CHICAGO — Fans gathered in the parking lot in front of Rate Field’s Gate 5 for the Before the Peel party. A swarm of yellow crowded in front of the stage to watch the festivities take place.

This is where the first celebrity cameo happened. The afro-mohawk, big gold chain, sideburns, yellow sleeveless vest, blue shorts and a layer of sweat that glistened his forehead.

Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. … K?

“I’m Mr. K and I put the T in potassium,” Mr. K said on stage. “I pity the fool to anyone not having fun right now.”

He led a crowd train, did the Cupid Shuffle with a dad-bod dancing team and had water balloons thrown at him by three mascots — Split, Benny the Bull and Southpaw.

This was at 3 p.m. CDT Friday, four hours before the Savannah Bananas’ first game in Chicago. Ever. You just had to be there.

The dancing, baseball-playing — sorry, Banana Ball-playing — team finished their first trip to Rate Field on Saturday with a second game in as many nights against the Firefighters. The weekend included trick plays, dancing in the heat and nonstop music from start till dawn. The yellow swarm of fans filed out of the Sox-35th Red Line stop right at 11:30 a.m. Friday to purchase merchandise, adding to their bright-colored wardrobe.

It was about time the Savannah Bananas came to the Windy City.

Pregame

Amber and Corey Shultz brought their 6- and 4-year-old sons, Tanner and Carter, for their second Bananas game. They went to Indianapolis for their first experience, but 35th and Shields is a shorter drive from their Kankakee home. The kids said they most wanted to see Split, the Bananas mascot.

“Hopefully they come in next year,” Amber Schultz said.

It was fun for kids and adults alike. Edward Gordon, 35, was wearing his banana costume. It was a bold move wearing an extra layer in nearly 90-degree heat, but this seemed to be his plan regardless.

“When you’re in the shade it’s nice, but it’s very appealing being in here,” Gordon said, smiling at the unsubtle banana pun. “I’m excited as you can possibly be out here. It’s worth the wait and it’s worth the heat.”

Team co-owner Jesse Cole had a meeting with the Bananas and Firefighters before the festivities started. His philosophy always has been to prioritize viewers, telling the teams “the fans need this” and breaking out of the huddle with a “fans first!” chant. He walked to the media availability to answer questions about his team and the journey up to this point, among other topics. He didn’t sneak up on anyone — that’s hard to do when wearing one of his nine bright yellow tuxedos.

“It’s amazing to go all around the country, new ballparks, places we’ve never been for the first time and (sell) out immediately,” Cole said. “To have 3.6 million people on our waitlist is crazy, but we know that’s a responsibility for us. For these people that come to see our show for the first time, we got to put on the greatest show on sports.

“Chicago is a special market for us, and obviously the demand is huge, over 100,000-plus people on the waitlist to come here. Anytime we come to a city like Chicago that has a great history, to put our little stamp on it is exciting for us.”

Everyone knows the Bananas for their dancing, but maybe not for the effort behind it. The rehearsals began at 12:45 p.m. with more than five rehearsals for different numbers. Ryan Kellogg, the lefty pitcher who was a Cubs draft pick in 2015, said these choreographs change every game and are unpredictable.

“It’s tough to set expectations for games like this because just like any normal baseball game, anything can happen,” Kellogg, 31, said. “I’m excited to see this place sold out. I’m sure this place can get really loud, so I’m really excited for that.”

And that it did. The energy only increased as the night went on, to the delight of the players on the field. Seems like Cole’s pep talk worked.

“We feed off their energy, so when they’re into it, we’re always into it,” Kellogg said. “It was always a lifelong childhood dream to pitch in all 30 major-league stadiums, so to be able to cross this one off the list and … stand on the mound and look up into the third deck and see all those fans excited and locked into the game is special.”

White Sox memory lane

The White Sox lent their ballpark to the Bananas, who returned the favor big time to fans. Firefighters catcher Dalton Cornett went up to bat early in the game Friday night wearing his father’s White Sox jersey. His dad, Scott, was a catcher in the Sox organization for two years before becoming the baseball coach for his alma mater, Alice Lloyd College in Pippa Passes, Ky., a position he has held for more than 30 years.

“It’s always special having my dad there, he’s taught me everything and molded me into who I am,” Cornett said. “He always stays on my back to keep pushing (me), so it’s been absolutely great.”

In the sixth inning, Cole announced special additions to the roster. Former White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski came running in wearing a Bananas jersey and was met with a roar from unsuspecting South Side fans. In his 19-year MLB career — eight with the Sox — he finished with 2,043 hits, 188 home runs and 909 RBIs. He was behind the plate when pitcher Bobby Jenks closed out the White Sox’s 2005 World Series win.

In the seventh, Pierzynski had familiar company. Cole called on Mark Buehrle to pitch in the bottom of the inning. Having thrown for the White Sox from 2000-11, he finished his 16-year career with a 214-160 record, 3.81 ERA and 1,870 strikeouts. Buehrle pitched seven innings in Game 2 of the 2005 Series against the Houston Astros, then earned the save in the Game 3 win two nights later.

The Sox last month unveiled a Buehrle statue along the right-field concourse at Rate Field, honoring the franchise great.

Buehrle threw to Pierzynski for the first time in more than a decade Friday night, and the two embraced at the plate, a reunion that would make Pope Leo XIV smile. A “Let’s go, White Sox” chant ensued across the sold-out crowd. The theme continued Saturday with appearances from longtime Sox shortstop and World Series-winning manager Ozzie Guillén and Paul Konerko, another hero from the 2005 champions.

That wasn’t the only Chicago love at Rate Field. White Sox die-hard Chance the Rapper performed Friday with a dance in center field with the Bananas and Firefighters. He was all smiles during his moment and in his suite surrounded by family and friends. The lights went out in the eighth inning, and fans illuminated the ballpark with their phone flashlights as Chance sang along with the Bananas to Coldplay’s “Yellow.” “Never bet against the Bananas,” he said after their 3-2 win Friday night.

“I had never been to one of their games before, but I’m a big fan of the All-American Rejects,” Chance, whose real name is Chancelor Bennett, said of the Bananas. “I’ve seen a video of them performing together and I thought it was so cool. When they were coming to Chicago, I reached out. It was really cool, I love s— that’s for the whole family.”

Fans play a part

The game had a two-hour time limit, but if you blinked, you missed a backflip catch, Dakota “Stilts” Albritton delivering pitches standing at 10 feet, the dancing umpire and even a “Mike Ditka” cameo in which the celebrity impersonator brought out the bears — kids dressed up in animal costumes.

Banana Ball rules include one in which the Most Valuable Banana can present a fan challenge to overturn a call. There was one in the third inning, when a call was changed after a review showed a fan in the stands caught the yellow banana ball on a fly — which is an out. Viewers were directly involved with the game.

“(It’s) just the different spin on baseball,” said Kyle Lund, 38, wearing a banana bucket hat his wife bought him. “Honestly, it gets a little boring to be at night in a game and it (be) slow. This (is) going to be quick.”

Between innings, players danced with kids in the stands, sang them lullabies and even handed out roses to the “beautiful fans” as a thank you for attending.

The Savannah Bananas can call their first trip to Chicago a success after seeing more than 80,000 fans in two nights at Rate Field. Whether they return to the South Side or debut at Wrigley Field in the coming years, the yellow team left its mark on the city, showing that a little fun can go a long way.

“It shows the kids that you don’t have to be serious all the time,” Gordon said. “You can still enjoy and have fun, but you still have sports involved with it too.”

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