Does JKR dislike writing about Quidditch matches? (long)

[Nathaniel]

No: HPFGUIDX 132097

Throughout the five books JKR takes great pains to describe in 
excruciating detail every moment of the Quidditch matches -- as long 
as Harry is playing.  It seems to be a decision that Jo made early 
and then soon regretted.  Throughout the books she seems to take 
great pains in order to keep Harry from actually participating in 
these Quidditch matches.

The first match Harry plays in (in PS) is important to the plot.  It 
is the moment when Quirrel decides to hex Harry's broom.  In order 
for this important plot point to not seem too jarring, Jo wisely felt 
it necessary to give a blow by blow account of the whole match.  It 
seems to be a decision she regrets, because every Quidditch match 
Harry has competed in has had a similiar narrative (complete with 
commentary by Lee Jordan.)  The second match for Harry is much less 
important to the plot.  Snape officiates, but that is the only 
important plot point.  Consequently, Jo has Harry end the match in 
record time.  The pattern of Jo trying to avoid giving an account of 
the matches has begun.  Harry misses the final match of the season 
ostensibly because he's unconscience in the hospital wing, but the 
real reason seems to be that Jo doesn't want to write about another 
match.   

Harry's second year has the same pattern.  The first match is 
important to the plot -- Dobby creates the rogue bludger and breaks 
Harry's arm.  But none of the other potential matches would push the 
plot forward so Jo simply cancels the rest of the season.  This seems 
to me a blatant attempt to avoid writing about them the danger is 
from within the school building -- not the Quidditch pitch.

PoA is the only book where Harry plays in all three matches that he 
is supposed to play in and it is the lone anomaly where Jo describes 
a match that is not central to the plot.  The first match introduces 
Cedric and shows the destruction of Harry's beloved Nimbus.  The 
second and third matches are not particularly important to the 
plot, though. The second match introduces Cho Chang and shows Malfoy 
and co. trying to sabatoge Harry, but these do not necessarily have 
to take place at a Quidditch match per se.  The final match has no 
bearing on the plot except to show Harry (and Wood) finally win the 
Quidditch Cup. PoA is the lone exception to my theory.

In GoF Jo cleverly uses the Quidditch world Cup as exposition to 
three important things:  introducing Krum, introducing veela, and 
introducing leprachaun gold.  Having written an entire chapter on one 
Quidditch match, Jo seems to tire of the whole idea and decides to 
cancel the entire Quidditch season.  This seems particularly lame 
(and blatant) because the hosting of the Triwizard tournament does 
not seem to really interfere with the play of Quidditch.  Sure the 
final task takes place on the Quidditch pitch, but honestly, we're 
only talking about six Quidditch matches all season.  Would it really 
have been that difficult to move the one or two matches that would 
have taken place that month to another Saturday?

And finally we have OotP in which Harry and the Weasleys lose their 
tempers at Draco and are banished from the Quidditch team.  
Consequently, we get only a perfunctory description of Ginny's catch 
of the golden snitch.  (No blow by blow account from Lee Jordan 
narrated in the book.)  And the final match, in which Ron finally 
gets the limelight takes places off camera because of the Grawp 
incident.

After five books then, in which Harry could have potentially played 
in fifteen matches, he has only played in seven.  7/15 seems to be an 
extremely poor ratio considering he is a star player, and he's only 
missed one due to injury.  For a sport about which the WW cares so 
deeply, they do seem to cancel an awful lot of matches. All seven of 
Harry's matches are described in great detail.  None of the three he 
misses but that are not cancelled are given more than a cursory 
description.  Five matches (Five! out of a potential fifteen -- fully 
one third!) are cancelled.

It seems to me that Jo has decided that she MUST write in great 
detail about all of Harry's matches, and yet she doesn't enjoy doing 
it.  I think it would have been perfectly acceptable for her to give 
much more brief descriptions of the quidditch matches and therefore 
better maintained credibility.  I have not yet seen a plausible 
reason as to why Quidditch couldn't be played during the Triwizard 
Tournament.  I think the real answer to that Frequently Asked 
Question is that Jo didn't want to write about three more matches 
that book.  

Thoughts?
-Nathaniel