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(WSJ) Harry Potter's Intercollegiate 'Quidditch' Game Grows Up

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Johann

Member
Angry Grimace said:
The idea in practice is that you score so often that you actually are up by 150+ pts. all the time; so you have to go into a defensive mode whereby you have to spot it and prevent the other player from retrieving it.

It would have been far more plausible if it was worth 30 pts. because even Americans have difficult accepting that you would reasonably be up by 15 scores, much less in association football where games end 1-0 all the time.

This was the case in the Ireland vs. Bulgaria World Cup in Goblet of Fire. Ireland maintained a 150+ lead in the game and the Bulgarian Seeker ended the match at a deficit to spare his team anymore embarrassment.

This makes sense of the context of the world that Professional Qudditch players would use different tactics and plays than Qudditch at a school level, such as extending a match for days. You'll notice that College level American Football plays out differently than Professional Football.
 

Apath

Member
ultron87 said:
How dare this stereotypically unfit social group get outside and exercise in a way that they enjoy with other people that have similar interests.
It's just overwhelmingly stupid, not just because it's a sport in Harry Potter that they're attempting to mimic.
 

ToxicAdam

Member
ultron87 said:
How dare this stereotypically unfit social group get outside and exercise in a way that they enjoy with other people that have similar interests.


This is LARP'ing with light jogging. Not cycling or hiking.
 

this guy

Member
I just want to yell at those people playing, like "why do you have the brooms? What purpose does that serve?!" Fucking nerds.
 

Gaston

Member
Cloudy said:
I have no words lol

Then just get out there and try it ;D

this guy said:
I just want to yell at those people playing, like "why do you have the brooms? What purpose does that serve?!" Fucking nerds.

It's an upcoming sport spreading in popularity. Not reserved to just nerds anymore.
 

Orayn

Member
Attended a meeting of my college's Quidditch team last Spring. It was... Interesting.
The people there were normal enough, it just didn't seem lie something I'd be into.
 

The Technomancer

card-carrying scientician
Benjamin_MFF said:
20020615.jpg
Me, my brother, and the kids down the block used to play that game in their basement all the time!
 
You guys that are laughing at this sport don't recognize that this is the early stages, it's still very very early. They will in time get rid of the stupid rules and implement better rules, i see great potential in this sport and hope it succeeds (Albeit in a different format than now). it took soccer so so long to become a popular sport, i feel if they do things right with this it will succeed.
 
GTP_Daverytimes said:
You guys that are laughing at this sport don't recognize that this is the early stages, it's still very very early. They will in time get rid of the stupid rules and implement better rules, i see great potential in this sport and hope it succeeds (Albeit in a different format than now). it took soccer so so long to become a popular sport, i feel if they do things right with this it will succeed.

Start with getting rid of holding a stick between your legs...
 

The Technomancer

card-carrying scientician
GTP_Daverytimes said:
You guys that are laughing at this sport don't recognize that this is the early stages, it's still very very early. They will in time get rid of the stupid rules and implement better rules, i see great potential in this sport and hope it succeeds (Albeit in a different format than now). it took soccer so so long to become a popular sport, i feel if they do things right with this it will succeed.
It can easily become a real sport if they
a.)ditch the useless broomsticks
b.)make the snitch something actually unique. Perhaps a model helicopter you have to catch with your bare hands.

Maybe they could replace the brooms with motorcycles.
 

Gaston

Member
cartoon_soldier said:
Start with getting rid of holding a stick between your legs...

It's something that separates the sport from most others. Yeah it can be seen as useless, but at the same time it's a universal handicap that forces play with 1 hand most of the time and also gives the snitch the upper-hand over the seekers.
 

Kozak

Banned
The_Technomancer said:
It can easily become a real sport if they
a.)ditch the useless broomsticks
b.)make the snitch something actually unique. Perhaps a model helicopter you have to catch with your bare hands.

Maybe they could replace the brooms with motorcycles.

I actually think their idea of the snitch is perfect. They completely fixed what Rowling did wrong with the snitch.
 
345triangle said:
hell, scoring is irrelevant to winning. i'm fairly sure jk rowling is not a sports fan
IIRC, there was an interview with Rowling when the fourth book came out where she admitted just that and also said that she picked Ireland and Bulgaria for the World Cup just because she didn't know of any sport success those two countries had. Really the whole sport is great for a novelist looking for plot devices, as a sport, it's nonsensical.

This organizer in the video would be naive even if she was starting a field hockey team. This is the first practice and hardly anyone shows up? Honey, that's not "I guess everyone went home for the weekend," that's no one's going to be there in three more practices. Complaining about the lack of university recognition shows a complete lack of understanding of how the bureaucracy works. Even the most worthy student groups take a semester or two before dipping into that sweet, sweet student activity fee money. She needs to spend less time on making up a team name and talking about home field advantage a month after their first practice and more time learning the rules and building an organization.

EDIT: Damned thread resurrection. I wonder what ever happened to the NYU team.
 

eastmen

Banned
Kozak said:
I actually think their idea of the snitch is perfect. They completely fixed what Rowling did wrong with the snitch.

I don't see it . The problem is the guy isn't faster or has more agility than the seekers.




http://www.hobbytron.com/MiniHoverUFOElectricRTFRCHelicopter.html


something like this would work well. First person to grab it gets the 150 points. It might just need to be a little faster and perhaps they make a rule where it can't fly higher than a normal mans reach.

Also I don't get the brooms. Seems a bit silly since in harry potter alot of people don't need their hands to stay on the broom
 

Gaston

Member
Squirrel Killer said:
EDIT: Damned thread resurrection. I wonder what ever happened to the NYU team.

They're still out and thriving. They'll be one of 100 teams competing in the World Cup this November.

eastmen said:
I don't see it . The problem is the guy isn't faster or has more agility than the seekers.

I'm confused as to what you're saying? You think the snitch isn't faster? Generally the snitch is a XC runner and/or wrestler. So yes they either have the advantage of being faster or better at take downs. Also they're given ample time to run and hide before a game starts so most of the time their ability to avoid a seeker purely lies in the seeker's skill at spotting them and not at their physical fitness. Also the snitch is only 30 not 150.
 

apana

Member
I enter what I presume to be a new thread and see my own post staring back at me. For a split second there is real confusion and panic before the lol understanding sets in.
 

Gaston

Member
Teh Hamburglar said:
If I play i am going to dress up as Hermione.

We actually had some people yelling "WHERE'S HERMIONE?!" at us today during practice. Perhaps you can be used to appease them...
 

Monocle

Member
Ether_Snake said:
Looks like people running holding their dicks.
That's why it should have everyone's full support. Any sport that's as funny to watch as this one is should be promoted at every opportunity.

Angelus Errare said:
In the last movie Voldermont or whatever even says "Abracadabra."

Just sayin'
Are you sure?

Gaston said:
It's something that separates the sport from most others. Yeah it can be seen as useless, but at the same time it's a universal handicap that forces play with 1 hand most of the time and also gives the snitch the upper-hand over the seekers.
This entire post is vaguely arousing.
 

Pollux

Member
Kozak said:
Do you even know what you're talking about?

You can't just cast Avada Kedvra. If it were that simple why do you think the Order never used it? You have to be pretty fucked up to be able to use and remember it tears your soul into 7 pieces.

I take it you never actually READ the books?
 

eastmen

Banned
Gaston said:
They're still out and thriving. They'll be one of 100 teams competing in the World Cup this November.



I'm confused as to what you're saying? You think the snitch isn't faster? Generally the snitch is a XC runner and/or wrestler. So yes they either have the advantage of being faster or better at take downs. Also they're given ample time to run and hide before a game starts so most of the time their ability to avoid a seeker purely lies in the seeker's skill at spotting them and not at their physical fitness. Also the snitch is only 30 not 150.

THe problem is , its not in the spirit of the match. The snitch is released when everything else is released. Also the snitch is in the confines of the arena in the books. At least i've never seen any evidence against that.

a cross country runner or wrestler wont have much of an advantage over another athletic person.

The the book universe the snitch isn't as fast but its more manuverable . I don't see a wrestler or a cross country runner having this advantage over others. Unless everyone else is out of shape but back in the day i was a fast line man and i ran with the cross country runners all the time. I was actually faster off the line then they were.

The whole running and hiding thing is silly imo
 
At first I was like "dumb", and quickly was like hey, if they're having tons of fun, let them do it. I recently got super into watching Starcraft, which is "herp derp nerds clicking keyboards" , just as much as football is "throwing a ball to a guy and having him run over there".

I don't really like Harry Potter, but I support their endeavors.
 
The_Technomancer said:
It can easily become a real sport if they
a.)ditch the useless broomsticks
b.)make the snitch something actually unique. Perhaps a model helicopter you have to catch with your bare hands.

Maybe they could replace the brooms with motorcycles.

See, i like your A suggestion but your B suggestion is just hilariously awful. What happens when said kid sticks his hands into the blades whilst said blades are turning at full speed? bye bye tip of finger HAHAHA?
 
I've got to say, the human snitch explanation in that documentary is awesome! I would love to fuck up some punk trying to touch my ball sack.
 

Gaston

Member
eastmen said:
THe problem is , its not in the spirit of the match. The snitch is released when everything else is released. Also the snitch is in the confines of the arena in the books. At least i've never seen any evidence against that.

a cross country runner or wrestler wont have much of an advantage over another athletic person.

The the book universe the snitch isn't as fast but its more manuverable . I don't see a wrestler or a cross country runner having this advantage over others. Unless everyone else is out of shape but back in the day i was a fast line man and i ran with the cross country runners all the time. I was actually faster off the line then they were.

The whole running and hiding thing is silly imo

Actually, the snitch is released in the books as well as the movies before the players are allowed to start, and thus it still is in the spirit of them. As far as the confines of the arena is concerned, in the books the arena is a 3d space and the snitch was not confined from going into the crowds either. The snitch just has a little bit more freedom in muggle quidditch but still has an area which he has to stick to.

When the chase is going on, he can be caught, but it's not easy. Just because you're faster than him does not mean you can get it easily. The snitch can do whatever he wants to you and you can only try for clean grabs of the sock, making it a challenge.
 

Codeblue

Member
I haven't read the HP books, but from that CBS video, it seems like the problem with the Snitch could be either:

A) You have a better XC runner as a seeker
B) He is too good and the game ends when he's sick of running circles around everyone.

They should play it indoors and let a fly loose. First person to kill it gets the points.
 
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