Feature
Quidditch Blogs Provide Analysis
Quidditch journalism began as a way for players to read first-hand accounts of players’ experiences with the sport. Over time, more and more quidditch blogs emerged and quidditch journalism now covers a wide array of topics related to the sport.
Quidditch journalism began as a way for players to read first-hand accounts of players’ experiences with the sport. Over time, more and more quidditch blogs emerged and quidditch journalism now covers a wide array of topics related to the sport, including tournaments, players, USQ updates and more. But what is the purpose of these blogs, and why has there been such a dramatic increase in them over the last few years?
Jack “ThePhan” McGovern, writer of “the Quidkid” blog, has been a popular voice in quidditch journalism since 2011, when he wrote an article chronicling the University of Florida’s experiences at World Cup V. Unlike many quidditch writers, McGovern has never actually played the sport, which he believes gives him a different perspective.
“I am really dedicated to explaining why a player is so great or why a team was able to pull off a great upset,” he said.
McGovern’s writing has since expanded to discussions of major tournaments and analyses of players, which helped set the stage for the future of quidditch blogging.
Quidditch blogs reached a milestone in organized journalism with Kevin Oelze and Ethan Sturm’s creation of the Eighth Man website.
The Eighth Man staffs several volunteer writers from multiple teams in an effort to provide diverse coverage of quidditch events. According to Sturm, the idea was to mix tournament reports with “a lot of higher level analysis and strategy pieces.”
“This was before the IQA site was particularly active in covering games,” Sturm said. “I had years of experience covering sports for a daily college newspaper and thought I could help improve the field of quidditch journalism We gathered a staff of the most knowledgeable quidditch people we could find and set to work.”
Sturm believes that the unique writing and analysis of the Eighth Man allowed for its continued success. After the site’s initial launch, they published roughly an article a day for an entire semester.
“Consistency is what allowed the Eighth Man (especially during the 2012-13 season) to become so popular,” McGovern said.“Quidditch journalism needs consistency more than anything else.”
In addition to articles, Sturm also records a series of podcasts on his site, known as the Seeker Floor. Ryan Sparks, writer of “the Hoop Zone” believes the Seeker Floor is the highlight of the site.
“[The Seeker Floor] will continue to be something that people tune in for,” Sparks said. “I've always enjoyed Ethan and Noah [Schwartz]'s analysis, as they have differing opinions on several topics, making for a great discussion to listen in on.”
However, while the Eighth Man provides coverage of major tournaments and quidditch events, the site does not generally work to detail region-specific news.
Tumblr has also become a huge source of region-specific quidditch blogs. A large number of quidditch blogs derive from the Midwest region, but why exactly have quidditch blogs come primarily from the Midwest and not as largely from other regions?
Luke Changet, writer for the Eighth Man and founder of his own blog, “Quidditch Elitist,” was the first major blogger from the Midwest region.
“I got into writing about quidditch because I saw Steve DiCarlo's blog, as well as a couple others that are less memorable and noticed that none really talked about the Midwest,” Changet said.
Since its beginning, Changet has produced not only extended analyses of players and teams on his blog, but also a series of unpopular opinions pertaining to quidditch outside the Midwest. Currently the majority of Changet’s writing derives from anonymous questions.
Both Changet and Eric Wasser, writer of “the Hard Boundary,” agree that Changet’s blog was the driving force behind the meteoric rise of “Midwest analysis” blogs.
“I don't want to sound vain, but when Quidditch Elitist ‘took off’ I think a lot of people disagreed with a lot of things I was saying,” Changet said. “Over time that turned into totally separate blogs dedicated to writing from a different viewpoint.”
Wasser confirmed this and said the desire to deviate away from Changet’s opinions caused more and more folks to try their hand at writing.
“[Changet’s blog] brought about more people trying it, most of whom either weren’t good writers or analysts, or ended up spouting the same stuff as Luke,” said Wasser.
Changet also criticized the large number of Midwest bloggers who hide behind anonymity in their writing.
“I’m not afraid to speak my mind,” he said. “This has gotten me a fair share of negative attention, but it’s also forced me to be more honest in my research.”
Sturm agreed with Changet’s criticism.
“Being anonymous is just running scared, especially when you spit vitriol from your seat of anonymity,” Sturm said. “In my opinion, your name is your credibility.”
While an abundance of Midwest blogs exist, there are far fewer blogs pertaining to the remaining quidditch regions. In regards to quidditch journalism, Changet believes in order for it to move forward, it is important to have writers from other regions in the United States as well as in other countries.
“Quidditch journalism is in that transition period, trending toward and striving for higher legitimacy,” Sparks said. “There isn’t enough coverage of all the regions. I only see Midwest quidditch analysis blogs.”
With quidditch beginning a new season, perhaps we will see a rise in blogs from the non-Midwest regions of USQ.
