By Lyndsey Gilpin
The Student Activities Center looked eerily like Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 7. Below, on the West Lawn, a new Quidditch field had been installed, and students with brooms between their legs ran around, throwing a quaffle, dodging bludgers and searching for a snitch. Muggles surrounded the field, cheering on their teams and working to win the House Cup.
Confused? So were many other University of Louisville students.
U of L hosted its first Quidditch tournament on Wednesday, in the middle of homecoming week. Greek teams, non-Greeks and even the women’s field hockey team competed for the championship.
As part of the Harry Potter generation, most students at the Quidditch tournament knew exactly what was going on. Others, however, heard the strange word and only came out of their dorms to see what it meant.
“I have never watched or even heard of the game,” said Kate Dailey, a sophomore education major. “I’m not a big Harry Potter fan, so I came to find out how it is played and why it’s such a big deal.”
Dailey was also surprised at how many people were dressed up for the part, with many publicly displaying their knowledge and love of the Potter series. T-shirts were on sale, with “I’ve been bludgered!” written across them. Fans wore Hogwarts-inspired outfits and scarves, and some even dressed as their favorite characters.
On each team there were three chasers who tried to score in three rings at each end of the field; two beaters who tried to knock the quaffle, or scoring ball, out of the other teams’ hands; and a seeker who was able to run around campus searching for the golden snitch, which was a young man dressed from head to toe in golden clothing.
Many fans of the books and movies were impressed with the way the game was set up.
Diane Nilest, a sophomore communication major who played for Alpha Omicron Pi’s team, the Death Eaters, has been a Potter fan for as long as she can remember.
“I think that this is so much fun,” said Nilest. “I love Harry Potter and this is exactly how I thought it would be if it was played in real life. My favorite part is the snitch.”
Indeed, the snitches were the crowd favorite. Fans helped the seekers out, pointing and yelling towards the snitches, who were weaving in and out of trees around the SAC.
Several students felt that this was the best homecoming event of the week.
“This honestly should be a campus event more often,” said Aaron Lucas, a junior marketing major. “I wish I played this year, and I definitely will next year. We need to make the goals permanent on the West Lawn, so we can play pick-up games of Quidditch.”
Hundreds of the university’s Potter fans came together to support the tournament, whether it was by drawing a lightening bolt on their forehead, carrying their own brooms or wearing a cape to promote magic’s dark side.
So for all the Draco Malfoys: It seems as though muggle-borns can fit perfectly into the wizarding world after all.
