I wouldnt. Yeah it gives you bragging rights over the other houses, but that's literally it. Why the big fuss? Its not like you get money. Or extra credit. Or even a pizza party. Your head of house just gets a trophy. I can understand being happy you won, but I wouldn't be deterred from breaking rules if I'd just lose house points. It wouldn't make the slightest difference to me.
shareWell I'm not sure, I might be forgetting something obvious from the films but one of the high schools I went to had a similar sort of thing with house points, no trophy though. However, the winning house usually got some sort of prize or reward if they won. So I assume, unless I am forgetting something, that there would actually be some sort of reward for the winning house beyond just the cup?
shareOther than having the banners in the great hall bear the winning houses colors, I dont think there was any reward for winning. Maybe to some people just the thrill of victory is enough, but to me, I'm surprised so many students care as much as they do. I'm surprised more students arent like Fred and George, who arent afraid of losing house points and have fun and mess around.
shareYou might not care, but other students do. In the book, when Harry, Hermione and Neville lose Gryffindor 150 house points, their fellow Gryffindors turn on them and shun them, and Harry is actually HATED then. So obviously, the house points and the trophy matter to many Houses, and it's not just the bragging rights, as you put it, it's a matter of PRIDE and HONOUR.
I never said they didnt care.....I actually said the opposite. I'm questioning why they cared so much. The reaction the Gryffendors had when Harry and the other two lost the points was ridiculous. Because it really doesnt matter. And I dont see anything prideful or honorable about the house cup, since it's not a fair system. Seeing as Snape would take points for no reason just to hurt the other houses and never took points from Sytherin even when he had proof they did things wrong.
shareMany people like to compete, whatever the means. Competing usually implies a desire to win. This is completely normal. So competing for and winning the house cup can be a goal all on its own even without a prize.
That you don't care doesn't imply anything bad about you. We're all different. Even the desire to compete doesn't imply that a person would enjoy all means.
I have very little interest in sports. I hope my home teams win, but have no desire to watch or listen to them. On the other hand, my wife and I compete in certain artistic competitions. I will watch videos of those type of competition even if we're aren't competing in that particular event.
The point is to learn to work together as a team. Some schools actually do this as a way to encourage good behavior and hard work. Students end up encouraging each other. My nieces school does something like this. Sure an adult may not care but many kids do.
shareBecause it is steeped in tradition and that kind of heritage still matters in the anti-modern wizarding world. Whether it was Rowling's intention or not, a major theme of HP is the longing for traditions and cultural heritage that has been lost over the decades. The wizarding world is a representation of how Britain and other western societies used to be before roughly the 50's or 60's or so, and these books/movies are so appealing because people dislike the modern world and want a return to tradition, at least culturally.
shareI agree with you, Hans. Yes, it is clear that some students see the House Cup thing as a huge matter of pride and honor. That is made perfectly clear in an incident, that has been mentioned in this thread: that Harry and Ron and Neville were hated by their fellow Gryffindors, when they had lost 150 points in one night. But I never was a fan of following rules for the sake of following rules, so I would probably have lost points from my house now and then. Then again, I was lucky to not have to go to a tradition-ridden boarding school, where it seems like everybody in sight, except for maybe the class clown and some other outcasts, has a stick up their butt. Still, I was in trouble a few times in my school days.
Refreshingly though, it is made clear that Harry and his pals learn to not care too much about the house points either. They know that helping a friend out or stopping a villain is more important than winning the House Cup, or keeping a shallow popularity. And luckily, Dumbledore is very understanding with that kids can't follow the rules all the time.