POST IN PROGRESS: This is a collection of links to external sites from both before and after the Quidditch World Cup, held on November 13th and 14th 2010. Its purpose is to begin to understand the vast range of fan reactions and perspectives held towards the budding sport/ activity/ event/ or as you will.
BEFORE THE EVENT
http://techland.com/2010/11/11/this-weekends-big-sporting-event-the-quidditch-world-cup/
The sport going collegiate?
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=mccluskey/090722
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=131144212
AFTER THE EVENT
Best Articles So Far
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,2031655,00.html
http://techland.com/2010/11/13/quidditch-world-cup-diary-day-1/
http://techland.com/2010/11/13/quidditch-world-cup-diary-day-2/
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,2031655,00.html
THE scatterplot! Statistical graphs analyzing the final Middlebury v Tufts game, and other games. Quidditch taken as seriously as other sports:
http://nyunews.com/quidditch/games/93/
A great collection of photos of the event
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimkiernan/sets/72157625270643861/
Student Papers
http://www.tuftsdaily.com/mobile/holy-snitch-tufflepuffs-stun-quidditch-community-finish-second-at-world-cup-1.2405900
Decent Recounting of the events. But perhaps most interesting for their comment sections. Some can get critical in non-scholarly ways.
http://www.slashfilm.com/quidditch-world-cup-winner-crowned-york/
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/11/quidditch_world_cup_1.html
Doubtful and negative but supporting
http://www.toplessrobot.com/2010/11/middlebury_won_the_quidditch_world_cup.php
Some video, photos, more explanatory than condescending, but verging on condescending. Negative comment or two.
http://backporch.fanhouse.com/2010/11/16/fanhouse-tv-quidditch-world-cup-takes-manhattan/?synd=1
Strictly condescending. I didn’ find it funny. It’s a video playing off snatch (in a sexual sense) and snitch and how they sound a like. Interviewer purposely selets nerdy looking kids to interview.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAMcZdXFB-Q
Burlington News Station interviews some Midd Champs after Win. You get to hear some players’ take on the sport’s significance.
http://www.wcax.com/Global/searchresults.asp?vendor=ez&qu=quidditch
Explanatory with explanatory video. Generally unproductive back and forth comments, then become more interesting. My favorite comment: This sport may cause a rip in the very fabric of the nerd-jock continuum.
Another I like: I am a geek & I think it looks completely dumbass, as does every geek I personally know. These cretins are making geeks look bad.
And another: Worse than LARPing…
http://www.slashfilm.com/fourth-annual-quidditch-world-cup-coming-york-city-weekend/
Interesting b/c one student says that in going to the event she was hoping for more nerdom and less athleticism.
http://www.dnainfo.com/20101115/midtown/middlebury-takes-gold-at-midtowns-quidditch-world-cup
Mean
http://filmdrunk.uproxx.com/2010/11/middlebury-wins-quidditch-world-cup
Middlebury Road Trip Blog 2010
http://middquidroadtrip.wordpress.com/
Excited college student
http://media.www.alestlelive.com/media/storage/paper351/news/2010/11/18/Opinion/Quidditch.Keeps.College.Students.Young.Destressed-3960235.shtml
A Middlebury Mother Reacting to the Event, found in the Middlebury Campus
http://www.middleburycampus.com/2010/11/17/midd-quidd/
Quidditch (not about World Cup) as an activity much more tied to Harry Potter
http://www.dailyiowan.com/2010/11/18/Metro/20139.html