Nerd was the word on Monday night as brooms, hoops and the EMU Flying Squirrels Quidditch Club took over Dick Vitale Court at Calihan Hall during the halftime of University of Detroit Mercy’s men’s basketball game against the visiting Wright State Raiders.
The Harry Potter-based sport was showcased during U of D Mercy’s Nerd Night, a promotion that saw many Titan staffers wearing nerdy glasses and concession stands giving away free boxes of Willy Wonka Nerd’s candy.
This opportunity for the Squirrels came to be when U of D Mercy’s Director of Ticket Sales Wendy Carpio reached out to the club in November to provide halftime entertainment for their basketball team’s theme night.
“They wanted us to show U of D Mercy what Quidditch is all about,” said head coach Brandon Gillespie.
14 members of the team were split up fairly into two co-ed teams, one wearing green and one in white in order to provide the best entertainment possible for all of the fans in the arena.
Despite being split up into two squads, the atmosphere during the pre-game stretch was one of unity and good cheer. As both Flying Squirrels scrimmage teams stretched together, beater Thomas Cotta shouted out, “Hey guys, we might actually win this one,” a quip which was met with laughter and calmed the nerves of those with stage fright.
Once the Titans and Raiders exited the court at the end of the first half, the Squirrels quickly set up for the exhibition to begin. Seven players on each side waited in anticipation, brooms in hand and eyes closed when all of a sudden the referee yelled “brooms up” and the show was under way.
Within 30 seconds the arena became louder. Two minutes after, almost every child in the audience ran out to the sideline of the court in order to catch a closer look at the quick paced action.
After seven minutes of competitive play, the team wearing white ended up victorious in a close 70-60 match up and received not only bragging rights but homemade winner medals created from Peppermint Patties and gold construction paper handcrafted by team manager Katelyn Coberley.
On a night when the hosting Titans lost 64-53 loss to Wright State, the Flying Squirrels managed to keep their heads up with a team-bonding dinner at Red Robin for some post-game burgers and floats.
According to Squirrels player Caleb Baird, the chance to experience playing Quidditch in front of a live and unfamiliar crowd can be only summed up in one word: phenomenal.
