Quidditch World Cup 2011 94 teams! Randall's Island, NYC

Well, I bet that I did something you didn't do last weekend. A gal I worked with at the Cincinnati Library flew up for it and asked if she could crash with us and if we'd go with her. Of course.

 The line to get in. Luckily, this was the line for peeps who already had tickets, so it moved really fast.

 A flying Ford Anglia.

 It totally flew, we just didn't want to take a picture of it because...you know.

 Life's a pitch. Nine of them.

 Muggles, unfortunately, have to play Quidditch on the ground. Here, we have Yale v. Middlebury.

 The snitch is an actual person, with a tennis ball in a sock attached to their shorts.

 Grabbing the ball off the snitch means that Yale has won.

 huddle

 There were Wizard Wrock bands entertaining the crowd throughout the day.

 This was Swish and Flick, an electronic rap group that also had team Malfoy cheerleaders. They sang a really fun song to the tune of On a Boat.

 Some concerned folks put together a list of things you should have at the ready, in case there is another natural disaster in NYC, which really is a big concern.

 About 80% of the teams were representing colleges. Another 10% were community teams and the last 10% were high school teams.

 The butterbeer they were selling was disappointly not alcoholic, or even carbonated, but warm and good for holding in your hand.

 Killing time between games, there was a massive around of USA v. Canada Wizard rules Dodge Ball.

 Everyone has to close their eyes while the snitch is released so that they don't see where it runs off to.

 Harry and the Potters.

I was really amazed at how athletic they all were. This was the 5th year of the event, and it was incredibly well organized.

 Keep calm and call the doctor.

 I got 99 problems but a snitch aint one.

 The crowd at Icahn stadium to see the semifinals and the finals.

 Ussain Bolt set the world record here.

 All the balls lined up at the start, including the snitch.

 It's really brutal.

 The final match is Florida and Middlebury.

 Here are some videos so you can see it played!