Do you want to how loud Caesars Superdome got in the fifth inning Sunday when Drew Brees was announced as a pinch hitter for the Savannah Bananas?
Just ask Dalton Ponce, who was on the mound pitching for the Party Animals at the time.
“I felt the ground shake,” he said.
Ponce heard the roar that so many others heard during the 15 years Brees reigned as the Saints quarterback.
Brees wearing a No. 9 jersey in the Dome with the crowd roaring on a Sunday afternoon felt like old times.
It didn’t matter that this was baseball instead of football. Nobody cared that he was wearing a bright yellow Savannah Bananas jersey instead of the gold Pro Football Hall of Fame jacket that he’ll get this fall in Canton, Ohio.
A packed house that was already bananas became even more bananas when Savannah owner Jesse Cole, decked out in his yellow tuxedo and top hat, introduced the greatest player in the history of the Saints.
“It's awesome,” Brees said. “If you had asked me when I was a kid what I wanted to be when I grew up, it was a professional baseball player. I wanted to be the next Nolan Ryan or Satchel Paige or Ted Williams or Ken Griffey Jr. I’ve always loved the game and what Tuxedo Jesse created. It’s a new take on baseball and so much fun.
"Never did I think I'd be hitting a baseball inside the Superdome.”
It's so much fun that the Dome was sold out for "Banana Ball" for the second day in a row.
Current Saints quarterback Tyler Shough was the special guest Saturday. Shough entertained the crowd during an impromptu football game where he threw a touchdown pass to a Bananas player.
The Bananas one-upped that Sunday with Brees. But Brees, whose name will someday hang in the rafters of the Dome, was all about baseball. The guy who has delivered so many times in big moments in the building admits he had a few jitters.
If you know anything about how competitive Brees is, you know he took this opportunity seriously. He was taking swings in the batting cage under the stands four hours before the first pitch.
“You're knowing you’re only going to get one at-bat,” Brees said. “It’s after they announce you and then you go out there and the adrenaline pumping and you get the crowd hyped up. All of sudden you’ve got to bring it back down and hit the ball and give the fans what they want to see.”
If you think Brees was nervous, try being the guy 60 feet away from him on the mound.
“I was super nervous,” Ponce said. “I haven’t been that nervous in a long time. You’re in the Superdome and 70,000 people all screaming for Drew Brees, and I’m the guy that has to face him. That in itself is such a special moment for me and Drew.”
Brees whiffed on the first two pitches. Then he took an inside pitch to get to a 1-2 count. Then he remembered the words of legendary baseball player Tony Gwynn.
“Eyes level and put the hands right at the ball and the barrel of the bat follows,” Brees said.
Brees grounded out to shortstop.
Any chance he was going to try to beat the throw to first?
“The mind said yes,” Brees said. “The hamstring said no.”
That ended Brees’ day, but not before he signed autographs for fans who have adored him in New Orleans for two decades. He chatted afterward with his temporary teammates. He also spoke with the pitcher who got him to ground out.
“It was really cool to face ... one of the absolute legends of New Orleans,” Ponce said. “He put bat on ball, which is really cool.”
For Brees, this was the latest in what he says has been a whirlwind of a time. He rode in the Bacchus parade during Mardi Gras. A week before that, he was announced as a member of the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.
“I think it becomes a little bit more real with every moment,” Brees said about his induction in August. “We’ve got fitted for the jacket. And you’re embraced by all the other Hall of Famers, too. You feel like you’re part of a really exclusive club.”
On Sunday, he got a moment to be a part of another club: the Savannah Bananas. This time, the emblem on his helmet was a banana instead of a fleur-de-lis.
“This is a New Orleans-type of event,” Brees said. “A lot of people having a good time. A lot of smiles, a lot of energy. High energy at all times. It’s music and dancing. Everything that New Orleans is known for.”
On Sunday, "Banana Ball" also included the most beloved athlete the city is known for.