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Chapter 45
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
Cambridge United is having a bad season, but they beat Newcastle in an uneventful game. In celebration, the DJ plays the song, “I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts.” Nick remembers this game fondly because it was a rare moment of joy in his support of Cambridge. This is the last Cambridge game he attends, deciding to focus his attention on Arsenal. Sometimes he misses Cambridge games when Arsenal is particularly difficult to support.
Nick’s memory of his time supporting Cambridge may be skewed. He fondly remembers this game, where Cambridge defeats Newcastle, but Cambridge has overall been difficult to support just as Arsenal has. Nick often focuses on his teams’ rare victories as evidence that they bring him joy, forgetting how much misery they also bring. The ups and downs of the football season seem to fuel Nick’s fixation.
Themes
