Fever Pitch: Chapter 1 Summary & Analysis

In the present, Nick Hornby is an adult reflecting on his childhood. In 1968, Nick’s parents separate. His dad moves out to live with another woman. Nick, 11 years old at the time, lives with his mom and sister on the outskirts of London. Nick’s dad tries to plan outings with Nick and his sister for their weekly visits, but they tend to be awkward and boring. Nick is disinterested in most of his dad’s ideas for their visits. When his dad first suggests going to see a football game, Nick refuses—he has no interest in English football at this point. Eventually, Nick agrees to go to a game. 

Nick and his dad find that the football game makes their time together much less awkward—they can talk to each other if they want (and they have something to talk about), silences aren’t awkward, and the outing doesn’t feel as aimless. Nick’s nine-year-old sister doesn’t go to the game, as it isn’t customary at the time for girls to attend football games. Nick doesn’t understand much of the game, but he is struck by the immense crowd. He guesses that there are almost 20,000 people in attendance, which is nearly the population of his town. He also notices the air of masculinity—everyone smokes and curses.

In the present, adult Nick reflects on this first football game he attended with his dad. He notes that the time when he went to this game was traumatic for him—his parents had recently separated, he was temporarily homeless, he started at a new school, and he spent a period of time severely ill. These hardships contributed to the obsession Nick formed with Arsenal. He remembers that the demeanor of the crowd was bitter during the whole game, and he posits that the association of misery with entertainment is a notion that affected the rest of his life. Arsenal won the game, and, though they were a notoriously bad and boring team, he immediately became obsessed with them.