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Chapter 16
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Fever Pitch, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Obsession vs. Fandom
Sports, Identity, and Community
Escapism
Sports and Masculinity
Summary
Analysis
The football club gives out tickets to the FA Cup Final based on loyalty to its games that season, and Nick is proud to earn a ticket. It gives him a sense of belonging, which he feels he deserves after all the bad and difficult games he has suffered through. At Wembley stadium, Arsenal loses the Cup Final. Nick is devastated. He doesn’t know how he will continue to support Arsenal, since their losses cause him so much suffering. He feels that he is too weak to be a football fan.
Nick is so upset that he nearly falls over. A Leeds fan standing next to him sees this and puts his arm around Nick, holding him upright and comforting him. Nick sees that he is an older man with his son and young grandson. At the same time, a couple angry Arsenal fans come over and take the Leeds scarf off the young boy’s neck. The boy’s father yells at the Arsenal fans, and they start a fist fight. Nick flees.
It is a beautiful moment when a fan of the opposing team helps Nick, but the aggressive and mean-spirited Arsenal fans ruin the occasion. Arsenal fanbase’s negative attitude originally attracted Nick to the team, as he felt comfortable being unhappy around them. Eventually, though, Nick becomes ashamed of their violent tendencies.
Themes
