People playing basketball while riding donkeys is something anyone would want to see, especially if you are a seven-year-old girl. The only thing that would add to a seven-year-old’s dream would be to ride one of the donkeys too.
At Delta Sigma Phi’s Donkey Basketball tournament, that is just what seven-year-old twin sisters Stella and Sophia Doyon got the chance to do.
The Doyon sisters said that Donkey Basketball was an event they would remember forever. They said their favorite part was getting to ride on the donkeys.
Faye Doyon, the twins’ mother, said that this was a great event for the whole family to come to. Faye Doyon said she was glad she brought the twins to see it.
President of Delta Sigma Phi, Bailey Landrum said that having fun events open to the public can help break the bias ideas families might have of Greek organizations.
“This event gives us an opportunity to communicate to the community that we are not the negative stereotypes popularly seen in mass media,” Landrum said.
This wasn’t just fun for those who watched, but also donkey basketball riders like Sydney David and Jakob Yates. They had a “once in a lifetime experience,” according to David.
“It was a super rush,” David said. “Riding on a donkey while playing basketball is something I’d never thought I’d get to do.”
Jakob Yates, a junior risk management and insurance major, said that this was an unforgettable experience.But for Yates and David, at times, it wasn’t all fun and games.
“My donkey Exlax had a passion for throwing me off, which he did four times. Still it was a fun time and I loved seeing people laugh even though they were laughing at me and Exlax going round for round,” Yates said.
At one point, David said she was scared. Her donkey knocked her off onto the ground and began to kick at her. Luckily, David was not hurt.
While these unforeseen events did happen, Landrum said that overall Donkey Basketball was a huge success.
“I believed Donkey Basketball would be a success because it was so original. I never thought in a million years that we would bring in live animals into the coliseum for an event,” Landrum said.
According to Landrum, the money collected will be used to “help grow and prosper the fraternity” as well as “continually make better men on campus.”