Here come the Snowballs

Editor’s Note: This article was reprinted with permission from the Journal & Topics Newspapers.

Don’t panic, readers. The headline for this column has nothing to do with the weather. Hopefully.

I write hopefully, because the Chicago weather is still a bit unpredictable. I do recall coaching some youth baseball games in late May wearing a jacket, winter hat and a pair of gloves, and watching the moms and grandparents sitting in the stands bundled up in winter jackets with snow flurries dancing overhead.

So, don't put away the winter wear just yet.

However (strategic pause), those are not the snowballs being addressed in this particular story. Instead, we bring to you a different kind of “snowball,” this in the form of a new local baseball team, the Chicago Snowballs.

The team is patterned after the highly successful Savannah Bananas baseball team, which has become nationally famous. If you are not familiar or have not heard of the Savannah Bananas, then first, I congratulate you because you are clearly not tied up in the dreaded social media craze that their clips seem to be all over, and second? You might want to check them out, as you are missing out on some pretty good fun.

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The Bananas started out in Savannah,GA, but got so popular that they now tour the country with their funny, wacky brand of baseball entertainment, including all-yellow uniforms, fancy circus catches, spontaneous dance routines and semi-planned comedic displays.

Even the umpires get into it! They are part of the fun along with coaches, ball boys, ball girls, cheerleaders, announcers, ushers and just about everyone involved with the team.

It is like the baseball version of the famed Harlem Globetrotters, so if you are an old-school baseball traditionalist, be warned. It is organized chaos at its best, but that is part of the fun.

But now we have our own version of the baseball fun… from the Bananas…  come the Snowballs!

Welcome to our newest Chicago sports team, The Chicago Snowballs, a co-ed baseball team featuring some of the same craziness as described above, but with some new added “routines” as well. Entertainment will be a big part of the baseball experience, no doubt, but make no mistake, the players who comprise the roster are all talented athletes who play baseball to win. Some of the roster even includes players from the area of Journal & Topics newspapers who have played high school baseball or softball, some even at the collegiate level.

So it is not all tricks and antics, but these guys and gals can really play.

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The term being used currently to describe both the Savannah Bananas and our brand-new Chicago Snowballs is “sportstainment.”

Management, marketing folks, coaches and entertainment directors are all in place and a schedule has been set.From all early indications, it sounds like the people running the team are excited, enthusiastic and dedicated to putting out a quality product.

The Snowballs’ debut was Saturday, May 23, in Bloomington-Normal, IL. Local fans in our reading area will have plenty of opportunities to catch all the zany antics, the spontaneous dance routines and other surprises, as many of the games will be played in nearby locations such as at UIC and in Schaumburg.

We shall see how far the popularity of this "sportstainment" trend goes. But for now...let the games (and the fun) begin!