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Chapter 52
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’s mom has two cats who are named after Arsenal players, and his sister follows Arsenal, too. Nick feels guilty for dragging them into his relationship with the team. The season of 1986, Nick has season tickets to Arsenal games for the first time. He begins to think of Arsenal managers as though they are his family members, and he often dreams about them.
When Nick is a child, his mother and sister didn’t follow football at all, because it wasn’t socially acceptable for women to take an interest in the sport. The fact that they are now both Arsenal fans suggests that culture has changed since the late 1960s (when Nick was 11) to become less rigid about gender norms.
Themes
