LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- It's a spring with no basketball, no soccer and no horse racing.
But in the dark days of the COVID-19 pandemic, there's a new "sport" bringing smiles and joy to the Upper Highlands: ding dong ditch.
Amy Straub isn't the creator of the age-old game that's sweeping the neighborhood, but she's helped revolutionize it in her neighborhood with the help of video doorbells.
"Honestly, it started with a couple parents that were kind of playing jokes," Straub said.
Costumes aren't required in this game, but they are encouraged. So far, "players" have showed up as hot dogs, bananas, a slice of bacon, a skeleton dressed up as a whoopee cushion and — since most of these participants are middle school students and church-goers at nearby St. Raphael the Archangel Catholic Parish — one even disguised as the pastor, Father Shayne Duvall.
One ding dong ditch-er donned a printout mask of Father Shayne Duvall. (Coutesy: #DDD #corona2020 Facebook)
"Some of them got so creative that they printed a color copy of my face and wore it as a mask as they rang doorbells," Duvall joked in a recent homily. "Trying to convince people that I have the energy and the stamina to be running from house to house. I don't think so."
But, like most sports, the game isn't without some strict rules: social distancing and cleanliness are key.
"We have Clorox wipes by our front door. A lot of kids are wearing gloves when they do it," said Straub. "You can never ding dong ditch someone you don't know."
Ding dong ditch-ers get ready to strike. (Coutesy: #DDD #corona2020 Facebook)
No, it's not the Derby or March Madness, but the game is what this neighborhood needs most right now: a reason to laugh and smile.
Ding dong ditch-ers run from a house in the Upper Highlands. (Coutesy: #DDD #corona2020 Facebook)
"I feel like we all needed something that was, you know, innocent and playful but also uplifting to kind of let our hair down and not worry about appearances or whatever as parents and just let the kids express themselves, you know, in a fun way," Straub said.
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