Harry Potter loyalists made another effort to distance themselves from J.K. Rowling this week with the news that the world’s Quidditch leagues are officially changing the sport’s name to “Quadball.” Yes, in case you didn’t know, Hogwarts students’ favorite pastime is played in real life, too, albeit with a few changes that make it more manageable for muggles.
But while Quidditch is among the most beloved elements of the Potterverse, some critics are seizing this opportunity to call out the game for making no damn sense whatsoever. As @RealDJCthulu (kudos on that username, by the way) said in a viral tweet:
“Quidditch changing its name is funny because the irl game has to be heavily modified anyway to the point of barely being recognizable as the same game. Part of this is because of the lack of magic irl, but also the game as described in the book is just really poorly designed.”
The OP went on to explain their argument in a thread, pointing out that the Snitch portion of the game completely overshadows the rest of it.
The point system is actually pointless.
If you’re curious, IRL Quidditch — or Quadball, as we should now call it — gets around these flaws somewhat by decreasing the Snitch’s worth to just 30 points. Oh, and sadly it’s not a flying golden thing with wings. In reality, the Snitch is a golf ball in a sock tied to someone’s waistband.
As the tweeter indicates, Rowling mostly devised the rules of Quidditch in order to keep Harry himself at the center of the action, hence why the Snitch, and by extension the Seeker, is so overpowered. Traditionally, folks were able to get over those logic holes big enough to throw a Quaffle through, but going by the thousands who liked this post, it seems the golden sheen has worn off somewhat now that the Rowling controversy has bludger-ed the Potter image.