Many millennials once dreamed about living in Harry Potter’s magical universe, but Loyola’s Quidditch team stopped dreaming, picked up their broomsticks and made that dream a reality.

“I loved Harry Potter and the Quidditch scenes especially, so joining Loyola’s Quidditch team was a fun way to get involved in the community and meet new people,” English freshman Shannon Garrety, said.

Loyola’s Quidditch team is entering its sixth season since its formation and is looking to build off of last year’s success. Coming into the season, the team has set high, yet achievable, goals for this year.

“Our number one goal for this season is to make a bid for World Cup, which is an annual national Quidditch tournament for colleges around the country. We’re a young team, but if we work hard enough and stay dedicated, I’m sure we’ll make it,” Oliver Blackstone, captain of the Quidditch team, said.

The Quidditch season starts on Oct. 29, when Loyola will be hosting a tournament called the “Wolf Pack Classic” for schools in the Southwest  division.

“This year I’m personally looking forward to our match against Baylor University most. They’re a team I love to play because I know we can beat them, and their tournament in Waco, Texas, is always a lot of fun,” Blackstone said.

The fun of the sport is also an important aspect of the game, especially for Loyola’s Quidditch team. Beyond the competition, members of the team say that the sport builds a sense of camaraderie among teammates.

“I knew coming out of high school I wanted to play Quiddith,”   Alex Pucciarelli, theatre junior, said. “When I got to Loyola, I didn’t expect to make the best friends I have because of it.”

Since the club sport has come to Loyola, the Quidditch community has only grown on campus, which team members attribute to the camaraderie of the players.

“I don’t think there’s anything better about our club than how close we all are with each other, and I don’t think I’d continue to play Quidditch if I wasn’t best friends with most of the team; so it’s always a lot of fun, but it’s also a great way to stay in shape and meet new people,” Blackstone said.

Loyola’s Quidditch team had their first day of scrimmages on Oct 1. The Wolf Pack lost their first match against a team named “Gumbo.” Gumbo is the New Orleans community Quidditch team made up of Quidditch players who are students or alumni of Loyola, Tulane, Louisiana State University, University of Southern Mississippi and University of New Orleans.

“We held our own [against Gumbo] for a team in their rebuilding stage. We’re in that rebuilding stage right now where we have good players, but don’t know the game that well yet. We have more people that do know it than don’t know it,”
said Pucciarelli.

Loyola’s second match of that day was against the University of Southern Mississippi, and the Wolf Pack escaped with a 170-50 victory over the Golden Eagles.

“We played really well against USM. We just had better communication and chemistry and we rocked them,” Pucciarelli said.

The Wolf Pack defeated Tulane 190-50 and ended up winning their final match of the day after catching the snitch and sealing the victory.

“We like to use Tulane as our measuring stick because they’re at the same level we are, and we ended up pulling away and catching the snitch,” said Pucciarelli.

Loyola’s quidditch team will be hosting a 16 team tournament called the Wolf Pack Classic in LaSalle Park on Oct. 29. The tournament will feature teams from the South and Southwest regions. The tournament will kick off at 9 a.m.