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Chapter 37
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 continues going to all of Arsenal’s games even though they are always boring because Arsenal is a mediocre team. After one such game, a journalist interviews one of the players, Alan Durban, and Durban says, “If you want entertainment, go and watch clowns.” The quote becomes famous for epitomizing the decline of English football—people seem to only care about the score. Nick thinks that Durban is right, though: football players shouldn’t be responsible for entertaining. Their only responsibility is to keep their fans happy by winning as much as possible. Nick realizes that the media sees football very differently from how fans do.
Professional sports are generally seen as a form of entertainment, but Nick’s view offers a different perspective. Nick doesn’t see football as entertainment—in fact, he almost never has a good time when he attends Arsenal games. However, the idea that people watch football just to see their team win doesn’t seem right either. Arsenal doesn’t have a history of winning often, but that doesn’t deter Nick from watching them. Ultimately, whether Nick realizes it or not, football provides its fans with community and identity, and these seems to be the key factors that keep people invested.
Themes
