When Marquette Quidditch clinched a trip to nationals in November, it brought back memories of heartbreak from two years earlier for club president Nathan Digmann.
With harrowing, blizzard-ravaged roadways, power loss at their hotel and a number of crucial injuries, it was a miracle Marquette Quidditch, or any of their midwestern foes, made an appearance at the regional tournament in fall 2015. Some teams, fearing the below-freezing pitch packed with snow and enveloped by a 30 mile per hour whipping wind, requested the games not be played. The officials, after long consideration, ruled the players must mount their broomsticks and take flight.