14. Quidditch (yes, Quidditch) has become an actual sport in recent years
Given that kids around the world have incorporated wizard’s paraphernalia into their everyday outfits, the adaptation of Quidditch, Harry Potter’s favorite sport, was perhaps inevitable. The youngest sport on this list, Quidditch, or Muggle Quidditch, was first played in Vermont in 2005. Although players sadly do not use flying broomsticks, this humble cleaning item is still an integral part of the game. Players run around holding a broomstick between their legs, as if flying, throwing balls around. Likewise, the elusive snitch is replaced by a tennis ball attached to a person, who must fight off the seeker to protect it.
Quidditch is a rare example of a popular weird sport, which has rocketed in popularity since 2005. There have been no fewer than 10 rule books, and the International Quidditch Association (IQA) was founded in 2009. The Quidditch World Cup has been held since 2012, and the USA have won three of the four tournaments to date. Whether this testifies to the merits of the sport, or the popularity of Harry Potter, is hard to say. But there can surely be little magical about running around a muddy field pretending to fly a broomstick and throwing balls around. Can there?
