Quiditch

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 162178

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Inge" <Elvishooked at ...> wrote:
>
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "David" <dragonkeeper012003@> 
> wrote:
> >
> > I don't know if this had been talked about but there is something I 
> > wondered about and maybe I missed this but when a team scores; how is 
> > the quaffle put back into play? 

> Inge:
> As for Quiditch - I find the entire game totally pointless...
> The game always ends as soon as the Snitch has been caught - and in 99% 
> of the time - (well, that's just my lucky guess of course, could be 
> slightly less) - the team catching the Snitch wins the game.
> So what exactly IS the point of the quaffle other than scoring some 
> useless points and keeping the game going, while waiting for the Snitch 
> to be caught? 
> Makes very little sense to me....

Geoff:
(1) Reading between the lines of the books and also allowing a little for
possible contamination by the media that "dare not speak its name" I
get the feel that play continues straight on. Certtanly in the film, Madame
Hooch starts the game by throwing the Quaffle into the air and to return
it to the ground each time would waste time.

(2) It is possible for a team to win without catching the Snitch. This
happens in the World Cup in GOF where the Irish win when Krum catches
the Snitch:

'"IRELAND WIN!" shouted Bagman, who, like the Irish. seemed to have been
taken aback by the sudden end of the match. "KRUM GETS THE SNITCH -
BUT IRELAND WIN - good Lord, I don't think any of us were expecting that!"

"What did he catch the Snitch for?" Ron bellowed, even as he jumped up
and down, applaudng with his hands over his head. "He ended it when
Ireland were a hundred and sixty points ahead, the idiot!"

"He knew they were never going to catch up," Harry shouted back over all
the noise, also applauding loudly, "the Irish Chasers were too good... he
wanted to end it on his terms, that's all..."'
(GOF "The Quidditch World Cup" p.103 UK edition)

This points up that the scoring from the Quaffle can make catching the
Snitch a tactical matter; there are other games in the books where
the score lines force a Seeker to try to hold their opposite number off
without catching it themselves.

One could say that any sport is pointless. What is the value of football, 
cricket or Rugby Union or a myriad other games?

I am a fan of the last two I mentioned above and am anxiously following 
the current Test series in Australia but that won't solve the world's 
problems or reduce global warming. But it will bring me enjoyment and 
a measure of satisfaction when the team I support wins.

Being iconoclastic for a moment, what's the point of the HP books? Other 
than creating a huge amount of pleasure to millions of people and 
generating 162000+ messages on the Internet? If everything in life was 
practical and down to earth, wouldn't it be boring?