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Chapter 55
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
Many Arsenal fans go to the away game at Chelsea, hoping Arsenal continue their streak. But it is a horrible game, and Arsenal loses badly. At Chelsea, the fans have to stay in the stadium for half an hour after the game while the streets outside clear, and during this half hour it starts to snow. While the crowd waits in the stadium, someone comes out with a rolling machine to maintain the field. As he drives up and down, he repeatedly gives the Arsenal fans the finger when he passes their section.
This is a particularly miserable game. It doesn’t snow very often in London, especially in March, so the weather is especially uncomfortable. The field maintenance worker who gives the Arsenal fans the finger exemplifies the cruel and aggressive side of football culture that Nick resents. But the name of this chapter—“Just Another Saturday”—suggests that Nick simply accepts the misery that football brings.
Themes
