# Quidditch USA to change its name \[New name is "Quadball"\] **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [December 20, 2021, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quidditch-usa-to-change-its-name-new-name-is-quadball/956383 "2021-12-20T21:05:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2021, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quidditch-usa-to-change-its-name-new-name-is-quadball/956383/81 "2021-12-28T20:49:33Z")
Oh, I don’t know. Junior Jesus probably had a few issues working things out when he was young. “Mum! I’m not doing swimming lessons again! All the other kids laugh at me!” ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2021, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quidditch-usa-to-change-its-name-new-name-is-quadball/956383/82 "2021-12-30T22:13:15Z")
> [@Randolph](#): > > Quidditch is sports drama written by someone who doesn’t understand sports mechanics. _And_ needed her main protagonist a way to win and be the hero in a game he’d never seen before. ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quidditch-usa-to-change-its-name-new-name-is-quadball/956383/83 "2022-01-03T03:13:12Z")
It’s their stupid game, they can call it whatever the hell they want. If it were up to me, I’d go with something easier to spell. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quidditch-usa-to-change-its-name-new-name-is-quadball/956383/84 "2022-01-03T04:37:05Z")
I’m not a massive Potter fan, but I have read a few of the books. Rowling, whatever her talents or flaws, was an absolute genius with names. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quidditch-usa-to-change-its-name-new-name-is-quadball/956383/85 "2022-01-03T04:51:50Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Boy, wait until they find out about the social justice positions of the people who invented basketball, baseball, hockey, football, soccer, cricket, tennis, golf, curling, luge, figure skating, volleyball, squash, parallel bars, rugby, hurling, and basically every other sport on earth. None of those games have a creator who is still alive and part of a political movement still pushing those bigoted views. None of them got legislation passed that prevents young trans kids from getting puberty blockers until they’re sure if they’re trans or not. Yes, that’s a real law in the UK. The thing with TERFs is that they spin their bigotry as being anti-misogyny. And thus they have wider public support than most bigoted organizations, especially in the UK. Their practices even fool some Dopers who ordinarily see through bigotry. The rough consensus in the HP fan community is that they should not have to give up something they love and **was a formative part of their lives** just because the creator became a bigot. But, at the same time, they can’t in any way condone what she says, or in any way drive people to do anything that would make her money (which she will used to try and harm trans folk). Hence why they are renaming the sport. They get to keep playing a game they love, but they also very publicly disavow her, and stop using a term that, if someone Googles it, will take them straight to stuff run by Rowling. I actually think it’s quite interesting watching how the HP fan community is trying to navigate this whole thing. It’s nice to something other than the usual dichotomy between disavowing everything the author has done or shouting “Death of the Author” over and over. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quidditch-usa-to-change-its-name-new-name-is-quadball/956383/86 "2022-01-03T05:10:37Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > None of those games have a creator who is still alive and part of a political movement still pushing those bigoted views. This would be an interesting point if Rowling had bigoted views, as opposed to being the subject of a silly smear campaign based almost entirely on accusing Rowling of writing things she didn’t, in fact, write. It’s ridiculous. > [@BigT](#): > > Hence why they are renaming the sport. They get to keep playing a game they love Well, until they get tired of what is, really, a silly sport they are playing _only because JK Rowling invented it_ and which everyone knows is Quidditch. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quidditch-usa-to-change-its-name-new-name-is-quadball/956383/87 "2022-01-03T14:27:00Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > This would be an interesting point if Rowling had bigoted views, as opposed to being the subject of a silly smear campaign based almost entirely on accusing Rowling of writing things she didn’t, in fact, write. It’s ridiculous. Did she not make these tweets? > **[JK Rowling once again accused of transphobia on Twitter](https://indianexpress.com/article/trending/trending-globally/jk-rowling-once-again-accused-of-transphobia-on-twitter-7672809/lite/)** > > JK Rowling was criticised for a tweet perceived as transphobic. In her tweet, she critiqued a policy that allows rape accused to identify as women. > **[J.K. Rowling Says She’d ‘Happily’ Take Prison Time Rather Than Use a Trans...](https://www.glamour.com/story/a-complete-breakdown-of-the-jk-rowling-transgender-comments-controversy)** > > "It'll be more fun than I've ever had on a red carpet." If those are fake tweets then there are a lot of media outlets hoodwinked and not retracting it. Here’s an article about Eddie Izzard defending her, but it also mentions GLAAD criticizing her. > **[Eddie Izzard defends J.K. Rowling, says she doesn't believe author is...](https://ew.com/celebrity/eddie-izzard-defends-j-k-rowling/)** > > Eddie Izzard is sharing her thoughts on J.K. Rowling, whose controversial comments about the trans community have been widely condemned as transphobic. I’d be stunned if this is all about things she didn’t actually write. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quidditch-usa-to-change-its-name-new-name-is-quadball/956383/88 "2022-01-03T15:23:39Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > Harry is not an expert in magic (or ‘magic jesus’) until at least book 4, if even then. He was able to conjure a full Patronus in Book 3, which is considered to be very difficult magic. He’s considered a natural on the broom. Basically the only thing which he seems to struggle with is schoolwork (and girls), but can perform magic far better than you’d expect from the get go. ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quidditch-usa-to-change-its-name-new-name-is-quadball/956383/89 "2022-01-03T20:47:45Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I’m not a massive Potter fan, but I have read a few of the books. Rowling, whatever her talents or flaws, was an absolute genius with names. I don’t know, I think Cho Chan for the token Asian character and Anthony Goldstein for the token Jewish character isn’t exactly genius level creativity. (And from what I gather, Cho and Chan are both family names so you wouldn’t use either as a first name.) And let’s not forget Sinn Féin…er, Seamus Finnigan. An Irish character who keeps trying to turn water into rum with spells and keeps blowing things up or at least lighting them on fire. Sure the movies really played up the Seamus Finnigan thing as compared to the books, but Rowling had a large degree of creative control over the movies. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quidditch-usa-to-change-its-name-new-name-is-quadball/956383/90 "2022-01-03T23:49:43Z")
Not to mention that on his formal documents Harry should be referred to as Henry Potter. !!’!!! Mad!!! But I don’t consider her a genius at names. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quidditch-usa-to-change-its-name-new-name-is-quadball/956383/91 "2022-01-04T22:08:25Z")
While “Harry” can be a nickname for “Henry” (or “Harold”), it can also be a name in its own right. As can “Jack”, or “Bubba”, or anything else you care to think of. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quidditch-usa-to-change-its-name-new-name-is-quadball/956383/92 "2022-01-04T22:27:25Z")
Anyone in the world can have any name you can think of, but Harry Potter is the kind of character whose birth certificate should say “Henry.” ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quidditch-usa-to-change-its-name-new-name-is-quadball/956383/93 "2022-01-04T22:29:10Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > While “Harry” can be a nickname for “Henry” (or “Harold”), it can also be a name in its own right. As can “Jack”, or “Bubba”, or anything else you care to think of. Harry’s full name is Harry James Potter (“James” is from his dad). As you suggest, it’s not short for anything. I think it should be short for “Herringbone” though, that’s more Wizardly. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2022, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quidditch-usa-to-change-its-name-new-name-is-quadball/956383/94 "2022-01-05T03:01:12Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > While “Harry” can be a nickname for “Henry” (or “Harold”), it can also be a name in its own right. Harry S Truman being an obvious example. Harry Styles, too. Harry Turledove. Sinclair Lewis’s actual first given name was Harry. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2022, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quidditch-usa-to-change-its-name-new-name-is-quadball/956383/95 "2022-07-20T15:42:24Z")
> **[Quidditch rebrands as quadball and further distances itself from Harry Potter...](https://www.npr.org/2022/07/19/1112324298/quidditch-rebrands-as-quadball-and-further-distances-itself-from-harry-potter-au)** > > Quadball is a reference both to the number of balls on the field and the number of positions in the game. The leagues and governing bodies hope the rebrand will also allow the sport to grow more. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2022, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quidditch-usa-to-change-its-name-new-name-is-quadball/956383/96 "2022-07-20T16:12:09Z")
That’s definitely a good thing. A sport **inspired** by a ridiculous game in a series of magical children’s books is much more palatable than one doing everything it can to imitate it. And it helps avoid some of the author’s controversies, and is less sticky from a legal standpoint. “Quadball” sounds like a real sport. Make it its own thing, and you can shed the dumbest parts of the original without anyone griping about it no longer being “authentic”. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2022, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quidditch-usa-to-change-its-name-new-name-is-quadball/956383/97 "2022-07-20T16:13:27Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > The leagues and governing bodies hope the rebrand will also allow the sport to grow more. Yeah, I’m not holding my breath. The funniest part of the sport is that the players still hold “Brooms” - usually just sticks, there’s no broom attachment - between their legs. Remember, they are not actually flying. There is no reason to hold a stick between your legs except that, you know, it’s Quidditch, from the Harry Potter books. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2022, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quidditch-usa-to-change-its-name-new-name-is-quadball/956383/98 "2022-07-20T16:50:22Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > The funniest part of the sport is that the players still hold “Brooms” - usually just sticks, there’s no broom attachment - between their legs. Remember, they are not actually flying. There is no reason to hold a stick between your legs except that, you know, it’s Quidditch, from the Harry Potter books. That’s just one part of the sport that I hope gets dropped. If these changes are part of an effort to turn this into a real sport, I’m all for it. If they hang onto the stupid parts that make it ridiculous in an attempt to continue the Hogwarts cosplay, forget it. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2022, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quidditch-usa-to-change-its-name-new-name-is-quadball/956383/99 "2022-07-20T17:07:22Z")
I think the “neutrality” of the Snitch would be an even greater detriment to its competitive appeal than anything else mentioned before. People complain about the referees in competitive sports _now_, but that would be nothing compare to the complaints about a supposedly-neutral active participant in the game. Even if you had your own scoring system for the Snitch, whereby you increased your own rank the longer you could stay uncaught, there would still be complaints that you gave the game to the “bad guys”: even if not by allegations of outright corruption, people would still whine that their team lost the game due to the incompetence of a third party rather than a lack of skill on their own part. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2022, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quidditch-usa-to-change-its-name-new-name-is-quadball/956383/100 "2022-07-20T17:31:42Z")
[Moderating] I’ve edited the title to reflect the new name. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quidditch-usa-to-change-its-name-new-name-is-quadball/956383.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quidditch-usa-to-change-its-name-new-name-is-quadball/956383.md?page=6)