Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Quidditch and a Not-So-Humble-Brag on my Brother

Muggle Quidditch, Boise State University Quidditch

I think the only thing cooler than being an über-proud parent is being an über-proud sibling. And when you have a brother who is changing the campus dynamics of your local university, that's a pretty good reason to be extremely, extremely proud.

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you may remember my post in March about my brother, Stewart, & his Boise State University Muggle Quidditch team, the Abraxans. Just a few months ago, his team was simply a new club at BSU and he was just having a ball getting something new rolling over on campus. Fast forward a few months, and let me tell you—my brother and his team are rocking it. They are now an official university club, and boast a team of over 23 members. Stew has even been given a budget for the team, and they just had their first official jerseys made. They've played in tournaments in several different states including Utah and Nevada, and Stew has even traveled to California and Washington to play the Snitch for other tournaments. He was recently certified a gold rank Snitch, which is no easy task.

Yes, they play on brooms and act out the real-life version of the Harry Potter Quidditch... but it's cool. Really cool. It's a full combat sport and Stew has seen no shortage of injuries, including a broken tooth, torn ACL, sprained ankles, and he himself has seen the inside of the ER after a rough game where he suffered a break to his maxillary sinus.

The Abraxans, once an unknown team running around the intramural field on campus, is now a team that is known throughout the students and professors at BSU. Stew's photo is on a rotating slideshow on the main Boise State website. Kids on campus know my brother, not because he's super tall or ruggedly handsome (you're welcome, Stew), but for how he's changing student life and pursuing his dreams. Oh, and did I mention he's a History Secondary Education major with a focus on Chinese? He wants to teach in China, people. My brother is a real-life rockstar to me.

Muggle Quidditch, Boise State University Quidditch
Muggle Quidditch, Boise State University Quidditch
Photos source.

Stew-man, we're so proud of you and your go get 'em attitude. You and your team rock. Thanks for making me a proud big-sis, bro. Love you!

28 comments:

melody said...

This is so cool. I love the whole idea of a Quidditch team...Go Harry! :) You have a right to be a proud sister too. :)

Lauren said...

Aww this is so cool- I love, love, love being a proud sibling too ;-) (also, I have to confess, I have no idea what Quidditch is, but it sounds pretty cool)

Stephanie said...

That is seriously so cool. I want to play so bad!

Tamara Buschel said...

So fun! I love the picture of your brother!

Hannah Bunker said...

This is quite possibly one of the coolest things I have ever heard of. I'm forwarding this on to my husband to show him the awesomeness that is a real-life Quiddtich team! He's going to love it!

Kayla @ Sealed With a Kay said...

That's awesome! Go Bro Sauce! :D

Priya Pappu said...

Aunie, thanks for leaving me a comment sweets! Proud-sibling moments are one of my favorite parts at life. Go Stewart, way to do you! That's awesome.

perfectly priya

Kate @ Classy Living said...

My sister-in-law plays Quidditch at William and Mary (in VA). She absolutely LOVES it and is actually a super talented Keeper (guess all those years of being field hockey goalie came in handy!)

Rachel Murphree said...

How fun! Awesomeness must run in the family. :)

Tranae said...

This is so cool and fun.

Emilie Bordeleau-Laroche said...

This is the coolest thing ever!

Kateri Von Steal said...

How cool is this?!

Kelly Ann said...

I am an uber proud sibling too - love this!

xx
Kelly
Sparkles and Shoes

Alyson said...

So cool! I would love to see one of these in person!

Annelise Rowe said...

Thanks Melody :) I am so proud. This kid is 20 years old today... & changing the world already :)

Annelise Rowe said...

WHAT?! You've never read Harry Potter? It's a sport, similar to soccer but played on broomsticks. Players have to get the quaffle into the hoops to score points. There are all kinds of different factors that play into it, but the game ends when the snitch has been caught. In the muggle quidditch version, the snitch is a real person who runs around! You can read all about quittich here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quidditch) and muggle quidditch here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muggle_Quidditch)!

Annelise Rowe said...

It looks like a lot of fun. Though the players are SO aggressive! They tackle people all the time!

Annelise Rowe said...

Isn't that cool? I'm so proud of him :)

Annelise Rowe said...

You have to let me know what he said. I think it's pretty awesome, too!

Annelise Rowe said...

YESSSSSS!!! Bro Sauce! I love that.

Annelise Rowe said...

That's so awesome! That would be the position I would NEVER want to play... it looks really hard! Good for her... so fun that she loves it. It's a great sport!

Annelise Rowe said...

YOU are awesome. I would say it does... only because everyone in my family is someone I could brag for days about!

Annelise Rowe said...

OOH ooh, tell me why you're proud :) Would love to know how awesome your sibling(s) is(are)!

Annelise Rowe said...

It's really, really fun. The game is very fast-paced. It's a lot more aggressive than you'd think... it's fun to watch!

Lauren said...

Sadly, I am way, way out of the pop culture loop when it comes to Harry Potter. This sounds amazing though! I think I would love it!

Annelise Rowe said...

Hehe, it's OK! I've read all the books and seen all the movies... but I pretty much had to to keep up with my sister who is the most diehard Potterhead I've ever met :)

And hey, if you're going to be out of the loop, I'd say being behind on Harry Potter is an OK place to be. You're loving life :)

AvidReader said...

I just saw the following and couldn't help but think of your brother's league. They are official quidditch jerseys. I'm not sure if they'd be interested in them or not but it looks like you can personalize them with your own name.

http://www.wbshop.com/category/code/hpquid.do

Annelise Rowe said...

I love it!!! I think it's also hilarious that they have the Quidditch cap and goggles. I am going to show him this... he'll love it!

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