Ginny Weasley commentates on the 2014 Quidditch World Cup

[papier.livejournal.com]

There's an account of the opening ceremony too but I can't get it to show up big enough. If you have Pottermore you can read it on there.

It's not much, just your typical Wizarding whimsy. Why she's updating on one of the most interminable parts of the books is beyond me.

But anyway...anyone want a go at writing a more 'realistic' article? This is far too dry for Ginny. Where's there part where she jinxes Elodie Dembélé because Harry remarked on her talent?

Comments

[jana-ch.livejournal.com]

Quidditch really is a stupid game.

[vermouth1991.livejournal.com]

You know, after watching Fast and Furious 5-7, I kind of relate the game to those illegal car races through downtown streets, dodging through innocent cars and people in their thrill-seeking fix. I know that people can get off on speed, but it can't be the only sport available.

[jana-ch.livejournal.com]

You've got it exactly. Since the Seeker is the only important player, the rest of the players flying around throwing Quaffles and hitting Bludgers are the cars and pedestrians providing an obstacle course for the Seekers. The difference is that they are in it voluntarily.

[vermouth1991.livejournal.com]

Darn I meant 4-6.

[mmmarcusz.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure it was supposed to be kind of stupid, at first, just like the other odd games played at English public schools (Eton wall game, Winchester football, etc.) Later JKR tries to make it into something serious, which makes less sense.

[jana-ch.livejournal.com]

You're probably right. In the early books she put in a lot of silly stuff that actually worked as humor at the time.

The idiocy of the Snitch being worth 150 points, however, was stupid from the start. It was obviously designed so that Harry could, individually and without help from (or credit to) any of his teammates, win every single game he plays. This also allows him to defeat his official rival, Draco, head-to-head every time the Noble Sportsmen play the Thuggish Cheaters—excuse me, the Gryffindors play the Slytherins.

[vermouth1991.livejournal.com]

It would've been too hard to fix this Game-sue thing, either just say that the game doesn't end until the Snitch is caught, and so the seeker must get it while their team is reasonably ahead, or at least tone down the score by Snitch-capturing to, I dunno, 30-50 points? 50 points can still be very decisive to a team that's desperately catching up.

[jana-ch.livejournal.com]

Yes, lower the Snitch's value to fifty points at most, and also put a time limit on the game. If the Snitch isn't caught in 90 minutes, the clock runs out and the game ends, and the team that's ahead on goals alone wins. This adds to the strategy aspect as well: you don't want your Seeker to catch the Snitch if you're more than fifty points behind, but you also don't want to let the clock run out before you get that extra point boost. I haven't thought of any way to make the Seeker more of a team player, but one could least cut down a bit on his Sue-ness.

[dungeonwriter.livejournal.com]

Wow, that would be a much better game. And a lot more fun.

Perhaps make the Seeker required to switch positions with the Keeper, halfway through?

[jana-ch.livejournal.com]

Keeper and Seeker are too dissimilar as positions to swap them, but there could be some swapping between Chasers and Seeker. Just writing off the top of my head here, but suppose there were four Chasers, who are numbered. At the start of the game, Chaser 1 plays Seeker while the others play Chaser. At some point (either timed or at random) a bell rings and Chaser 2 becomes Seeker, and so on through the game. A big part of the Captain's strategy would be how to line up his Chasers, since the order must be decided before the game starts. Do I fly my best Seeker first and try to win a quick game, or do I fly him later and hope to run up the score? How is the other Captain likely to line up his Chasers? Etc, etc.

Whether you have just one Seeker or have the position switch among the Chasers, the Seeker should be a wild card, not the only important player they way it is now.