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A review by edgwareviabank
Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
5.0
This has to be the third time or so I'm reading Fever Pitch. I bought the Italian translation many years ago, so this was my first time reading it in English, and also the first time since I started following UK football consistently.
I think of this book often. It’s a long-time favourite, as I love to read stories that bring identity and football together, and a small part of me wishes I had the skill and courage to write my own. Most recently, watching a game with many goals and a very heated audience at the stadium, I got reminded of a specific quote, which I wanted to read out to my partner. I couldn't remember where exactly in the book it was, and when I realised I could get the book through my online library’s app, I knew I would end up re-reading it from the start.
Boy did this bring back memories. I remembered reading it for the first time, at 14, when a girl who enjoyed football seemed somewhat of an aberration in my peer group; then recommending it to a school friend who followed the same team as me, and feeling disappointed, almost rejected, as I realised it hadn't spoken to her at all (as it turned out over the years, and a few friendship heartbreaks later, this person and I didn't have all that much in common, after all).
I remembered re-reading it shortly after moving to the UK, because I was living and studying in North London at the time, and dreamed of watching a live football game in London one day (none of the codes on the back of my Barclays ATM receipts ever won me the free ticket they promised). My small, underdog hometown team even played Arsenal in the Champions League a few months after I'd moved to London, and of course, there was no way I could afford or secure a ticket; my team hasn't competed at that level since, and knowing I could have easily watched them play Arsenal back home (where tickets cost a fraction of the price and the stadium is 5 minutes away from my parents' house) remains my biggest football missed chance to date.
I remembered considering Fever Pitch as my primary source of knowledge about English football for many years. After a break from following the sport in my early twenties, it took me a long time to get my old enthusiasm about watching games on TV back, and even longer to get my bearings on the Premier League, which I now follow alongside the Italian Serie A. By the time I opened the book again this year, I was finally able to see how outdated that first injection of knowledge was, how much has changed since I first read about players who now seem to come from a distant past. At the time Nick Hornby's narration ends, the Premier League didn't even exist yet. There were no multi-billion international transfers, no Emirates stadium, and none of the players I'm old enough to remember. The aggressive and dangerous fan behaviours he describes in a few of the chapters couldn't be farther from the relatively safe atmosphere of my Italian small town's stadium, and from what I've seen so far in the UK - though, on second thoughts, going to my first Rome derby earlier this year (as a neutral, accompanying a supporter of one of the two teams) was a fraught, somewhat scary experience I wouldn't recommend.
Nick Hornby and I grew up learning to love football at wildly different times, and still, there's so much I can relate to. His observations about human behaviour, the notes about passion and obsession, and the coming-of-age angle speak to football fans of all ages, everywhere. I can totally see myself reading Fever Pitch again, maybe more than once in my life. Who knows where I'll be in my football fan's arc then.
I think of this book often. It’s a long-time favourite, as I love to read stories that bring identity and football together, and a small part of me wishes I had the skill and courage to write my own. Most recently, watching a game with many goals and a very heated audience at the stadium, I got reminded of a specific quote, which I wanted to read out to my partner. I couldn't remember where exactly in the book it was, and when I realised I could get the book through my online library’s app, I knew I would end up re-reading it from the start.
Boy did this bring back memories. I remembered reading it for the first time, at 14, when a girl who enjoyed football seemed somewhat of an aberration in my peer group; then recommending it to a school friend who followed the same team as me, and feeling disappointed, almost rejected, as I realised it hadn't spoken to her at all (as it turned out over the years, and a few friendship heartbreaks later, this person and I didn't have all that much in common, after all).
I remembered re-reading it shortly after moving to the UK, because I was living and studying in North London at the time, and dreamed of watching a live football game in London one day (none of the codes on the back of my Barclays ATM receipts ever won me the free ticket they promised). My small, underdog hometown team even played Arsenal in the Champions League a few months after I'd moved to London, and of course, there was no way I could afford or secure a ticket; my team hasn't competed at that level since, and knowing I could have easily watched them play Arsenal back home (where tickets cost a fraction of the price and the stadium is 5 minutes away from my parents' house) remains my biggest football missed chance to date.
I remembered considering Fever Pitch as my primary source of knowledge about English football for many years. After a break from following the sport in my early twenties, it took me a long time to get my old enthusiasm about watching games on TV back, and even longer to get my bearings on the Premier League, which I now follow alongside the Italian Serie A. By the time I opened the book again this year, I was finally able to see how outdated that first injection of knowledge was, how much has changed since I first read about players who now seem to come from a distant past. At the time Nick Hornby's narration ends, the Premier League didn't even exist yet. There were no multi-billion international transfers, no Emirates stadium, and none of the players I'm old enough to remember. The aggressive and dangerous fan behaviours he describes in a few of the chapters couldn't be farther from the relatively safe atmosphere of my Italian small town's stadium, and from what I've seen so far in the UK - though, on second thoughts, going to my first Rome derby earlier this year (as a neutral, accompanying a supporter of one of the two teams) was a fraught, somewhat scary experience I wouldn't recommend.
Nick Hornby and I grew up learning to love football at wildly different times, and still, there's so much I can relate to. His observations about human behaviour, the notes about passion and obsession, and the coming-of-age angle speak to football fans of all ages, everywhere. I can totally see myself reading Fever Pitch again, maybe more than once in my life. Who knows where I'll be in my football fan's arc then.