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Chapter 69
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 remembers this specific game against Liverpool because it’s the only game he attends where he doesn’t have any nicotine the entire time. He quit for only 10 days but then continued smoking. Nick constantly believes that he will soon quit smoking permanently, but it never seems like the right time to do so. Arsenal plays into this, because high-intensity football games are hard to watch without a cigarette. Nick knows that he is really the only one who controls his own actions, but at the same time he feels that being an Arsenal fan is a “disability.” He leans into the idea that Arsenal hinders him.
Nick’s belief that he will soon quit smoking mirrors his life-long belief that he will stop relying so heavily on Arsenal. Linking football with cigarettes reinforces the idea that Nick’s Arsenal obsession is like an addiction. Both of them are unhealthy emotional crutches that Nick is unable to quit.
Themes
