Quidditch Takes Chestnut Hill

Tempers, Rain Drops and Brooms Fly High as the Brotherly Love Cup Competition Falls on Chestnut Hill

Chestnut Hill, PA

Cold and windy conditions mixed with an on and off rain that left participants and viewers alike shivering in the cold were not enough to deter 10 teams from traveling to Chestnut Hill College (CHC) for the Brotherly Love Cup.

The annual tournament that takes place during the Harry Potter Festival did not disappoint fans who came to see a brilliant display of competitive Quidditch.

Spread across the outfield grass of the CHC softball field were two Quidditch pitches.  Filling out the site were small-tented shops where Harry Potter enthusiast could buy wands, t-shirts and even their very own brooms.

Fans swarmed the two pitches to cheer on their favorite teams. The costumes, Quidditch rings and castle-looking college in the background, that was almost reminiscent of Hogwarts, created a scene almost right out of a J.K. Rowling book.

On the pitch, the teams took their turns brutalizing one another in the sport that can most accurately be described as a combination of rugby, kill the carrier and dodgeball. Teams from Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and New York laced up their soccer cleats to see who would win the Brotherly Cup.

The tournament started with round robin play which served as a way to showcase more Quidditch and provide seeds for the elimination tournament. Teams from Lafayette and the University of Pittsburgh earned the top two seeds respectively after pool play.

Lafayette hosted the home team club from CHC after the latter won their play in game against Franklin & Marshall rather convincingly.

On the other side of the bracket, Pittsburgh hosted the 10 seeded Stockton, who advanced after their upset victory over a strong Drexel squad.

While Pittsburgh handled Stockton without much contest, Pitt won by 70 points, the Lafayette v. CHC game was much closer.

With Lafayette down 20 points they need to catch the snitch to secure 30 points and the victory. The seeker from CHC was grappling with the snitch to try to grab the tennis ball from behind his back when the Lafayette seeker dove in and snatched the ball for the victory.

The players from CHC erupted in disapproval at the decision of the play because they argued that the Lafayette player dove through the back of the CHC player in order to get to the snitch, which constitutes an illegal move. After seven minutes of deliberation, it was announced that Lafayette was the winner and would move on to the semifinals.

Lafayette’s next challenge came in the defending champion Philadelphia Honeybadgers, a team not associated with any university. The Honeybadgers had knocked off the club from Salisbury in their quarterfinal matchup.

The semifinals were the round where the physicality ramped up a notch, despite the sun finally peeking its head out from behind the clouds. Lafayette and the Honeybadgers traded each other hit for hit in a brutal matchup seeing three players leave due to injuries.

The Honeybadgers outlasted their opponents and scored victory by 60 points after they caught the snitch to advance to the finals and a chance at back to back titles.

Pittsburgh continued to show their dominance in the semifinal matchup against Syracuse who had knocked off Kutztown in the quarterfinals.

Pittsburgh won by 90 points ending Syracuse’s day with a 4-1 record. Junior Rhavii Adgarmangle, a beater and keeper for the Syracuse squad, said that they didn’t mind driving down to the tournament from Syracuse, NY because “it’s a team bonding experience. We road trip, we have friends in the area, we just hang out and enjoy ourselves.”

The final matchup between Pittsburgh and the Honeybadgers lived up to the billing of a Pittsburgh v. Philadelphia showdown. The animosity was felt throughout the sidelines as the teams showed no love while battling for supremacy in the Brotherly Love Cup.

A key moment in the match came when a Pittsburgh chaser, who could not be reached for comment, received an immediate red card for unsportsmanlike conduct when he tackled a Honeybadger beater with who was not involved in the play.

Neither team could create any separation from the other as the traded goal for goal and it became inevitable that the winner would be decided by the seeker who captured the snitch.

The snitch did his best to avoid being caught, weaving in and out of other players on each side knowing that only the seeker was allowed to capture him.

After four stops and restarts the snitch was finally caught by the Honeybadger seeker when the snitch lost sight of him and showed the seeker his back.  The seeker held up the tennis ball in a sock in the air, not only grasping the snitch but also grasping victory.

With the win, the Honeybadgers hoisted the Brotherly Love Cup in the air again, allowing them to retain their bragging rights for another year.