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Chapter 74
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, in the present, admits that he was afraid to write about football, fearing it might diminish the joy he gets from the game. Instead, however, he has learned to enjoy it even more. When he started writing the book in 1991, Arsenal made it to the European Cup, and Nick went to Portugal to see them play. Arsenal had an exciting series of games before finally being defeated. Nick describes seeing them at Highbury, their home turf, on a cold January day. In that moment, he feels like a kid again, as though his dad might be right next to him, complaining about the weather.
Revisiting his childhood memories of seeing Arsenal with his dad gets to the core of why Nick is so devoted to Arsenal. The team has been a part of his development since he was a young child. From the time he was 11 until well into his teenage years, almost all of Nick’s memories of his dad are at Arsenal games. Football is an inseparable part of Nick’s childhood, family, and coming of age.
Themes
