Previous
Chapter 30
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
Nick is nearly finished with college, but he has no career ambitions at all. The only thing he wants is for Arsenal to win a Cup Final, which seems to him like a personal goal. A few days before the 1979 Cup Final, Margaret Thatcher runs for Prime Minister, and a few days after the game, Nick has his final exams. He doesn’t care about either of these events as much as he does about the game (though he does find Mrs. Thatcher’s campaign disturbing).
Nick is once again so deeply absorbed in his obsession with Arsenal that he neglects his own personal responsibilities. At the same time, the pressure of graduating and taking on more responsibilities likely pushes him further into the obsession. Margaret Thatcher is a controversial conservative political leader who soon becomes the first female Prime Minister.
Themes
The Cup Final between Arsenal and Manchester United is a close game, and near the end it looks like Manchester will win. Nick fights off tears, hating his team for letting him down. In the last two minutes of the game, Arsenal makes a comeback and wins the Cup Final. Nick is enthusiastic, but in the coming days he feels empty. Arsenal winning the Cup is the only thing he’s ever really wanted, and now that it happened, he doesn’t know what to do with himself.
The emptiness that Nick feels upon Arsenal’s victory is, again, a symptom of his severe obsession. Nick thought that all he wanted was for Arsenal to win, just as he thinks that Arsenal is all he cares about. In reality, he suppresses his real desires and problems and uses football to escape them. It doesn’t work as a long-term solution.
Themes
