5§ • Pertinent News for the Discerning Wizard • Sunday . 1 October 1999
BIL BOFFINS PONDER PLAN TO OBLIVIATE 1997: STARTING WITH THE 1997-1998 QUIDDITCH MATCHES
By: Rita Skeeter
Who could forget the sight of Gwenog Jones being dragged in chains to the Ministry to explain the disappearance during a match of Puddlemere's Wilda Griffiths, formerly Jones' lead chaser? Who could forget Alasdair Maddock's attempt to combine Quidditch with 'Footy'? Who could forget Chudley finishing 11th?
It turns out the Quidditch league can, and wants you to forget them as well. This reporter has gotten wind of a nefarious scheme to wipe 1997-1998 from the record book and pretend that the season didn't happen, like 1998-1999.
It wasn't a good season. Truly. In some ways the most notable events were those reported in The Quibbler. But this reporter questions the motives of the commissioners in actually suppressing it. Do the commissioners, who everyone knows are mere puppets for the owners, get something for their trouble?
Money, as we know, is the root of all evil, and it's the root of what's going on here. There are large sponsorships which require the teams to perform to a certain level, there are coaches and managers whose bonuses are based on improvement, and there are players who may have lifetime record achievements built into their contracts, all of which might be affected by striking a season from the books.
Regardless of the fiduciary motives of the conspiring commissioners, this kind of large change demands public debate. Decisions must be taken in the open, not in the crowded, cramped corridors of power in smoke-filled rooms behind the owner's box. They don't want you, dear reader, to have your say.
If the commissioners didn't know they were doing something wrong, they wouldn't be trying to keep it a secret. Regardless of the outcome, and at great personal risk, this reporter will continue her daily diligence to bring light to the darkest doings of the Wizarding world. It's what you deserve, dear readers.