Knowing my love for football, my friend actually recommended me to read this book. And so I did.I present to you: Nick Hornby's "Fever Pitch".
After reading a few pages, I loved the book. It fully describes and captures the emotions and meaning of a true football fan.
The story begins when the author's father brought him to a soccer match between Arsenal and Stoke City in 1968, and despite Arsenal being infamously known as a "boring, aggressive and rough" team then (unlike the pass-and-move style that is now adopted under Arsene Wenger's tutelage), the author felt in love with the Gunners. And this began the love affair between Hornby and Arsenal Football Club.
I loved this book for various reasons. One of which is that I am able to relate to the author's thoughts and perspective as a football fan. As an ardent supporter of a favourite team, one rejoices when the team wins, and feels sad as the team loses. This is something non-football fans will never understand: that the fans and the football team are one. Nick Hornby fully demonstrates the traits of an ardent Arsenal fan when the Gunners lost 2-1 against Aston Villa:
" I was stunned and exhausted by the defeat... the next morning a girlfriend phoned me at work, and, hearing the tired dejection in my voice, asked me what was wrong. 'Haven't you heard?' I asked her pitifully. She sounded worried and then, when I hold her what had happened, I could hear, just for a second, relief - so it wasn't after all the things she had momentarily feared for me - before she remembered who she was talking to, and the relief was replaced by all the sympathy she could muster. I knew she didn't really understand this sort of pain..."
Another factor that endeared me to this book is that the author brilliantly captures the culture of football in England. While I was reading, I could vividly feel the atmosphere of a soccer match around me. I bet you will feel the same too...
"I loved the different categories of noise: the formal, ritual noise when the players emerged (each player's name called in turn, starting with the favourite, until he responded with a wave); the spontaneous shapeless roar when something exciting was happening on the pitch; the renewed vigour of the chanting after a goal or a sustained period of attacking."
The Highbury has an attendance of 50,ooo odd people every match. On average, Singapore's soccer matches have a woeful attendance of about 2000. There's no way one in Singapore could feel the same way like in Highbury.
But of course, the book also highlights the ugly side of football in Europe -- hooliganism. Hooliganism is a major threat to European football and has led to many tragedies in football, for example the Heysel incident (when a masonry wall failed then collapsed under the pressure of escaping fans in the Heysel Stadium in Belgium as a result of rioting before the start of the 1985 European Cup final between Liverpool & Juventus.)and the West Ham stabbing as described in the book. Such is the violent side of football, and unfortunately, it cannot be eradicated completely because without it this isn't football either.
If you are a football fan, this is a good book to read through. If you are not a football fan, you may not exactly endear to the author's thoughts and views, but it's worth reading to understand how a typical football fanatic feels.
