World Cup Diary: Ryan Bowers
Editor's Note: The IQA is pleased to publish another World Cup diary, where players from around the world tell us their story. If you want to share your tale, send it to editorial@internationalquidditch.org and you could see it in this space.
My name is Ryan Bowers. I am 24 years old and mainly play chaser for Sam Houston State University Quidditch. We have only been a team for three years, and I came on towards the end of the first year. For months I made fun of my friends who played on the team. I thought the idea of quidditch was stupid, and I had no interest in playing it. I never was a Harry Potter fan, so it was hard to take what they were saying seriously.
I remember finally agreeing to try the sport out, and I was instantly hooked by the fact that I could actually hit people. I had played football in high school and had missed that aspect in other sports I had tried in college.
I have been a part of the team long enough to see some very important milestones. I remember at the first tournament I went to, we won our first game ever as a team against UNO, a team even newer than we were. I remember going to World Cup V last year with a ragtag roster and beating Rochester, who was ranked seventh in the nation at the time of our matchup. We played hard but went 1-3 in pool play, losing 2 games by a snitch catch. If either of them had gone our way, we would have made bracket play. Going home, I wasn't disappointed because it was such a great experience.
The next semester we had two new captains take over, Randi Sampson and Adam Bell. You could instantly tell things were changing for our young team. Practices became sharper, and players got better. We went from a team trying to just have fun to a team trying to improve and win games. We had some bright moments that spring. We were able to beat Austin Quidditch for our first win against a legitimate opponent in our region. Even though we did not advance in bracket play, we knew we were only going to get better and our thoughts shifted to next year.
We had an influx of freshmen join us who ended up playing major parts in our team's success this year. We went to the Breakfast Taco tournament and ended up finishing fourth overall. It was the first time we ever finished with a winning record at a tournament. Our next great milestone was the Bottom of the Bracket tournament, where we were a favorite to win, and we followed through, winning our first ever tournament. Then we started struggling. At the Mardi Gras Cup we did not play as well as we should have and had an early exit. Then came regionals: We were picked to clinch a spot at the World Cup. The week leading up to the tournament, it seemed like nothing could go right for us. First we were grouped with Texas A&M and LSU, two of the top fifteen teams in the nation in our pool. Then the fourth team dropped out, leaving us just those two games to strive for a good seed in bracket play. We ended up losing to Silver Phoenix in our first round of brackets on Sunday, but we fought back and advanced to the semifinals. Our goal was in sight. After a hard fought game with two highly disputed snitch catches, we lost to Oklahoma State.
We were crushed. I remember being devastated - we were so close, yet we left empty-handed. We applied for Division 2 and were accepted into the field. Our drive to the World Cup was entertaining, to say the least. We had two fifteen-passenger vans, where we all got to know each other very well for 19 hours on the road. I believe the trip definitely helped improve our team chemistry for the weekend.
Everyone was filled with anticipation as our first round game against Syracuse drew nearer and nearer. Finally we were on the field, ready to make a statement to the rest of the quidditch nation that even though we were in D2, we were a team to watch out for next year. We ended up winning all of our games in pool play, earning the number 1 seed going into Sunday in the process. All day we were on point in every aspect of our game. Passing, scoring, beating, and defense all were the best we had ever performed. We were playing up to our potential, for the first time ever. On Sunday, we got to the fields late due to unforeseen circumstances, and I couldn't help feeling that in past tournaments this would throw us in a funk that we couldn't get out of. We barely had time to warm up. We got through it, beating Brevard. In the semifinals we faced Miami (Ohio) who gave us our toughest game of the weekend to date. Both defenses were playing with near perfection, and the game was 20-10 in our favor when our seeker, Jesse Herring, came roaring back onto the pitch after catching the snitch off-pitch. This set off a round of celebrations - we were one game away from winning the championship. There we would face Loyola, a fellow Southwestern team that we had faced many times in the past. We were tense and excited, but ready for the match to begin. From the very beginning both teams realized this would be a hard fought battle between two evenly-matched teams. Both teams had players make spectacular defensive plays, saving goals, pinpointing beats, and making repeated efforts to score a goal.
After our seeker caught the snitch, I remember just standing there watching the crowd as everyone rushed the field. For the first few moments I stood away from the celebration, lost in my own thoughts. All I could think about was the fact we had done it.
We had finally made a statement to the quidditch nation, something we had been trying to do all year.
We had so much respect for the other team that the postgame handshake quickly became a line of hugs for each player, and I wouldn't have it any other way. All the way back home I couldn't help staring at the new hardware we had won. Here we were, just two years removed from getting excited over not getting shutout in a game to expecting to win tournaments. I'll never forget the memories and friends I've made this year. Quidditch will always hold a special place in my heart because of the people I've met playing the sport, and the experiences I've had. World Cup VI will be an experience I will never forget.
