Why Does Krum Catch The Snitch?

[cynthiaanncoe at home.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 26614

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., borg3892000 at y... wrote:

> 
> Also, this was a required bit for the plot.  
> I felt that Krum had to win at what he did, for cosmetic reasons. 
He 
> had to be the best, thus he had to get the snitch.
> Gred and Forge had to win their bet.
> Their had to be a big loser in the game, in terms of bets, so that 
> what's-his-name would be a distraction when he hid from the goblins 
> and tried to help Harry.  If he hadn't lost big, he wouldn't have 
had 
> reason to try to cheat to recover his losses.  The easiest way to 
> lose big was by Ireland winning and Krum getting the snitch.
> 

If the Krum-catches-the-snitch idea exists only to support the 
gambling sub-plot, then the tail is really wagging the dog, IMHO.  If 
JKR just needs Krum to catch the snitch and F and G to make a long-
odds bet that Bagman can't pay, then this could be accomplished other 
ways.  

For instance, have Ireland be the unbeaten, defending champions and 
overwhelming favorites.  F and G can bet on Bulgaria in the face of 
overwhelming odds, perhaps predicting a 20 point victory.  Ireland 
could pull out to an early lead, but Bulgaria could close the gap, 
and then Krum could catch the snitch as Bulgaria had just accumulated 
enough points to win.  Heck, Krum could catch the snitch at the same 
moment that Bulgaria scores to pull within 130 points, causing heated 
argument, protests by coaches, and the wizard equivalent of instant 
replay.  F&G win their long-odds bet that Bagman can't pay, Krum 
catches the snitch, and the whole thing is more credible and 
believable.  

As it was, I was kind of surprised that Krum wasn't accused 
of "throwing" the match.  This is the World Cup.  For Bulgaria even 
to get there, their team and chasers must have *some* talent.  It is 
hard to believe that, just a relatively short time into the world 
championship match, Krum would just throw in the towel like this 
based on his own determination that his teammates weren't up to 
scratch.  Had the score been 500 to 20, well then, maybe.  Can you 
imagine the hubub if, during the Olympics, some gymnast just decided 
her team would never win, so she just hopped off the balance beam?  

Anyway, this sequence is one of the few in the series that didn't 
ring true for me, and I am clinging to hope that it was written this 
way for some yet-to-be-disclosed reason.

Cindy (who thinks Krum took a dive, and it wasn't the Wronski Feint, 
either)