Corrie doth protest too much (![]() ![]() @ 2012-03-20 22:20:00 |
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Entry tags: | !owl, corrie-pye |
Meaghan McCormack has been known for many things in her time, some of them unprintable in a reputable newspaper. From her scandalous-at-the-time birth to the drunken post-game hijinks of her 20s and beyond (not to mention several tantalizing and persistent rumours from her school days), she has always lived a life just ripe for gossip. It’s no wonder some Hogwarts parents were skeptical or even appalled at her being the choice to coach the school’s team and represent our great nation at the start of the Junior International Quidditch Tournament. “What will our children learn from her?” they could almost be heard to cry. And why should this woman, who despite her age and overbearing nature has never been known to express an interest in even being captain, and who seems to not have a responsible bone in her body, be allowed such a coveted position?
These doubts were silenced when Hogwarts rose quickly to the lead of the tournament, playing solid, exciting and -- most importantly -- undefeated Quidditch. But should they have been? Is our team’s continued position at the top of the rankings due to McCormack’s influence, or in spite of it?
It can’t be denied that McCormack knows how to play Quidditch. Raised alone by her mum, the powerhouse international Quidditch star Catriona McCormack (best known for playing for the Scottish National Team a whopping 36 times), Meaghan followed in her mother’s footsteps from an early age, despite her brother Kirley being the one initially expected to do. Even when Kirley set aside his family name and heritage in favour of a music career and the somewhat foppish “Duke,” Big Sis never faltered. Her dedication to sport was gleeful and tireless, much like her personal life. So much so that when she resurfaced after the war with a baby and a beau, there were not a few who weren’t sure whether this was the dawning of a bright new future, or cause for alarm and possibly, intervention.
Could Meaghan McCormack raise a child? More importantly, should she? The subject had never seriously been broached, possibly because her well-documented adventurous youth had never resulted in any known pregnancy until her son Alexander (24, C-PoP). Many assumed it wasn’t a matter of choice but ability, and many more might, if pressed, have felt this was all the better. If Catriona McCormack’s own scandalous life was a factor in deciding her daughter’s personality, how much worse could Meaghan’s own children turn out?
Not too terribly, it seemed. Son Alex appeared from an early age to be energetic but well-mannered, personable and, of course, good on a broom. Two daughters came along in time, and all appeared well, though it could be argued this was more thanks to their sensible father Augustus Pye than to any influence from Mum. It even seemed to have an influence on Mum herself. The nights of wild partying were reported less and less, and over time some began to wonder if Meaghan had done what many thought impossible for her -- if she had settled down. Retiring from her long-held Keeping position with Pride of Portree and accepting an offer to coach in the new and prestigious IAQ tournament should have been the final death knell for the infamously immature McCormack the Younger, paving a new and wiser path to mentoring Future Quidditch Stars.
But the team was rife with strife from the beginning, combining students from the four houses who had always been rivals, and many remarked that it seemed splintered, and worried that they would prove ineffective. Others worried that the greatest liability was McCormack’s own daughter, Coronation Street Pye (17, C-Huff), who gave such a lackluster performance in the team’s first two matches that her parentage was nearly brought into question. Was she only allowed on the team due to nepotism, just as some thought of Meaghan herself when she joined Pride of Portree? Most important, would her explosive temper, reportedly a match for her mum’s, get in the way of further victory? Meaghan was kept well in line by Captain Catriona, at least on the pitch, but Catriona’s authority had a certain stern quality that brooked no argument. Was Meaghan, with a past even more colourful than her mother’s, ready and able to do the same with her own daughter?
From the recent news of the change to Hogwarts’ lineup [see article on this page], it would seem not. Something gave -- something had to have given, and with young Coronation replaced and even a new reserve to take the place of her replacement, it looks to have given in a very permanent way. But what was the origin, mother or daughter? The team, unsurprisingly, is keeping mum, making it anyone’s guess. Hogwarts supporters will doubtless carry on in the hope that it was the younger to blame and they’re well shot of her, but the fact remains that it was Meaghan assaulting the press who came to visit her this morning [see right for photo] while her daughter was nowhere to be seen, either today at her family’s home in Cornwall, or Saturday on the Hogwarts Express.
But one thing does seem certain: despite acts of violence and protestations that “her girl can do whatever she bloody well likes,” (a quote from Meaghan McCormack if ever one existed) recruiters, captains and coaches would be justified in hesitating over Miss Pye in the future. Even if she passed tryouts with an unbiased judge, if for whatever reason she was unable to handle the IAQ tournament, how could she be expected to handle professional Quidditch any better?
Along with this opinion piece, there was a more factual (but still gleefully anti-McCormack) article detailing the lineup changes, and in the center of the page, a colour photo of Meaghan throwing things at a group of reporters outside a log cabin while her husband tries in vain to hold her back.