Entertainment

J.K. Rowling Really, Really Likes Field Hockey

Rowling's hilarious Olympic live-tweets revealed a different side of the author.

Getty Images / Rob Stothard

Leslie Jones’s live-tweets may have sent her straight to Rio, but other celebrities are part of the Olympics fray, too. Alongside the charismatic and super-real commentary of Samuel L. Jackson, author J.K.Rowling revealed that she is particularly passionate about the sport of field hockey today during the games.

Rowling’s tweet-worthy fanaticism didn’t show until a high-pressure penalty shoot-out. The history-making women’s field hockey match saw Great Britain, led by Kate Richardson-Walsh, struggling against the Netherlands for most of the match — until the very end, when Richardson-Walsh’s wife and teammate Helen scored a decisive shootout. What followed was, for lack of a better word, magic. Rowling’s immediate dread for her team materialized online after the shoot-out was called:

The tension rose as goalie Maddie Hinch held the fort down for the Brits:

Then, as if by miracle (or just due to the fact that she’s super talented and good at her game) Hollie Weeb came in with the winning strike. Rowling, of course, cheered:

The award-winning author was so excited that she even took back the negative words she had for the shoot-out at the beginning:

Another point of interest: Kate and Helen Richardson-Walsh not only took the gold home for their country tonight, but also made history as the first gay married couple to compete for, as well as take home, the gold medal in an Olympics competition.

Ever the good sport, Rowling concluded with some loving commentary for the Dutch: