Fever Pitch

Fandom might best be described as belonging to a community or subculture of people who share a common passion. In the case of author Nick Hornby, his fandom revolves around London-based Arsenal Football Club of the English Football League (now Premier League), which exists in the larger culture of English football. Hornby’s love and passion is the sport of football itself, but his obsession is Arsenal. In other words, he loves watching football and attending matches in general, but when Arsenal is involved, it becomes an obsessive experience because of his fandom. This is precisely the paradox that Hornby describes in writing, “what I have always wanted is to find a place where I could lose myself in the patterns and rhythms of football without caring about the score” (137). He goes on to compare that feeling of enjoying non-league football to the sourness that comes from supporting a big team.

The notion that football, despite how much he loves the game, is not a pleasurable experience for him is one that Hornby repeats countless times, and one that comes entirely from his Arsenal fandom. The emotional investment that Hornby has in Arsenal simply cannot allow him to enjoy it.