My preliminary thoughts before visiting the Quidditch intramural gathering:
Going into this, I had only a vague idea of what to
expect. I imagined it would be silly to
watch people running around with brooms between their legs. A couple of Youtube videos confirmed this for
me. I considered that maybe there would
be a lot of hardcore Harry Potter fans into the game, and maybe the few
stragglers who came in because of their friends. I was interested to know how they managed the
rules to accommodate the lack of magical enchantments. Beyond that, I expected it to be just like
any other outdoor sports gathering – just with the slight nerdy twist. I did not expect any sort of specific
behavior from the people as individuals; just average college-age humans with a
love for the wizarding world.
The Aftermath:
After going to visit one of their scrimmages to see how they
operate, one thing caught my attention very quickly. The people are VERY NICE! I counted four different people get offered a
broom and a chance to play when they paused to watch. Oddly, this did not extend to me. I got the impression it was because of my
blue jeans which are clearly not suitable for running; or perhaps because I
didn’t have a completely confused look on my face. I took the time to speak with different
players who had been on the team in years past.
I discovered that because the game is relatively new, the players are
particularly fond of finding loopholes to make the game more fun (such as the
Snitch riding off in the bed of a truck).
After the first fifteen minutes of relatively nonspecific chatter, I got
my first reminder that essentially everyone around me was a Harry Potter
fan. A couple of people started talking
about Rupert Grint, actor for Ron Weasley in the movies, showing up at a
Quidditch game. What struck me the most
was the fact everyone present knew the actor by name as if he had turned up at
their own practice. This led to two
comments that sent my mind reeling at the notion of just how deep this fan
group went. This was a retelling of a
comment made by Daniel Radcliffe, actor for Harry Potter, when asked if he
would go to any Quidditch games to which he responded (according to this
speaker talking to me), “Do you have any idea what would happen to me if I did
that?” The other comment was along the
lines of, “Just imagine if Emma Watson walked onto the field right now and how
quickly she’d be dog piled by like 30 guys.”
This was such a brief exchange, but it so completely opened my eyes that
I remembered I wasn’t simply at another athletic meet (albeit a slightly silly
one). I look forward to seeing how this
common knowledge base among the players influences their behaviors, jokes, etc.
As curious as the Harry Potter culture underneath Quidditch
is, I’m actually more interested in the game itself and the mentality of its
players. Specifically, I’m extremely
interested in the mentality and relationship between the Snitch and Seekers in
a game. Much of the remainder of the
game I can vaguely wave off as a combination of rugby and dodge ball. Watching the Seekers try to catch the Snitch
is more like watching a one vs. one vs. one capture the flag game where the
flag is moving and pushing back. To
research this, I plan to join the Quidditch practices (and perhaps travel to
some intercollegiate tournaments with the team) and train as a Seeker, then
play as the Snitch in several games. These
are the “personal experience” approach, but I will also spend more time around
Snitches and Seekers, investigating their thoughts on the interactions. Since, being a full-contact sport, Quidditch
requires a waiver to play, I contented myself with just talking to the
charismatic Snitch who was on the field.
Multiple games were played, so he was taking a rest while new players
took turns being the Snitch. This taught
me some of the most important things about the Snitch. In Harry Potter, the Snitch is what ends the
game. It is all about finding that
Snitch. In real life, that’s not
practical. The players get tired running
around in the heat while the Snitch is way out of the way minding its own
business. Having the Snitch on the field,
where Seekers actively try to catch it, is when the most fun occurs because the
excitement of the end of the game is near.
New Snitches tended to be gone for 20+ minutes with the game just
rushing along at its fast pace, whereas the Snitch I was talking to would
normally come back in around 10 or maybe 15 minutes. I understood this Snitch to enjoy pushing the
Seekers around when they tried to catch him (that is, the black sock with a
tennis ball in it that hung from his waist).
He was a fit long distance runner and very agile, so he could continue
to do so for extended periods of time.
Of course, being on the team will also lead me to the “insider’s” point
of view for the ethnography, and I hope will provide me with additions “ins” to
the team. I greatly anticipate this
research project.
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