Sometimes the gimmick just falls flat.
Such was the case for Robert Anthony Cruz of the Savannah Bananas, who was trying to introduce the masses to Banana Ball on CNN. Cruz, 26, attempted a backflip on live TV in-studio on Thursday, July 24, only to face-plant on the landing.
Amid audible laughs from the crew off camera and as one of the anchors, Kate Bolduan, attempted to hide her face with her hands, her coanchor, John Berman, tried to continue the segment, calling the Bananas a “new twist on America’s pastime.”
The Savannah Bananas are a barnstorming baseball club similar to basketball’s Harlem Globetrotters. In addition to hitting, fielding and running the bases, the team introduces trick plays, props, dance numbers and perfectly executed backflips to the game.
Their act is polarizing among baseball fans but they have been selling out stadiums nationwide, often bringing in former big leaguers for guest appearances as well.
Ever the showman, Cruz took his blooper in stride, sharing the video via his Instagram.
“The sound makes it 10x funnier. Yes, you have my permission to laugh,” he wrote in the caption. “Yes, I’m all good 😂😭. Some stitches, slightly damaged pride, and some unparalleled dad lore.”
He followed that up with a full breakdown of exactly what happened.
“They say all press is good press,” he began. “Well, you’ve probably seen the video. Your boy is bouncing around the Internet like a beach ball at a Nickelback concert. No offense, Nickelback, I love your stuff.”
He added that before getting to the studio, he had flown into New York on just a few hours of sleep after spending the previous few days running a baseball camp for kids in Houston.
“So we’re backstage and they ask me, ‘Hey do you have any tricks up your sleeve that you want to do while we’re live on the show?’” he continued “I’m like, Yeah absolutely, I’ve got lots of tricks up my sleeve. I’ll do a backflip live, we’ll go about our conversation, call it a day.’”
Cruz insisted he’s done “tens of thousands” of backflips in his life and even showed videos of himself doing one while catching a fly ball in a Bananas game and while catching a football on the set of NFL Live.
“Next thing I know I’m on the floor and I’m rattled,” he admitted of the CNN flop.
Cruz then did his best to explain what happened. When he’s doing a backflip, he tries to find the ground while he’s in the air. Only in the studio, he was distracted by the light directly over his head, and combined with the all white platform he was standing on, he lost his spot.
Still, he felt fine after. Cruz wanted to continue the interview until he realized he had blood running down his chin.
The good news is, after a few stitches, Cruz is fine and will be back flipping while playing Banana Ball soon.
