makes people furious. They all really do want to win the crowd in Camden Yards, going Buck wild. And you say, I'm going all in.

Yeah. On becoming a professional wrestler, and I'm moving to Canada now. Ryan Howard is the primetime coach for the clowns. That's it. On the road with the clowns on Clown Headliner, the Savannah Bananas Banana Ball. The whole guest show has taken the world by storm. From South Bend to Evansville and everywhere in between.

This is Get IN the show focused on the Hoosier State and the incredible stories happening here today. I'm Nate Spangle, founder of Get INdiana, and I will be your host for today's conversation. Before we dive into today's episode, a quick shout out to our friends at NCW, the team that's been building one of the fastest growing staffing and recruiting companies in America for over 25 years.

They specialize in the skilled trades, but here's the thing, they're also growing their own internal team. If you or someone you know is interested in recruiting sales or just making businesses run smoother, you'll want to check them out@teamncw.com. This isn't just another job pitch. CW has been voted a top workplace by the IndyStar, landed on the IBJ Fast 25 list and made the Inc. 5000 list multiple times.

I'll tell you, I've got plenty of friends who work there and they all love it. Go check out teamncw.com. Now let's get into the episode. My guest today is Stacee Alexander. He was an American professional wrestler originally from Indiana starting in 2019. He competed under the ring name. Space Cowboy. In 2024, he won the WTF Belt of Truth Championship title.

Then in 2025, Stacee accepted a role as a Man-Nana in the Savannah Bananas viral Dad Bod Cheer Squad, and he toured with the team across the 2025 Banana Ball World tour. Today we're gonna be talking about Stacee's journey from the ring into the stadium. We're gonna be talking about Banana Ball, the Savannah Bananas, the Man-Nana magic, and the ins and outs of the Savannah Bananas, and our new edition, the Indianapolis Clowns.

I'm really excited for today's episode. Stacee, welcome to the show. Yeah, man. Or should I say, say Space Cowboy. Welcome. Really, either I, I would actually say that most people, even within the organization of the Savannah Bananas don't know Stacee as my name. Oh, ' cause the back of my jersey just says Space Cowboy.

So really Space Cowboy, we're friends. You can call me Stacee. We're strangers. You can call me Space Cowboy. I love it, man. This is such an interesting career path. I'm very curious to dive into how. A kid from the south side of Indianapolis, Franklin Township to be exact, ends up becoming a professional wrestler and then part of the viral Dad Bod Cheer Squad for the Savannah Bananas.

Take me to where your career or where your journey in show business really started. Yep. So I was in show choir, the FC Singers at Franklin Central for three years. I did Crew for one year before that. And it's really one of those things, like I, I would joke with my director when I see him now, just like it was like, you know, you set people up perfectly to be professional wrestlers, right?

He's like, what are you talking about? It's like, it's just show choir without singing. And then in a weird way, uh, the Savannah Bananas is pro wrestling without the wrestling for at least my job. Uh, but yeah, so it was show choir for a while. I went to a music school down in Nashville, Tennessee, Belmont University. Oh, no way. That's a really good, that's a really good university. Yeah, it's not bad. I only got in because of my letter of recommendation from a several time bluegrass award-winning banjo player of the year. It was not because of my studies or because they liked me. It was just her. So shout out Kristen.

And it's just one of those, like, and sometimes it pays to know people. Oh yeah. It, it's honestly, that's the only thing in life that matters is who you know a lot of the time. So, so you knew coming out of high school and show choir that like the music route and show like, what did you wanna do? FC has a class, I wish I remember what it was called, but it's just like setting you up for real life class.

Like they teach you how to do a handshake and cute stuff like that. And my freshman year they're like, okay, what do you want to be when you grow up? Which is such a weird question to ask a loose adult instead of a child. And I just said I wanted to be famous. And she, the teacher was furious with that answer.

She said, um, she was like, you can be famous for being a criminal. Is that what you want? And I was like, well, no, clearly not. But it was just one of those like pipe dream things. I was like, I don't know, like, I just kind of wanna be notable. I'm not famous by any means. Don't like, don't be fooled by this ridiculous outfit.

But it was just one of those like, I was like, all right, I kind of. Matter. And that's all it is, is like purpose I guess. But so it was pretty early on that I was just like, and I'm not made for a nine to five. And I knew that then like that's, I didn't get into college because of my studies. Like I am not great with input ones and zeros and then put them back into the world.

Like that's just kind of not how I'm wired. Yeah, yeah. So you know that, hey, we're on a journey for fame. That's where we're going. We don't know how we're gonna get there. We don't know what it's gonna be in, but that's what you like and like performing. Did you enjoy performing? Yeah, for sure. And that was another one, like freshman year I didn't take speech class.

Like I was terrified to be in front of people at all talking anything in front of people. Like I just couldn't do, I was not necessarily shy, but I didn't like being alone in front of people. And that was another huge thing with show choir. It's like you're up there with. Yeah. 40 or 50 other people all doing the same thing.

So it's one of those, like obviously people are looking at you, but there's plausible deniability of the performer that they're looking at you. Yeah. Because you could just like lip sync the words a little bit, you know? Yeah. Like if you got like nervous too, like too bad. Right. And it's a shame being the six foot five, 300 pound guy who's trying to hide in the crowd of people on stage.

But I grew out of it pretty quickly. Okay. Yeah. Where was the moment then that you kind of conquered that fear and were like comfortable being in front of crowds? Um, I, I wish I knew like a single moment. The cool thing is my brother was in show choir as well, so it was one of those like Is your brother also massive? Yeah, he's an inch taller than me. Oh yeah. He's way skinnier though. Like I don't, I got all the fat jeans apparently. That's, that's okay. Yeah. But you know. Okay, so then you end up going down to Belmont to pursue what kind of studies? My major was Entertainment Industry Studies, which I wish could have answered your question a little bit.

Um, that's kind of cool though. Yeah. I was going to be a tour director in my mind. Um, like scheduling and logistics and stuff like that. I have since become friends with lots of tour directors and it does not seem fun. I'm pretty glad that I decided to drop out. Yeah. How long did you make it? Uh, three semesters.

Okay. Which is also, that's the Belmont way. Like every single person I went to college with, save one dropped out to actually do music or things like that. Oh, okay. There's not a lot of the, all the nurses graduate, but everybody that's there for any kind of entertainment, they don't tend to make it through graduation because they're, you know, they're trying to get into the industry.

Yeah. They're trying to. Okay, that makes sense. So, and then in 2019 then you, you end up getting your big break. Yeah, I guess that's fair. So I, uh, I dropped out the, i I trained wrestling a little bit in Indianapolis at a place that we don't need to talk about 'cause it's yucky. And, uh, so I was like, yeah, this is something I might want to do. Well, how did you even discover that wrestling was a potential? Um, so I, this is hand up. I found out wrestling was. What we all know, wrestling is very late into life. Uh oh. No. Well, and hey man, I don't know. It's like, uh, if nobody ever tells you about the tooth fairy or the Queen of England, you think they're real too.

So I one day just, I'm like, wait a second. Okay. And I lost like 60 pounds between my sophomore and junior years and I was just like, yeah, I guess wrestling is a viable career option. 'cause I was just looking for things to stay in shape. It's like, well, I'm not gonna be in the NBA because of, for a million reasons.

But it was like wrestling. It doesn't seem too late in life to start and be good at. I can't speak to how good I was, but I can speak to the fact that I did start and I did like four weeks of training here, moved to Nashville. What does, what does training for like professional wrestling look like? Uh, it depends if your trainer is really trying to get money or actually trying to train you for wrestling.

And there's a big divide there. Yeah, really it's a lot of falling down. Like it is an unbelievable amount of intentional falling down because it's one of those things when you hit the mat, you wanna be safe. Like you don't wanna fall down and hit the back of your head on the mat. You get a concussion that way.

Yeah. You don't wanna fall down and like miss time stuff. So it is really like a lot of running ropes, just like running back and forth. What is wind sprints? Except you're running into ropes and kind of feels like getting hit in the back with a baseball bat. Like you get weird, perfectly parallel bruises on your back from the ropes.

So it's really just a lot of that and then a lot of kind of going half speed, like. Doing holds. Not with the intent to hurt, but just like, this is how you would slowly get from here to here. And doing that over and over. It's really, it's really, really strange. Like there's absolutely nothing like it. Yeah.

So one month of training and then you move back to Nashville. Yep. And you're in the ring or what? What happens? Um, so I am in Nashville. I was training in Bowling Green, Kentucky. So like twice a week I would drive 40 minutes to southern Kentucky. And then part of the dropping out conversation was the, I wanna be a pro wrestler and like actually give this thing a go and, and.

I moved to Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Okay. So now you go from Nashville. Yeah. Where you were training in Bowling Green, Kentucky. And you say, I'm going all in. Yeah. On becoming a professional wrestler and I'm moving to Canada. Yeah. For what opportunity? Uh, so Storm Wrestling Academy not there anymore, but is Lance Storm?

He's Chris Jericho's best friend. More people know that name than they know Lance. Yeah. But Lance would say that too. And he trained a lot of people that do well and have been in wwe e like how much money are you investing into training to get your first pro gig? Yeah. Um, so not counting moving expenses and rent and all that.

I think Lance's school was like 2,800 us. Oh, okay. Which is like a lot of money when comparing it to. Anything but like, not a lot when you compare it to the fact that I'm saving all this money. Not going to college. Yeah, not going to college. Yeah. Yeah. You're, you're saving it on pro wrestling school. How long was his, the storm wrestling

academy? I was up there for four months. What the Yeah. In and out. You, but you're in Canada for four months. Yeah. And you're just learning the ins and outs of pro wrestling. Yeah. So it's, it's like really cool. It's kind of like going, well, I don't know, but it's kind of like going to basic. I like, it's not at all like that, but you know, for me, a person who's never done that, it could be, but you're, you're getting shipped out Yeah. To another country and you're gonna spend four months up there. There's a bunch of, like, my roommate was from South England. We had guys from other places in Canada, a guy from New Zealand, uh, like Cali, just a bunch of folks came out, a guy from France. And it's like, none of us are these, are all of them massive? No. Like, I think probably now, like there was nobody in great shape. And that's the thing. It's like we are all new. So once you get going, you really have to be in good shape. But Lance will put you in shape if you don't show up that way. No way. Like it was. So what did the average day look like? Training to be a professional wrestler. Uh, there, so it was five days a week for about three hours at his actual facility. So I think we'd wake up about eight and eat, get there at nine, then just like stretch out, put on our cute little shoes and knee pads. Uh, we would, for the first month and a half, did cardio drills. So like just different stations, like stair steps, grapevines, running ropes, uh, and then different ab stuff split between the cardios and then two and a half hours of wrestling.

Some days we wouldn't get in the ring at all. Like some days he would teach us how to. Make a blade in case you have to bleed in a match. Or some days he would just talk about, make a blade. Yeah. Gig yourself. Pulling the curtain a little bit. Whoa. Yeah. And it's one of those like, he's like, Hey, none of you should ever do this because it's stupid, but if you do have to do this, I want you to know the right way to do it.

And he was really good with that. Is there like a code where you like promised not to reveal the curtain to everyone? I'm retired. I don't know. There you go. So you spend four, did you lose a bunch of weight? Yeah. And it was like, well, and so freezing cold when you're outside. It was the coldest February on record in Calgary, which I think every time, like every February, they say that about indie every year too.

They're like, yeah, that's fair. The coldest December on record and it never is, but So like three hours there, we'd get home about one o'clock, eat lunch, and then go to the gym for two hours after we all took naps. And like Lyft? Yeah. No way. Because it's like cardio doesn't, like how much did you weigh going in there? Um, probably like two 60 and I was probably like two 30 when I left. And then right after that were you shredded and I was looking good. Yeah. There, there are a couple times in my life where I've looked good. I think the best was right before I started on with the bananas, but the second best was when I was up there. Wow. Okay. So then like what does the job fair or like the job market look like for pro wrestlers coming out of the Storm Academy? Yep. What is like, what do you do? Um, it's way better than most places. Do you have like a resume? Kinda Do you have a tape? Uh, so that's a tough thing too. 'cause it's, so, it's a lot like standup comedy, I think is the thing.

It's a most one-to-one with where it's like, hey, well I wanna see tape from in front of a crowd. And it's like, well, I don't. Had you ever been in front of a crowd wrestling? No. No. And I mean, like, I've wrestled in front of 20 students that. Were it, it was advantageous to them to be a good crowd because I was about to be in the crowd for them. Yeah. But like, never a proper paying audience. So it's like, oh, hey, like I don't have that. And they're like, no, well, we need footage of you in front of a crowd. It's like, yeah, great. I, I don't have that. And it's like, okay, well, nothing. Wow. Shoot. So a lot of that in my first, I ended up moving to Orlando afterward.

Trained down there a little bit. I'm a bouncer around. I've lived everywhere just for wrestling, which didn't make any money. Um, but, so I lived in Orlando and then my first booking, um, I think my first paid booking was in Memphis, which was a 15 hour drive, but he was gonna let me in a ring and it's like, and give you some money. Yeah. Which is, but it's 15 hours away, which is unreal. But like, hey, 15 hours to get paid. What was, what was the fir I was gonna say, what was the first contract or the first gig? How much money did you make? 20 bucks. Shut up. 15 hours both ways. Two nights in a hotel. Now my buddy came with me, so it's like, you know, seven and a half hours each for the drive, bro, you drive from Orlando to Memphis to get your first pro wrestling gig and for 20 bucks and get this monthly, what? I did it every month, shut up until COVID, so I don't remember how many months that was. But you would drive from Orlando to Memphis monthly to get in the ring at what, what? What kind of venue is this? Aw, the worst. Sorry. The good people of Dyersburg, Tennessee The worst and like, and so it is one of those things, the building really, really cool because it was just a professional wrestling venue.

They had been running weekly there for years and years and years. And so it's one of those, like they had a ramp that was permanent, they had an entryway, and there are so many places that you just end up walking through a curtain that's taped to a doorway. So like in, is this the Herb Welch WrestlePlex. Oh, you're darn right. It's, yeah, it's, you didn't know it. You love it. Yeah, it is brother the herb. That's us Welch wrestle Plex. We ran there on Friday and in some other town on Saturday. No way. But like, it's cool because it's permanent and it's four wrestling, like there are so many, how many people are in the crowd? Uh, it's the only show in town. So there were probably like 200 people. 150. Like, uh, yeah. Alright. Not bad. First time you get in the ring, you got that crisp $20 in your pocket, you're ready to go. And they wouldn't let me use my name that, that was the other one. They already had a space cowboy from. Oh. From five years ago. So then what did you have to be? I, I, oh, I was that guy. I was that guy. You're driving, Stacee Alexander, you're driving 15 hours for 20 bucks for two nights of wrestling and they give you the name. That guy, well, I gave me the name, that guy. Oh, okay. But it's one of those like, you know, you get 15 hours and he is like, oh, by the way, you can't use your name.

Whatcha gonna do, get in the car and turn around. Like, that's one of the two options. I could be prideful and, but also, who am I? Like it's my, yeah, like you haven't been in the ring at all as space cowboys. I haven't been in the ring. Uh, how did the first show go? So that was my first page show. My first first show was in orange, something port orange, Florida.

Horrible. Uh, really, really bad. What makes it go bad? Uh, depends who you ask. I guess. Ultimately it's if the crowd cares about you, which they sure didn't. And Florida was tough because the promoter didn't really value a through line of stories from show to show. Which I think you should and shouldn't to different extents, but I was alternating weeks baby face and heels.

So good guy, bad guy. And as somebody the crowd doesn't know, and I'm cutting promos, which is like, walk up, get a microphone, tell him who you are, talk about yourself. And week one he's like, Alright baby face, like, get out there and tell him who you are, kid. I'm like, okay, cool. I've never done this in front of a crowd either.

I've cut maybe three promos in training, so I'm just like some little skinny kid with a microphone and I'm like, Hey everybody, it's, it's me, the space cowboy. I'm gonna do my best because what else do you like? It's fundamentally so much more difficult to talk to a room of people and get them to like you than it is to hate you.

So I'm like, yeah, whatever. And then they bring out this heel bad guy who's been there forever that the whole crowd knows. So they're all cheering for him because they all know him. And I didn't do a very good job on my promo. So I go back next week and he's like, Hey, you're working heel tonight. And I'm like, well good, because they did not like me.

Like this'll be perfect. And I get out there and they're booing me. Some kid keeps calling me SpongeBob. Some old woman threw an Orange Crush at me. No, the Orange Crush. It was horrible. It was. And it was October in Florida. I was, the locker room was outside. I was all sticky afterward. It was a real nightmare, but I was like, sweet, they don't like me.

Cool. Go back week three. He's like, Hey, you're working baby tonight in a tag team. And I was like, man, we can't do this. You keep, you keep saying baby and heal baby. Good guy. Heal bad guy. Well that's industry term. Yeah. But it's like, I'm not pulling anything back there. The fans know at this point. Yeah.

Baby face, good guy. Heal bad guy. Okay, so you keep flipping back and forth between good guy, bad guy. Uh, how long did you end up working? Port Orange. Oh. Five, six weeks. Okay. I think they shut down and then you end up getting the gig. Was that, was Memphis the only place you were wrestling? Um, at the time it was, yeah, Memphis and then I hit up Rich at wrestling theology, which I think they were running at Mercy Road Carmel at the time. They run outta churches, which is wrestling theology fellowship. They would do a little sermon gimmick at halftime or intermission and then they would run on churches, which is kind of cool. Wrestling Theology fellow. So you were mixing professional wrestling in church? Yep. WTF as well, which is cute and funny.

Um, but wrestling theology fellowship, I hit up Rich and I was just like, Hey man, like I've never wrestled in my home state before. And they do a yearly December show. They do like a big rumble type gimmick. Like 30 guys, 40 guys come in and then a little show in addition with like normal matches. And I was like, Hey, I've never wrestled in my home state. How are you surviving? Ah, like how do you have enough money help from other people? And like I've got, I've got normal jobs as well. Pretty much every independent wrestler has a day job. Okay. So like what were you doing for your day job? Um, in Florida, a lot of DoorDash. When I was living in Nashville, a lot of DoorDash in Florida.

And then like later on I worked at a meal prep kitchen. I worked bar trivia, uh, just like really, whatever, because it's tough too. It would someone see you're working bar trivia. He is like, Hey, is that Space Cowboy? So I started bar trivia and I was like right by the venue in Port Orange. Um, so I was Space Cowboy at bar trivia too, which is just like, that works.

Who cares? Ultimately. But yeah, I didn't wanna be the guy where like I'm showing up at wrestling shows and people are chanting my real Christian name at me. Like that's, that's a nightmare situation. Yeah. So how long does this go on where you're like working other jobs, trying to chase a professional wrestling career?

Like where, where do you feel like you start to make some headway in wrestling? Rear view mirror, maybe kind of never. Yeah. Um, but that's just one of those things like entertainment. It's like how much do you care about your success and how much is it just like hard to stop doing it? Did you love it? Uh, for some of it, like what?

Definitely not by the end. What did you love about it? The egotistical performance aspect of like, and, and it was kind of the opposite of where I was at one point, afraid to be the only person that people were looking at, to where like, once you get into professional wrestling, you learn that. That's really cool. Yeah. And was there a moment that sticks out to you of like, I had the crowd just going, I hit someone with the chair. Uh, like there's a couple. So my number one thing that wrestling fans think is cool that I did was we worked a, it was like a charity show in Orlando, Florida. Probably 1500 people. And we were at the Dr.

Phillips Center, which is like where Hamilton plays, where it's in Orlando. It was very much not made for pro wrestling, but we were like up on the stage with the normal chairs in the crowd and it's for a Down syndrome charity. Yeah, like raising money. I mean that, that thing has to get rowdy. Dude is right.

Let's go. And then like they raised so much money and it was put on by this guy Mojo, who's a former WWE cat and he basically just hit up a bunch of his friends and I was friends with one of his friends. So I wrestled a six man tag, three on three against a former TNA world champion, which is impact in TNA.

It's, it was for a long time, the second biggest company in America and against Braun Strowman. And who was a WE heavyweight or universal? I, the water gets muddy there. I'm not really good at keeping track. Yeah. But it was against two former world champions and then. Uh, bronze Buddy who works at Publix, who was a fellow with Down Syndrome.

No way. And he came in at the end and I think three of the matches had, uh, like Down Syndrome Brothers in it, that they would just learn like an easy comeback, like couple clothes, lines and a rockstar. Scott was Bro's. Buddy's name. I didn't take the pin. He came, Braun came across and cracked me in the nose and I fell in the crowd.

And unfortunately that was my fate. But Rockstar Scott hits a big people's elbow. Yes. Does the rocks finishing, like whole crowd. Unbelievable. But like, we were the first match on that card, so we weren't sure how it was gonna go. And the heels walk out first so the baby face can get the good reaction after everybody learns that we are the bad guys.

And that like the booze from the charity crowd with against the, and it's one of those, like sometimes you gotta be the guy that wrestles brother with Down syndrome. Like it's not. He, he knows the gimmick, but, and it's, and that's what Rock star, what was his name? Rockstar Scott. Shout out Rock Rockstar Scott.

He is with the People's Elbow crowd Erupts, unbelievable. React. Let's go. And it's like, it's, uh, I'm, I'm a movie nerd. So like the movie Prestige, there's a, how does he enjoy taking his bows from under the stage? And it's one of those, like, I'm laying there face down on the floor selling. 'cause I just got cracked in the face and it's like, all right, one, two, come on, please.

Three and just let's go. We, they did Scott. Yeah. So that, that's like probably my favorite moment. And there's some other ones, like, it was really fun going back to Calgary to wrestle after I had trained there. Um, that was another one that the, the cost versus reward was not there, but it was like fun and something I wanted to do. Yeah. So I get to wrestle up there a couple times. And then Where do you realize it's like, hey. I mean, you're probably in your mid twenties at this point. Yeah. You, I What was the most you ever made for a gig? Professional wrestling? Um, I got flown out for a Texas show a that I didn't deserve. And then it was one that was like, I didn't want do it, so I gave him way too big of a number and I think they gave me like 400 bucks and a fly out.

And then we ended up wrestling in front of three people, two of whom were my tag partner's parents. What? It was the worst show I've ever been on. But in like, I don't know how they got their funding. I know they never ran another show because you wrestled, you got 400 bucks and flown down to Texas to wrestle in front of three.

The world of professional wrestling is crazy. It's unreal. Um, where do you, it shouldn't exist. Like nothing about it makes sense. Where did you realize that you might need an exit strategy? I stopped liking it a lot. Yeah. Uh, which, and it hurts too. That's the other thing. It stinks. Like I got dislocated ribs, I tore my AC joint and that really stunted like.

That was probably the, where I thought I was getting a lot of progress. And then I tore my AC joint and it just, all the wind came outta the sails. But when I moved to Cleveland, another city, uh, take a sip and so I moved to Cleveland, started a company there with a couple friends. And then what

kind of company? Wrestling. Oh yeah. Yep. Started a company there with a couple friends and then it was just kind of one of those things, I'm not gonna take zero blame. I had a bit of an attitude issue at the time and you know, a lot of, a lot of cooks in the kitchen that all think we know what we're doing. And I was just like, all right, this kind of stinks, like, especially once you get into the business side of it.

It's like you can't, how does professional wrestling make just ticket sales? I have no idea. Truthfully. And I ran a company like, that's, that's the thing. This seems to be like that could be a problem. Yeah. Uh, again, it shouldn't exist. Nothing about it makes any sense. I, I, honest to God, have no idea how they make money.

Uh, anybody. I think it's ticket sales wrestlers. We can do merch. And that's honestly the great equalizer. It's like if people really like you, they'll buy your shirts and it almost doesn't matter how much you're getting paid. That's the, it's like you can take a $20 booking and then understand you're gonna make $500 in t-shirt sales, so it's worth your time.

Um, but it was one of those like falling out and the business side stopped being fun. And right at the time where I was like, okay, this is kind of starting to stink. I was coming back to Indianapolis more and more just 'cause I didn't love a lot of the stuff in Cleveland. And then one of the times I was here, uh, the bananas were in.

I had a buddy working for them who used to ring announce for me and he and I had dinner and that's where I kind of got started on this whole transition. So you had a buddy who, what was he doing for them? A Young Professor is his name. He's our announcer in-game host Chief Potassium Enthusiast he says, and he is also their cast director.

So he, he was at the time the guy that did all the hiring and firing and in charge of, yeah, all of the characters. Okay, so you get dinner with him. Yep. Did you know that the Dad Bod cheer squad was a thing? Yeah, so I think I had gone to a game, what, two years prior to that? This was 2024 when they were here. Yeah. So you went to a game in 2020. That was early for the bananas. Yeah. So it was their first proper tour. They had done a one city world tour prior, and then I think that they did a 12 city world tour the next year. And I saw them at Jackie Robinson Ballpark in Daytona, Florida, which I think is the smallest.

Like away game they've ever played. Wow. I don't know that I might have made that up entirely, but I think that's right. So I saw him down there and he was the mc for that baseball team as well. And he had ring announced for me at my first six shows in Port Orange. And it was like we were buddies. We weren't super close, but we were close enough that I'm like, oh yeah, while you're in town, like it's my city.

Let me show you around. And everybody loves it here in the bananas. Like it's so funny talking about Indianapolis to people within the organization. They're all just like, oh man, it's a great place. Like we gotta go back. But he and I went to kill Roys. Shout out underrated food menu. The breadsticks, dude.

What? The breadsticks? Yeah. We're doing this now. The breadsticks, the burnt end sausage is unreal. Like they have a real smoker, which like lots of people say they have a smoker. They have a smoker, like the dry rub wings. There are the best wings I've ever had anywhere in the country. Whoa. It's insane.

Andys, I'm big. I know about wings. Okay. But so we went to Kilroy's and had several long islands and lots of food. And it's one of those like, you don't want to be the guy begging your buddy for a job. So we're just chatting. There were a couple other guys there and I'm pouring honey in their ears. I'm like, oh yeah, all these fun stories and aren't I quirky and cool?

And, uh, one of the other guys, he's like, you should be a man, Anna. And I'm just like, Hmm, wouldn't that be something? And then, uh, finally by the end of the night. Yo pro Young Professor, he's like, oh, we're thinking about bringing on insert name of other independent wrestler, not Indianapolis, but independent. Yeah.

And I was like, oh, no, that's fine. He's like, oh, what? I was like, no, it's cool. Just I didn't wanna do it anyway. Like goofing with him, he's like, oh, would you be interested? And I was like, yeah, yeah. Like who on earth would not be interested in? Yeah. And it's, it's very pro wrestling, like it's touring the country with your friends.

Yeah. Entertaining. Like, that's sick. It's what I want to do. And he was like, okay. He is like, yeah. He's like, I'll put your name in for it. Okay. And we kind of go in our way is, and the last thing he says, he's like, I don't know if you fit the bill. Because at the time I was in very good shape. And so you were like, too, too good a shape. And I was not in Adonis by any means, but I had lost a lot of weight and was in pretty good shape. But then the fun starts like. I ate and ate and ate and like how did the process of actually getting the job go? So I ate a bunch of food that, that's the God's honest. Yeah. Pint to Ben and Jerry's every single night.

Wendy's spicy chicken every single night. That'll do it. Hey, that's the way to do it. And um, I think my first game with them, so you, they just said if you get a Dad Bod, you're in. There's, so there were tryout games. Oh. Which basically just amount to like, do the job. 'cause where were the tryout games. And did you get paid for the tryout games? I truly don't remember. I wanna say I did. I know they flew me down. Okay. Which again, coming. So getting a little bit better. You're not losing as much money coming from where I came from and wrestling. Yeah. It's like getting flown out. Like again, I really don't remember if I got paid. And were there more than three people in the crowd. Yeah, there you go. And again, none of them were related to my tag partner probably, I guess. I don't know that for sure. Um, so I did the, my first weekend was in Savannah, but it was the weekend of that crazy hurricane. It was, it was all kaput. We thought we were gonna cancel all the games. They canceled two, I was supposed to do three games.

I just did one. And what did that mean for you? Like, what were you having to train or practice to be a Man-Nana? Almost nothing. Like that's, they, they, they had a dance that they all do as a group. The intro dance. And then after that it's just like, um, we are fan interaction. Like movies have audience insertion characters where it's like, oh, that's who I am.

Within this story, we kinda do the opposite. Like for the people in the back row, we are the show insertion into the crowd where it's like we have a mascot. His name is split. He does good work. But then we have like seven or eight of us where it's like, if you can't quite see what's going on on the field or if you are not sure about that, like we can come up, we dance with you.

We're in the aisles and we ensure that like just the first five rows aren't the only people having a good time. Yep. Like it's very, and that's what they said. They were like, Hey, go roam the crowd. Yeah. It was, uh, we, I was a professional wanderer for that weekend. Okay. And like, what were you, like, what was the first thing you did as like, they were like, okay, you do your intro dance now go be free.

That's, and you just walk up to the back and you're like, there's, there's nonstop music playing. Yeah. Um, like I've never been to a Savannah Bananas. Game you'll get there. Yeah. Yeah. One day. Hopefully we'll get you there. Yeah. Um, it's truly nonstop music. Like you can say that it's the truth. Shark, our DJ works unbelievably hard.

He's got all his buttons and all his switches and it's just like, it's so natural to me. It to just stand there and groove. And they're all good tunes. Different player walkups. Like we have a player that walks up the YMCA. Mm-hmm. That one's easy. Everyone knows what to do. We have like a player that walks up the Macarena, that's easy, you know what to do.

And then for everything else, we just kind of make up little dances. Or like, some of the most fun I've had as a man, Anna, there's an empty seat there. You could just sit down and chat and learn about somebody. No way. Like we are, we are absolutely allowed to do that as long as it doesn't. Like if we have a responsibility somewhere. Yeah. Yeah. But they always say like, do for one what you wish you could do for many. Yeah. So it's like, I've met some cool people just sitting there and like, or like an old lady do for one what you wish you could do for many. Yep. Because that is the thing about yellow tucks Jesse. He is the greatest showman. Oh yeah. Like, I'm, I'm eager, we're gonna dive into that a little bit later in the show, but you, you'd get this first tryout, they tell you to wander, have fun, be energetic, give the, you know, the last five routes, the, the left. The last five rows in the crowd, the same experience or a similar experience to what the first five are getting.

And then you fly home, like when did they let you know that this is gonna be a thing? I didn't know anything official for so long, and then so it was because of that hurricane that knocked out two of the games. It was just like, Hey, one game. We're not sure. Also, I got 30,000 steps that game just wandering around and the, our home park is not big.

Like, it's like 3000, 3,500 people. So getting 30,000 steps. I walked through every single, everybody. Yeah, it was, did you love it? Oh yeah, for sure. Did you like get, feel reinvigorated with Yeah. The showmanship. It was, it was like early wrestling. Yeah. Where it's like, it's like, okay, yeah, this is, and they appreciate it too.

Like that's the thing about wrestling, crowds cool people. Yeah. But a lot of the time they don't care. Like if you're not what they're looking for that night. Yeah. Yeah. They got no interest and everyone is just like. In love with the Bon Bananas. Yeah, dude. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, so I ended up doing the All-Star Game, which was our first All-Star game, uh, probably late October that year.

I don't really know. Is this 24? Yeah. Okay. And then we played the Clemson baseball team at the Clemson baseball field. Yes. And I think they top 10. They might have been number one that year, but it's huge. Right. Um, it's like five or six. Oh, this is the time that you guys play? Not yet at the football yet.

Okay. This is the baseball stadium. We, I think we announced that. Yeah. Yeah. At the Allstar game, but I don't really remember. Wow. But it was like 6,000 and again, it's like biggest crowd and wrestling 1500. Then you go to Grayson, which is our home stadium, and it's like 3,500, and it's like, oh my gosh, like 3,500 people and at this point had the bananas.

Like they, have they fully gotten like the viral Yeah. Start, they, they were rocking. That was like the end of that 24 season is when everybody knew. Okay. And. So it was in like, the All Star game is something that had never been done, and it was the same thing. They're just like, Hey, wander around and have fun.

And it's like, okay, sweet. And that one, there was the one specific thing that I remember doing there where I was like, okay, this is the perfect amount of freedom. A great job was, it's, uh, those tickets were K Club only. So like we have a, I think it's $20 a year or something, and you get guaranteed seats to I think six games.

So it's cheap, but it's like for the, in Savannah anywhere. Oh, anywhere. Yeah. And it's a huge wait list, but like, people are on the wait list for years trying to earn their way into this K Club deal. And I believe it was K Club only. So then there were a bunch of students there that like, weren't at the game but wanted to watch the game.

And they're just like up on buildings like, like at Wrigley, like they're on, on the rooftop cycle. So they're on like the medical building and the training building that just overlook. The ballpark. So me and the other guy that was trying out, we were just like asking security guards, we're like, yo, how do we get to this building?

And we went up with them on their balcony and it was like, there are guys that didn't even pay for tickets, but um, and like we're talking to our boss about it, he's like, oh, that's perfect. He's like, yes, that's exactly what you need to be doing. And they're stoked about us bringing the show to people that didn't even pay to see it. Yeah, because they are still fans. Like if they weren't fans, they wouldn't be standing there watching. Yeah. And that's very much like the fans first. They're like, Hey, if they can't get in the building. And then, gosh, what was the other team? We played Clemson this year for the, no, that's the same team. We played Auburn, wrong Tigers, and they had like a huge parking garage that overlooks the field and it was the same deal.

It was like round everybody up, figure out how to get to that parking garage and go give them the. No way. If they cared enough to sit there, like when did you get on to like consistently? Uh, so last year was my first full season in 2025. Yep. 2025. Okay. And that started in February. And was this now like a full-time gig? Yeah. So like this, like you went from having a DoorDash and you know, drive 15 hours for a $20 show to now being a part of the Dad Bod Cheer Squad was what you had to do. You get to be a a, an entertainer full time. Yep. Incredible. Unreal. How, talk to me, I think a lot of people will hear this part so far and be like, oh yeah, you get to dance and hang out in the crowd, blah, blah.

Like what an easy gig. Like talk to me about the work that goes into the magic that is a Savannah Bananas game. Yeah, so for me specifically, or I guess us specifically as the man Annas, we really talked at the beginning of the year about like, Hey, how can we just be better? Yeah. Because like I said, it's like we do our intro dance, then we wander around.

I was like, that's not sexy. Like you, you see a guy wandering around once and you're like, oh, that's interesting. You see him wandering around a second time and you're like, oh wait, I already got his autograph. And if he wanders by a third time, then you've seen him twice. You got his autograph, you got his picture.

What do you care? Yeah. So there was a big discussion of like, how can we plus what we do. And we, week one, they were debuting a new segment called Lips Don't Lie, which is a lip sync deal. And we were lip-syncing to Wannabe by the Spice Girls and I was like, Hey, do we think we could all just learn this dance?

And they're like, what do you mean? I was like, whatever dance did Spice Girls do, like how hard could it possibly be? It's one of those like, I come from show choir, so that's a little unfair of me. How? How hard could this possibly be? But we all figured it out and we're like, okay, that was sick. Like that was really fun.

And then a couple weeks passed and we're like, Hey, this intro dance stinks. It's very boring. It was

not very visual at all. Not very visual for the listeners, but he did a very boring dance. Yeah, yeah. Uh, arms up, shoulders shrug. We'll splice that in. Yeah. Yeah, right. But it was like, not very exciting. And it's like, Hey, let's just do the Spice Girl dance. And we're like, oh yeah, that could be cool. Like that would be fun and interesting and different.

And that was not my idea. I won't take credit for it. But, so we started doing that and it's like fans are like, Hey, you guys can dance. We're like, yeah, we can wait a second. We can. And then just gradually throughout the year, it's like everybody worked really hard on their dancing. And we got a second intro dance where our entertainment director is like, Hey, we want you guys to learn a second dance.

And everybody's like, shoot, we don't know a second. So I like found some more choreography and spliced it together with some easy stuff that I knew they could do. We learned that dance we had it for, what song? Uh, bad Romance. Oh yeah. Which is now I believe the third most viewed TikTok in the history of Savannah Bananas TikTok? No way. I believe somebody told me again. Wow. That could be a lie. But um, so it's like, okay, everybody works really hard and there's just more and more effort going into everything and then we start getting more opportunities. It's like we had an in-game dance, which they had never had before. Uh, where it's like middle of a third inning, we roll out, uh, the mound and then we do a dance while one of the pitchers is warming up and we start getting player walkups, we start getting home run celebrations.

It's like a scoring celebration. 'cause we do match scoring the bananas, win an inning and the man Annas roll out and we get to do the celly. And there's a bunch of different responsibilities that they had never had before, just because everybody's giving so much more effort. Um, the other things that I can speak to as far as like, why is it a little bit hard?

It is an unbelievable amount of steps, like just walking around and we are, none of us trim guys. I don't know if you could tell based on everything about all of us. Yeah, that's the one that's sick. It's great. I think we're at like 50 some million, or at least we were last time. Somebody updated me in the group chat. No way. But it's like all of us are big guys and we're walking around and it, it beats chip and rocks for sure. I mean, there's harder ways to make a living, but like by the end of the night we are all so we're just blown sky high. Yeah, exhausted, horrible. But you started to put more effort into it and like, you know, bring fresh ideas and got more opportunities from it. It's weird how that happens, right? Yeah. Right. I think that's an interesting part about the Savannah Bananas organization as a whole. There it seems as though you guys are always testing and trying new things and. Again, like everything I've ever seen about, uh, Jesse Cole is all about creating the best fan experience possible.

And then you guys do a fantastic job of getting everything clipped and onto social. Yeah. So that like you build this rabid fandom of people all across the world who, who want to be on this 50,000 person list or whatever to even have the opportunity to pay to then buy tickets. Like it's crazy. 3.5 million, I think.

Wait list right now. 3.5 million. Holy smokes. Talk to me about what you've learned about fan satisfaction, about content choreography. Just like the overall about showmanship. Yeah. From yellow tucks, Jesse. So that's the, you say with the clips and stuff. Our big thing, I think they say 35 new things a night. You try 35 new things and some of that is very micro, some of it is very macro, but like they never do the same. Dance twice. So we do match scoring. So when you win an inning, whatever team wins the inning. Uh, celebrates. Yeah. So sometimes they'll have a big choreographed dance. Sometimes they'll just do a, like a lip sync to a social media clip.

They did like the Hamilton Alexander come back to sleep as a celebration. They rolled an air mattress out. And so the things like that, that can be different. There are promos for fans. Like you bring the fans down and you know, how many different ways can two families race each other, running the bases a lot of different ways.

And you can make it look different every time too. It's like, okay, maybe we will have the moms carry the kids. We do playing catch with dad, where the dad has two sons, they run off opposite directions and the dad has to catch the kids. It's like, we'll do that different ways, but it's 35 different things each night, I think is the buzz number.

Yeah, I think that's what we shoot for. And then our go-to is like, it has to be good for the fans in person. But it also has to be good for social media. Yeah. And it can't just be one of those things because then you're really limiting yourself. And they all have, I think it's, they meet twice a week, maybe three times a week with the entertainment team, or they're just like, cool, who's got ideas.

And it, I mean, it's exactly like you're picturing at big whiteboards. Uh, circle back to this. We're not sure. Not there yet. Okay. I like that. And Jesse truly will listen to anybody in the company. Like that's the thing, it's, he's the most busy person that anybody could ever be on a game day because like he is very like Eric Bischoff, where he is the actual owner and also a character on in the show.

So he couldn't be more busy. But like if you get him on a non show day or early enough and it's like, Hey, I just had an idea, he is like, yeah, what's up? And it's like, oh. Just like, oh, we're, we're talk right now. Oh, wow. I was not prepared for it. Got it. So that was, so what, where was your first experience?

Have you like. Talk to him and like pitched an idea. Yeah. Uh, I mean, it, it didn't go phenomenally. We actually, we started having meetings with him recently. Yeah. Which is unreal. Again, like, he was like, Hey, I want to figure out how things, how many people work for the Savannah Bananas? I, I truly couldn't even give you a hundred, like hundreds. So when we travel to, we have six teams now. Yeah. Um, so when there's a Bananas Firefighters game, I think we travel with 300 people, ticket team, merch, cast players, coaches, owners, et cetera. And they're also, next season going to be two other concurrent games in different cities. Um, they have warehouse people, they have ticketing people, uh, they have people to answer the phones at the hq.

So like, I, I don't know. There's definitely a comma in it at least. Wow. Um, but so the Jesse, um, my very first day. I was joking with Young Professor and it's one of those, it's a very unique thing in a job to be able just to talk to the owner of the company. Uh, yeah. Like most people don't get that opportunity.

I shouldn't have. And I was pitching Prof something as a joke, and I'm just one of those, like, I kind of don't know my place in some, and I'll be like, oh, Jesse, you should hear this too, just as a joke. And he, it was not the best idea. It wasn't a horrible idea. I still think we should do it the reverse.

William Tell William Tell, uh, he puts the apple on the head and shoots it off with a bone arrow. Yes. Reverse. You throw an apple at someone's who's holding an arrow, but it's a banana. They have a arrow on their head and you throw a banana and it has to get on the arrow. That would be kind of funny. It'd be kind of funny and it's not a good idea, but it's not a terrible idea, but it's a funny idea. Yeah. And Jesse was just like, how would we make sure they didn't get hurt? I was like, didn't get that far yet. And he was like, okay. That's what, but there you, that's day one. Yeah, exactly. Bad pitch. I didn't, I didn't have it fleshed out yet. Yeah, yeah. But it is one of those like, so are you living in Savannah during the whole season? I was in Augusta, Georgia last year. I'm here now. Okay. So now you live in, so is it like virtual meet? Like how does. What's the company dynamic that way? Yeah. Um, Zoom's at least for us. Yeah. And then you just fly out to the games. Yep. Looking for a new place to call home. JC Hart Company has been helping Hoosiers find their perfect fit for 50 years.

From Hamilton County to downtown Indy to Bloomington, and everywhere in between, they've got over 30 communities, plus seven brand new luxury spots. So there's something for every lifestyle. Every community is designed to make life easier and more enjoyable, and the friendly property management teams are ready to help you find a home that's just right for you.

Or are you thinking about a career in property management? JCR is not just a great place to live. It's also one of Indiana's best places to work. Check out the open positions on their website. At homeisjchart.com to see how you can join the team. Want to peek into life as a resident or team member?

Follow them on Instagram at home Is JC Hart or head to homeisjchart.com to explore locations, careers, and more. JC Hart Company. Where your next home suite home is waiting. How many games will there be in the 2026 season? I think we will play 72 games. Are you only with the bananas? Um, yes. So you are, but does each new team, 'cause now everyone can see if you're watching online, I'm rocking my Indianapolis Clowns gear, which is the perfect, if you really dive into it. Yep. The Indianapolis Clowns are the perfect addition to Banana Ball. Yep. What's it called? The professional, what's the league called? Uh, the Banana Ball Championship League. Yes. Um, because the Indianapolis Clowns were a barnstorming team from the 19 hundreds. Yep. They, I think their last game was like 64, but I can't speak something like that.

The exact. And so Barnstorming met, they would travel around and play games, uh, and similar to what you guys, they were just playing baseball and they kind of like built this legacy and now you guys are bringing them back. The barnstorming. It's super interesting 'cause they, they were a performance based team as well.

They played like Hank Aaron played for them. So yes. Like they knew how to play ball, but they would come to a city and like play their local baseball team. Oh. And it's one of those things like coming from pro wrestling, it's hard to be the baby face in that situation. Yeah. When you're beaten up on the local guys.

But they still had to put on a good enough show where people were like, okay, yeah, these guys are sick. Yeah. They were performance based as well while still actually playing ball. Which is, that's the biggest misconception about the bananas is like we don't work games. The bananas lose all the time. We didn't win the championship last year.

In fact, we didn't make the championship last year. That's pretty crazy. because people think it's like the Harlem Globetrotters. where the Globetrotters. I feel like always win. I think they actually, they lost one time because they used to always win on a buzzer beater and Meadowlark Lemon duffed the shot in like 72.

It's the only time they've ever lost. That would be crazy. Imagine being at that game. Oh, I, I would never stop talking about it. Yeah. But it's like if you do that with the banana, it's like I've, I, we were definitely. We were well over 500 this year, but we didn't even make the finals. Yeah, it's, it's a weird place to be, so it's it's a real, it's just a different game, but it's real.

There's real sport happening out there. Yeah, exactly. And so that was kind of the clown's gimmick. It's like, hey, we're really gonna play, we are just better than them and we are gonna put on a show. So they would do a thing called pepper ball, which is like, if you've ever seen the Harlem Globe Trotters, it's what goes on during Sweet George Brown.

Like they would juggle the baseball and bounce it on the ground and bounce around, throw it to each other. And they were doing like this weird juggling kind of playing catch hybrid. And then they started doing shadow ball, which is the same thing, but with pantomime no baseball. And they would just start like playing a baseball game with no ball.

But if you were in the 15th row, you'd never know. 'cause they were so good at it. No way. Like it's just like, you know, guy hits the ball left in center, fielder going for, it starts like. And just that performance thing. That's crazy that they knew where it would go. Yeah. They're like, oh yeah, this one, this ball's going to right center.

Who knows how rehearsed it was. Yeah. Right. But it's like one of the things that if you're sitting in the crowd, you're like, whoa, I've never seen anything like this before. We, uh, when we were in DC for the game out there, we went to the National Archives and they like curated a section of old books and different paraphernalia.

And this was well before, uh, the Clowns acquisition, and they put out a bunch of Indianapolis clown stuff for us. They're like, oh, you guys should learn about these guys. Like, they kind of do what you did. And like, being from here, I knew, but a lot of the other people didn't. I think that people would know that the clown, maybe if they're really in touch with history, people would know the clowns were a team.

They probably wouldn't know about what barnstorming is for sure. Yeah. And like the performative aspect of that, and that's like, we have the, the Children's Museum does an unreal job with. Statues in sports, like the fact that the only Reggie Miller statue in Indianapolis is at the Children's Museum will be a crime until we build another one.

But they have, uh, Indianapolis clown statue outside in, like the sports, whatever that area is called. Yeah, and it's, I think, Hank Aaron Goose Tatum, and then two of the women that were signed. I just had learned about it from there. When did you hear about the expansion and how was that broadcasted to the internal team? I think we learned. How did they end up choosing Indianapolis? We learned two days before the country. Yeah, okay. There's a thousand people in the company. Yeah. Yeah. And it was like a company wide Zoom where he's like, Hey, like please don't tell anybody this. And they told us all of our dates for this year and the two new teams.

And which are the Indianapolis Clowns and Loco Beach Coconutss. The Loco Beach Coconuts. Where's that at? Which is, uh, it's wherever it is, brother. We bring it to you. Oh, that's true. But like, are they based technically out of Loco Beach? No. So our only two regionally tied teams are the Indianapolis Clowns in the Texas Tailgaters. Oh. So Indianapolis will be so, okay. Loco. Okay. That's like a fictitious thing. Yeah. But Indianapolis will be like, based out of Indianapolis. Yep. So it's a, it's a weird thing with, again, what we do ball wise. We don't so much have home and away Yeah. As much as headliners because everybody, like all the players live in Savannah. Yeah. Um, but so when you go to the game at Victory Field this year, it'll be clowns versus party animals, and it's a Clowns headliner. So it will be an Indianapolis clown show, not a party animal show. When you go to Cincinnati at Great American Ball Park, it is a Clowns headliner. So even though they're playing the bananas, it will predominantly be an Indianapolis clown show. Really? Where Yeah. Even though the bananas will be there. Mm-hmm. I wonder how, how do people like take that? I mean, so it's one of those things like if you're a die hard Banana fan, you probably don't care. And if you're a diehard clown fan, you care a lot. Like it's, well, are there any diehard clown? I mean,

not yet.

Yeah, exactly. You got all emerge. I'm number one. I am the number one Indianapolis Clowns fan in the world. It's a situation where, I mean, if you went to a pacer game and it was like they had the Laker girls dancing, you'd be like. I don't know if I like that. Yeah. And it really like, it's a very smart way to allow this export to expand.

Yeah. 'cause if there's no fans of any team other than the bananas or of any team other than the party animals. Party animals have an awesome fan base. Really. Like if you go to a home, if you go to a party animal banana game, a lot of time it's 50 50. And even more of the time it's kids walking out with a pink bag in their hand that walked in with a bananas jersey. No way. Because it is a different vibe. Like each team has their own kind of thing. I think in the next five years too, people will like, it will go from just like being the Savannah Bananas to Beni being like Banana Ball. Yeah. Or whatever, you know, and you're, you'll gain more fans of other teams and it won't just be like, so like I feel like at first glance everyone's like, oh yeah, the bananas are the Harlem Globetrotters.

Yeah. And then it's like, no, they lose. Well. And like people in Indianapolis like talking to me, they're like, oh yeah, the bananas are coming. It's like, well we are not. But yeah, the show is Yes. And they're like, oh, what are the, and like, I mean, again, fans of Banana Ball get it. I wonder, do you know, and this might be like a very businessy type question, but like the difference in attendance when the bananas are there versus just banana ball. So the short answer is it's sold out regardless. Um, there you go. They do a good job of budgeting stadium, so like, I guess less proven would be the political adjective, but like, they're, we're playing a game in Billings, Montana, and the stadium is like 1600 people, and it's either the two newest teams or two of the three newest teams.

Yeah. And also I think that's the biggest baseball park in Billings, Montana. You can't bring the Savannah Bananas who are gonna sell out I seven 110 th What was the one in, at Texas A&M? It's like 1 0 6, I think. 106,000. That might be Michigan. Maybe it's 1 0 3. One of those like, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, I mean, well over a hundred thousand people. And we are, the billings are, I don't know any inside information, but I was told we're gonna start doing some popup games. Oh. With just like, show up in your trap. Take over your trap. No way. And that would be a situation where the good people of billings, again, I know nothing, I'm, I'm just using billings as an example where it's just like, Hey, bananas are gonna be there tonight.

Show up. Can I pitch you an idea to pitch up the chain? Yeah. There are two very, very historic ballparks in the state of Indiana. One is League Stadium in hunting Burg, Indiana. This was largely filmed as the home stadium for the Rockford Peaches in a league of their own. The current team that plays there, uh, is, well, one, uh, the high school.

The Southridge Raiders, but two, the Dubois County bombers, which they have a little bit of Savannah Bananas in them. Sure. They do some fun promos, like win a barely running used car night, and they get like a junker for like a couple thousand bucks and everyone gets a raffle ticket for that. They do $25,000 helicopter cash drop night.

They'll fly a helicopter and drop a bunch of money and people get to pick it up off the field. They have some good promos. Sure. I know the people, the fine people down there in Dubois County. That's one. And then I believe Bossy Field in Evansville is another historic stadium that was also filmed in a League of their own, and some of the shots were down there.

So those are two, if you're looking for pop-up, they'd be good pop-up venues, good popup venues, the fine people of Dubois County and down in uh, Evansville could have a good time with the, with even like an Indianapolis clowns pop-up. Yeah, that'd be awesome. Yeah, that'd be alright. I'll, I'll just leave that out there for

you. No. Hey, I got a zoom meeting coming up. There we go. Um, man. Okay. So what are people, when it comes to the bananas, when it comes to the Man-Nanas all, what are people, what are the misconceptions? What are people not understanding about what goes into this viral storm that has just taken over? Yeah, I mean, so number one is that the game is a work which we kind of already covered.

Like it's real, it's not real baseball, but it's real banana ball. Yeah. Like there are I think 13 rules that differentiate us. I'm kind of a bad employee for not knowing the exact number. Yeah. Um, but like it is sport and everybody wants to win. Like we ride the same bus there and back. But at the end of the day, like there are players on different teams that hate each other.

They're got like pitchers and batters that just have each other's number and it makes people furious and like they all really do want to. That's absolutely the number one misconception beyond that, like maybe I'm ignorant to him. I don't know too many. Did you learn, did you have to learn about baseball?

Did you know about baseball going in there? I was aware that it existed. Um, okay. Fair. I was like, I weirdly kind of serendipitously got really into baseball like a year before I joined up. Like I was living in Cleveland. I went to a bunch of what Guardians games. I went to a bunch of Phillies games. A bunch of Detroit games. Yeah. Like it was just 'cause it's so cheap and I'm a big day game guy. I love day game baseball. Yeah. It's just something weird about gonna baseball at night to me, even like when we have games, like we only do day games on Sunday and I get, I wear fish nets on the field, so I get hilariously sunburnt. I look like cooked salmon.

But even in spite of that, like I am a day game baseball guy. Yeah. So for the year before I was like gotten really into baseball. Uh, and then it did make. Learning the banana ball rules a little bit easier. I guess that would be the other misconception. It's like it's not hard to follow. Um, yeah. Before every game, Young Professor gets out there with a microphone and lays out every single rule that you would ever need to know.

He says, we don't do walks. We do a ball four sprint. When the ball four goes through, they can go as far as they want until every player touches the baseball, and then they can be tagged out. He says, we have fan caught foul balls. If a ball gets hit foul and a fan catches it, you're out. Uh, no stepping outta the batter box.

Like if you step out, it's a strike. Jackie Jackie Bradley Jr., the, uh, world Series champion, who's the first draft pick for the Indianapolis clowns, he struck out in Fenway this year because he stepped outta the batter box with two strikes. And it's one of those, like, the umpire doesn't like doing it, the fans don't like seeing it, but those are the rules of the game. Yeah. And so he ended up coming back later as the golden batter. That's the other one that, uh, I think that's probably our most popular rule. For controversy is like people are talking about the MLB and if they should institute the golden batter. And that's like one time a game, whoever you want can come hit.

And for us it's fun because it can be like anybody, they don't have to be on the team. Like you got no idea. But if it's just like, what's been the craziest golden batter Ryan Howard two years ago at, uh, for the Phillies that's sick. And it was like, you know, and that's the thing too is the fans don't know.

So there's always an assumption that somebody cool is gonna be there, but not necessarily. And now Ryan Howard is the prime time coach for the clowns. So he's gonna be on the road with the clowns on cloud headliner as kind of their ambassador and primetime coach. But it's like, uh, let's just say you're facing a lefty and you got a, a batter who is lights out against lefties, just put 'em in the lineup in the ninth.

You just slot him in when the guy comes in. Yeah. That's sick. You're allowed to do that with us. That's and, and they all make sense in some form or fashion. Yeah, they're all explainable rules, man. It's just so cool to see how fast the Savannah Bananas, banana ball, the whole just show has taken the world by storm.

I mean, it has to be billions and billions of views, like the biggest artists and stars and collaborations and everywhere I see Jesse Cole on social media. Yeah, he just seems like a really genuine person. Has that been your experience? Oh, a hundred percent. Yeah. He's great. What do you hope for the future of your career with the Savannah Bananas with Banana Ball?

Where do you see this all going? Yeah. I mean, me specifically, I can't at this avenue in life. Imagine being anywhere else or doing anything else. That speaks to their ability to create a good workplace as like, but it's just, I don't know Right place, right time, whatever. But like, I'm gonna be here for a while unless both my legs fall off and even then I bet we could figure it out. Yeah. Um, so I wanna be here for a while. Uh, looking forward to it. Still growing. I selfishly would like to. Play, well not play, but perform at a game in Indiana. Yeah. As I am not a member of the clowns or the party animals, so I won't be here when Banana Ball is here. Do each, do they all have their own dad buy cheer squad? Uh, they all have something. They all, so, so like local beach coconuts have the hula gangs. Oh, the party animals have the party Crashers and the party starters, which are just kind of general Nadu wells and then also dancers. The firefighters have the calendar crew, which are just really hot guys. Heck yeah.

And then the clowns don't have anything that I know of yet, but I'm sure they have something that I just haven't been made. Maybe clowns. Yeah, I, you know, that would be the safe guess, but even the fact that that's the safe guess makes me probably think it the opposite. Exactly. Yeah. It'll probably be like jokers. Yeah. I like that. Come on Stacee Space Cowboy. It's been really fun learning about the ins and outs of your journey from professional wrestling into the Savannah Bananas organization. I think that, uh, it's always cool to hear. Uh, one when you see people on the internet and that, that you can fact check it with people who know it in real life.

I love that. Like I see ILO touch Jesse and I'm like, man, that guy seems really cool, really nice, very genuine. Like he actually cares. And then to hear you validate like co corroborate that, I love that. I think that's awesome. And just people that are willing to sacrifice to chase their dreams, uh, whether it's professional wrestling and being willing to travel 15 hours for 20 bucks and a chance on to be in the ring, like that speaks something to you and your love of performance.

Like, I, I just think that that's an awesome testament, like most people out there. Would not be willing to travel 15 hours for a chance to do the thing they love for their, whether it be their hobby or their talent or whatever it is. And I just think that's awesome man. And more people should be willing to put in some work and some effort there to chase down their dreams.

And it's clearly like, you know, the dominoes are falling. Who knows what comes next. Uh, but keep up the good work. We're gonna round out the show talking all things Indiana. Sound like a plan? Yeehaw. Yeehaw. This next question is brought to you by our friends at JC Hart. They're a leader in creating enjoyable living experiences at apartment communities all across Indiana and beyond.

Check them out at homeisjchart.com. My question for you, space Cowboy, why do you call Indiana home? Well, as we learned earlier, I've lived just in innumerable number of places, and truthfully, it is just one of those things. It's like anytime I move somewhere new, they're like, oh, like what were the options?

And I'm like, oh, it was either here, Indianapolis. They're like, oh, after you're done with Calgary, where are you gonna go? I was like, either Orlando or Indianapolis. Then in Orlando, like, where are you gonna go? I was like, oh, either Cleveland or Indianapolis. And it is one of those things. It's not that it's a backup option, it's just that it's a really good option and especially as somebody now who travels for a living, it's like I was living in Augusta, Georgia.

It's not a fun airport like Six Gates, and as someone who travels for a living Indianapolis, it's the crossroads of America. Like you can get anywhere from here, whether you're in a car or on a plane. It is so convenient. And then on top of that, and honestly just that would be enough. It's great people.

It's unbelievable food. Like we had Joey Chestnut out to a game who's a Westfield guy. Westfield Westlake is in Cleveland. He's a Westfield guy. And we just talked for like an hour about food in Westfield. Crafters Pizza and Drafthouse. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. Very good. Pizza crafters. And just like him and I chatting up about the culinary scene of Indianapolis, which you'd never think, and people at work always gimme a hard time.

They're like, all you care about is Indianapolis and Pop punk. And I'm like, yeah, that's all you need. What more does someone need? And anybody else that's been in Indianapolis will tell you how great it's, so I'd call it home travel A, but B, it's just, it has a little bit of everything you would ever need besides Indianapolis.

Where, well, I guess you've never performed here. Where's been your favorite city to perform in? Um, weirdly, Baltimore and Seattle, where unbelievable I, and I think they were the two loudest per capita. Like obviously the loudest place was Clemson because there were 81,000 people there. But Seattle and Baltimore, you would've thought there was a million, like it was in the Baltimore Orioles field doing the O during the national anthem.

It's the loudest thing I've ever heard in my life. What would your walkout song be? Well, I had a custom one. No big deal. It's a hard question to ask a wrestler. People forget. I mean, yeah, that's true. So prior to my custom one, it was a cover of the chain. The Fleetwood Max song. Oh yeah. It was by a band called Tooth Grinder. Oh. But it was their cover. It's a pretty intense, uh, the, the guy can whale. Oh yeah. It's like a metal vocal type dude. Yeah. But I had a, I had a custom song made by Tommy Tanks of Cleveland, Ohio. Shout out. Shout out Tommy Tanks. Yeah. Big Ups. Uh, big ups. What's been your favorite fan interaction throughout your entire career with the Savannah Bananas? The one that immediately jumps to mind. We were in Atlanta and there's like, I mean, it was a little kid. I'm really bad with guessing ages. It's one of my worst things in life. That's fair. I would imagine six, although who's to say could be 12? Could have been two. Yeah. I mean, we don't know. He, um, but he was like crying like crazy.

So we end every. Um, by whoever's left in the plaza, we do a plaza outside the park, and then the band plays a 30 minute set and then we end every single show with, uh, we all put our arms around each other and sing, stand by me. And then Jesse breaks it down on the microphone. Thanks everybody for being there.

And sometimes there's thousands of people there. Sometimes there's hundreds, but regardless, we do it and sing a song. And I'm like walking around pushing people back to get everybody in this circle. And there's just this kid like screaming, getting dragged away, kicking. And I'm like, okay. Like, hey, just general safety, like let's go and take a look.

And I get there and like he's got the big headphones on and he is like kind of whacking at his mom a little bit and she's like, I need your help. I was like, okay. Alright, we're in this and she said all he wants is Pharty Autograph, which is the party animal's mascot. He's the gassiest mascot in all of sports.

He's a big monkey. He's like, all he wants is Pharty's autograph. Like, can you please help? And like, we get this all the time, uh, for different people. And sometimes it's really hard to do and sometimes it's not. And she's like, please, like that's all we've wanted all day. We haven't been able to find him.

And the kid, like, I look at his banana ball and it's blank and he's got this sharpie. I was like, oh, literally all he wants is that one. And then like I get down on my knee, which is always our thing. Like we try to get to the level of the person so we don't seem intimidating. Yeah. And he wouldn't gimme the ball 'cause he was like, just it, it was his, like he didn't wanna part with it.

So I think I gave him my phone. It was like this 6-year-old kid, but it was like I didn't have anything, you know? Yeah. Collateral. I'm in panic mode. Yeah. I'm just like, no, we've got to get this kid his autograph. Yeah. So I think I gave him my phone. It was my phone or my car keys, and I like get this ball and I walk over to Pharty and they're all, you know, arms around singing and I Pharty and I are good friends.

Yeah. Yeah. In spite of being on different teams. And I am like talking into the back of his head. I'm like, Hey man, I got one ball for you to sign if you could just, and like signs it. And I go over to the kid and I get like halfway to the kid, we're still yards away immediately. No more tears. Sprints over at me, like, jumps at me, like hugging my leg.

His whole family's like, oh my God. Like, you don't know what you've done. And I, I had a pretty good finger on the pulse of what I had done based on where we started and where we ended. Yeah. But that is very much one of those like do for one what you wish you could do for everybody. Yeah. Like it, it was just happened.

Say it's like, I happen to see this kid. Nobody else happened to see this kid and. It was such a small thing too. It's like one autograph, but not to him. Like, yeah, that's all he came to banana ball for as far as he was concerned. That's awesome, man. I, I just love hearing all the stories of how the entire organization goes outta their way to surprise and delight and just, you know, make this so special for the fans.

If there's one thing that the people of Indiana need to know about now, having the Indianapolis Clowns, what do we need to know? How do, how do we become the best possible fan base for the Indianapolis Clowns? I'd say go to the games, but actually, I don't know if tickets are on sale for that one yet. I have no idea.

I kind of think they were. But regardless, go to the game, show out, show up, buy the clown stuff. Like you said, it's like, um, these are fire and the party animals have a big fan base and they are bombastic. You're gonna be inclined to perhaps be a Party Animals fan. I'm not telling you not to be. I'm telling you to walk in with an open mind.

You live your life, you take your at bats and you decide for yourself. Um, but really like, and it opens up such a unique opportunity 'cause it's like, okay, we have two teams that are regionally based, I guess three if you count Savannah, but it's like, so the Tailgaters, they play a lot of games in Texas 'cause they're the Texas tailgaters.

Our Texas games have exploded over the last couple years as far as how frequently they come. And now we're playing Kyle Field, which is A&M, which is over a hundred thousand. Again, I don't know any inside information here, but we have a football stadium right down the road from Victory Field. That wouldn't be bad.

And we've also got a motor Speedway and they're playing baseball games at racetracks Now, I don't know how that would be possible, but I know that if it is, if we could build up the, they could figure it out. If we build up. The fan base of the Indianapolis Clowns so strong that the Savannah Bananas come to play the Indianapolis Clowns at a portion of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Unreal. Oh my 200,000 people that would turn three. Oh, that would be so cool. I don't know how, who knows? I don't know the logistics of how that could quite work, but that would be so awesome. But that's, that's what I think of as a person from Indianapolis. It's like, okay. Fan base wise, like Lucas Oil. We played Panthers Stadium last year.

We played Titan Stadium last year. We're doing Super Dome and Gillette like Patriots this year. So it's like we can, how do you go even bigger? Exactly. That would be crazy. Imagine this. No, I have it. I have it. Jesse Cole. This is it. It's not one game. It's a tournament and each corner of the speedway has a game going on and you break the record, you get 400,000 people all throughout the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Banana Ball weekend tournament.

Oh my gosh. That would be insane. All right. Doug Boles. You can have that idea for free. Just gimme like a ticket when it comes. There you go. Maybe I can throw out a pitch for a game for the clowns. That would be sick. Oh my gosh. That would be so awesome. And, and like that's dream scenario for me. I mean, that would be dope.

Wow. We just take, maybe take that one to the next board. That one might be like, Hey, I just wanna put this out there. The idea of like a, a tournament. Wow. Alright, we've come to the end of the show where we ask the same three questions to every guest that comes on. Uh, the first question, you've traveled here, there everywhere.

You've lived so many different places. You trained up in Canada. But if you could shout it from the rooftops, what's something the world needs to know about Indiana? I wrote down answers for this. I wrote down, it's worth it. Like so many people, I have friends that were wrestlers that are like, oh yeah, I just drive through.

And it's like, no, like there's unbelievable stuff here. Like we have a national park, we have theme parks, we have great food, we have water sports. Like truly anything you could ever, like we have a beach. It's a lake, beach, but darn it, there's sand. I mean, it's a great lake. It's a beach. I'm, Hey, I'm telling you, I'm with you. Yeah. But it's like we've, we literally have everything you could ever want. Like we have snow things in the winter. We got perfect north. We have beaches in the summer. It has everything you could ever want in a state, but it just happens to be one that people disrespect for whatever reason. Yeah. Like it's worth giving it a shot.

The I, I talked about Joey Chestnut and he and I chatting, the other guy that I talked to about Indianapolis that raved about it this year was a person who didn't really talk to anybody else in the company was 50 Cent. We had him in Dallas. And uh. No, 'cause we didn't go to Dallas. We had him in Houston and he and I chatted for like 15 minutes and he didn't really talk to too many people.

And somebody's like, what did you talk about? I was like, oh, Indianapolis. They're like, what do you mean? I said, oh, he has a bar on the third level of Gainbridge Fieldhouse. So I, I just went over and I was like, Hey man, I appreciate you coming to the finals. Uh, 'cause he came to, I think every single game. I was like, A lot of people don't love traveling to Indianapolis for whatever reason, and I really like your bar.

And he was like, oh yeah. Isn't it the best? I said, yes, it is the best. I think he has a suite too for the, the Sire or Sire, whatever the, yeah, it's like his, his tie to game Bridge is crazy. 'cause I was like, somehow they're like, yeah, we are partnered with 50 Cent. And I'm like, what? That's like the loudest.

And it's just anybody that's ever spent any amount of time here will tell you it's a great spot. Yeah. The, the sire spirits 50 Cents. Yeah. Sire spirits. They have like a whole partnership with them, which is pretty cool. Um, next question. You said you had to do some digging. You had to do a little bit of thinking about this one to make sure that you got a, a true gem.

What is a hidden gem in Indiana Otte Golf Course in Greenwood? How do you spell? That's Otte, oie. It's, it's short. I'm not a great golfer, which you wouldn't know by the amount of money that I've spent on trying to be a great golfer, but I'm not. I would not have pegged you for a golfer. You could have given me like a few different options.

Yeah. And I would've said bowling. Oh, I wish I can't bowl to save my life. All right. But Otte Golf Course, it's a short course. There's only like two holes that really need a driver. But it's great. It's really well kept up. There's a barber shop in the uh, clubhouse if you're going there with your boss and you need a quick trim, cool driving range.

And then they've got like a putt-putt course. They've got batting cages, like it's a full-on family fun center and then an actually good golf course. And it's not expensive at all, which is why I love to play there. That's a good hidden gem Otte Golf course. Say Otte Golf Course. Greenwood. Heck yeah. And then my other one that I can't speak to the hiddenness of, but I talked to four friends and none of them had been there.

Is The Aristocrat on College? Great. That is, I think it's a top five in the state. Woo. Like I, and this guy knows food again. Uh, but like cottage pie. Incredible. Most people don't go to a restaurant and think to order cottage pies. I don't even know what cottage pie is. Uh, cottage pie, shepherd's pie. But it's got beef instead of lamb, so it's like ground beef and like a little gravy, carrots, peas and stuff.

And then they put mashed potatoes over top and broil it. Okay. I'm here for that. It's incredible. But like I've never had a bad bite of food there. And they have my number one appetizer may be in the country. Okay. It's gonna be something, uh, it's gonna be something in regards to the UK or Britain, isn't it? It's a beer cheese. Oh. But it comes with a pretzel, which is basic. You get a pretzel with beer, cheese anywhere, and then it comes with like two cut up Granny Smith apples. And I don't know what scientist or chef nailed whatever's in that beer cheese to make it perfect for an apple. But you can sit there and you feel a little bit healthy and a little bit classy 'cause you're eating an apple in your appetizer, an apple with beer, cheese. It's unbelievable. All right, you saw, you sold me on it. Finally, this is where we get to share the love. This is where we get new guest recommendations and learn about other people doing incredible things in the Hoosier State. Who's the Hoosier we need to keep on our radar? Someone who's doing big things. I got two again, the first, I was just scrolling. TikTok, which I say is for work, but it never really is. And there's this photographer named Chandu Prem bro, C-H-A-N-D-U Prem. And I think he was just like outside a hotel taking shots at dudes. They were sick. I'm like, yo, this is cool. And it's, it's hustle too, like the photo, the photographers, the photographs look good, but I respect the hustle so much to just stand there and hope.

And then he puts out like this holiday series where it's like St. Elmo's and the Circle of Lights. Like he is mega Yeah. He did the Stranger Things one. Yeah. Where he made everything look like, like it was the upside down. He's so good. If you don't follow him, you need to like, some of the stuff we put out is like fun or it's educational or entertaining.

His stuff is beautiful. It's so like the way he captures downtown Indianapolis Yeah. Is just chef's kiss. Incredible. And then my other one is a band. 'cause I'm, I'm huge into music. Like it is my. Favorite thing? Well, it was your original career path, and every professional wrestler wants to be a musician.

Every musician wants to be a professional wrestler. That's just kind of the way life goes.

Yeah, I, yeah, I can believe that. So I was looking for like Indianapolis bands and The Best Noodles in Town is the name of this band. The Best Noodles in Town. Okay. They've got like a kind of Starting Line, Day to Remember sound, but they are sick, The Best Noodles in Town.

And they are, they're like opening at the HI-FI for a cover show, but they're doing originals and that in and of itself seems like one of the scariest things that could ever happen to me. Like just standing in front and doing originals, warming up for a band that's gonna do all covers. Yeah, that seems scary.

They're musicians, so they're probably not scared, but they've got some hits, man. Like I've been deep in their catalog ever since I found them. Wow. And I think they're Indianapolis proper guys, but I Sure wow. The best noodles in town and it's an unreal name. Yeah, I mean, I wonder, the question would be where did they get The Best Noodles in Town?

That's, it'd be a hidden gem. Yeah, right. Stacee, it has been a pleasure. I'm gonna call you Stacee now, 'cause before we were strangers and I called you Space Cowboy. Now we're friends and I can call you Stacee. It's been incredible learning about your journey through independent wrestling and then finding your break with the Savannah Bananas as a Man-Nana in the Viral Dad bod Cheer squad. Uh, I just think the work that you all do to surprise and delight, entertain the nation and the world is incredible and it's just joyful. A lot of times you look around and whether it's scrolling social media or it's, you know, the things you go, everything just seems to be so.

Or negative or just like not great. And whenever I see any content coming out of the Party Animals, the bananas, yellow Tuck, Jesse, anyone in that even has any sort of attachment to there, uh, it's always so happy and uplifting and I, I just get a smile on my face. So thank you for the hard work that you do.

We're really excited everyone listening. We have to be the greatest Indianapolis Clowns fans ever so that we can pull a tournament at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Like, there's just a lot of future implications here. I could see it coming together. You heard it first on this show. I love it. Stacee, thank you much for stopping by.

Absolutely. And we'll talk to you soon. No doubt. This show is made possible by our friends up at Sweetwater. Whether you're looking to start a podcast or take your content to the next level, click the link in the description to see all my gear recommendations at Sweetwater. If you want a behind the scenes look at everything we're doing across the state.

Make sure you follow me on Instagram and TikTok at Nate Spangle. Thank you so much for listening and being a part of what makes the Hoosier State. Great. We'll see you next time here on Get IN.