Twilight, Smilight: Harvard Debuts a Quidditch Team

Vampires might be all the rage this week with the release of "New Moon," but students at Harvard certainly haven't forgotten their allegiance to Harry Potter.

The esteemed university green lit the creation of a Quidditch team this fall, a real-life version of the fictitious game Harry and his pals played at Hogwarts.

"It's a combination of dodge ball, soccer and track," student Stacy Rush explained to the Boston Herald of the game that also includes capes and broomsticks. "At its core, it's a wizard sport."

Rush and fellow student Alana Biden, who just so happens to be the niece of VP Joseph Biden, pushed the university to start a Quidditch team, which now joins about 200 other universities with the club-level sport.

Harvard gave the team $600 to buy Intercollegiate Quidditch Association-approved equipment (seriously). That mostly includes the purchase of 14 Mugglenet Exclusive broomsticks produced by Alivan, a Florida company that, conveniently for them, makes the world's only association-approved broomstick. At $42 each, don't think about sweeping the floors with these brooms, which are a bit smaller than a household broom and feature a wooden handle.

Although the 20-member coed team contains athletes who have run cross-country, played soccer and field hockey, they have yet to score their first win. They have a 0-4 record, but are hoping that will change once they play Yale Friday afternoon.

They are this close to perfecting the magic they need for victory.

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