Last week, the University of Texas won the Quidditch World Cup. Muggle Quidditch, that is.
Inspired by the Harry Potter books, Muggle Quidditch combines netball, rugby and hide-and-seek, and is mostly played by American college students. It makes about as much sense as any other sport, except for the rule that all players must hold a vestigial, flightless broomstick between their legs at all times.
Since the first Muggle Quidditch World Cup in 2007, the sport has become surprisingly popular. This year 80 teams traveled to Florida to compete, along with halftime entertainment in the form of Wizard Rock (“wrock”) bands such as Harry and the Potters. But for the less athletically inclined, there’s always “Quidditching.”
Image via Reddit
Following on from photo memes like planking, milking, and Vadering, Quidditching involves taking photos where the participants look like they’re flying on a broomstick. Reminiscent of the recent Japanese meme for Dragon Ball Z photos, this is pretty simple to do. All you need is a camera, a broomstick, and the ability to jump.
Image via Tumblr/Vanecessity
Image via Tumblr/derindengirenler
So far photos are turning up everywhere from Japan to Russia—which is more than you can say for “real” Quidditch, unfortunately.
Image via Livejournal/specnazspn
On the bright side, some people have accidentally taken a Quidditching photo… while playing Quidditch.
Image via Tumblr/mollyandthegirls
Since the entire generation of current college students grew up with Harry Potter, it’s surprising that a meme like this didn’t show up earlier.
But our favorite Quidditcher so far is Vine user Jackson Holland, who created this stop-motion video where he appears—kind of—to fly for real.
Image via Tumblr/atimelordandamuppet
