Quidditch..... for Muggles?

I came across an article in Sports Illustrated Kids today that intrigued me to say the least. Quidditch is the sport that is played at Hogwarts by Harry Potter and his friends. It is taken very seriously..... think League 2 Play Off Final, Wimbledon or the Superbowl. Those are all comparable. Now it is not just played at Hogwarts. At least 200 colleges and a number of high schools in the United States have started Quidditch teams or intend to.

Um, what??

Are these people overlooking the obvious?

You know, the lack of magic and the fact (I say 'fact', ha!) that Quidditch is played on broomsticks..... that fly!

Apparently, that doesn't seem to stop these people. There are brooms but the brooms don't fly and there is no magic. It has been adapted for us 'non-Wizarding' folk.
Here is what Sports Illustrated Kids says about Quidditch:
Objective: To score the most points. Each team has 3 hoops on its end of the field and players score points by throwing a ball (also known as a quaffle) through one of the opponents' hoops. This is 10 points.
The game ends when the Snitch is caught. I did wonder how they were going to do this. I mean, you can't just make a tiny little gold ball hover and dart around the pitch trying to avoid being caught. In Muggle Quidditch, the Snitch is a human and the team who pulls a sock off the Snitch's shorts wins 50 points and ends the game.
The team with the most points wins.

Players: Each team must have 7 players on the field at all times, including at least 2 girls. A team is made up of 3 Chasers (throw the Quaffle through the opponents' hoops), 2 Beaters (attempt to temporarily knock their opponents out of the game by hitting them with balls known as Bludgers), 1 Keeper (defends his team's hoops) and 1 Seeker (attempts to find the Snitch).

Key Rules: Players must keep their brooms between their legs at all times by either holding on with one hand or gripping it between their thighs. The Snitch is allowed to leave the field and may hide wherever he or she wants. But if a seeker has not found the Snitch withing 10-15 mins after the game begins, the Snitch should return to the field of play.

So there you have it - Quidditch for Muggles. Who knew!
Here is a video that I found on YouTube. We don't have sound on this computer at the minute so let me know if there is any inappropriate language. I doubt it as it is from the news but just let me know anyway! I'm having trouble getting the Html up here so click on the link to see it

I'm really looking forward to spell checking this post, by the way!

The article in SIK (ha, ha!) ends like this: 'And having a good time is what the game of Quidditch is all about, whether you're a wizard or a Muggle.'

Um, tell that to Harry and Malfoy!