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Chapter 22
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
For the next two football seasons, Nick only goes to a few games. This is partially because Arsenal is playing worse and worse, but also because Nick’s personal life takes over. He is in his last semester of high school, and he has a part-time retail job on the weekends. Nick stops hanging out with his football friends and finds a new group of people who are interested in art and literature.
Now that Nick is almost an adult, he becomes interested in things outside of football. Having a job and social life, Nick doesn’t need the community Arsenal once offered. At this point he is merely a football fan, though he crosses the line between fan and obsessed several times throughout his life.
Themes
He goes to one game with his younger cousin Michael, and Nick watches Michael agonize over Arsenal’s loss to Manchester. Nick thinks that an obsession with football is best suited for boys who are old enough that school is hard and boring, but too young to be interested in girls.
Nick believes that he has matured and permanently grown out of his football obsession. However, his idea that football obsession is best suited for those in particular life stages does seem to ring true. Football can be a form of escapism from difficult situations, like school.
Themes
