In this term paper, the author will analyse the depiction of masculinity in Fever Pitch, taking it as a representative for the New Lad genre of the 1990s. In August 2012, it was selected as a Penguin Modern Classic. One could say that, as a whole, it is an “extended metaphor on the ways in which football provides analogies to other aspects of life” (Bentley, 2008, p.118).įirst published in 1992, it was Hornby’s first book and has since sold over a million copies in the United Kingdom and is considered to be a vanguard in the literary genre of New Lad writings. Just like a traditional coming-of- age narrative, the reader follows the protagonist from childhood into adulthood.Īccording to the author, Fever Pitch is not just about a man’s obsession for football: “The book is also, in part, an exploration of some of the meanings that football seems to contain for many of us” (1992, p.3). The author states: “I have measured out my life in Arsenal fixtures” (Hornby, 1992, p.81. Fever Pitch is almost written like a journal, but uses the mentioned football matches instead of dates. One chapter, for example, is titled “Just like a woman” followed by the subheading “Cambridge United vs Exeter City, 29.4.78” (Hornby, 1992, p.96).

Grouped as a series of short contemplations in chronological order, each chapter is given the title of a certain football match that the author had attended. As a semi-autobiographic coming-of-age narrative about love, friendship, labour and Nick Hornby’s obsession for football, the luck and success of Arsenal, the author’s favourite team, reflects the ups and downs of his own life. Besides the topic of football, it is the author’s own story about growing up as a British child of the 1960s, an era which was shaped by issues of class and questions about the existence of a British identity. One of the most prominent writings on football and football fandom is Nick Hornby’s Fever Pitch. The so called “beautiful game” has served as a template for countless movies, books, plays and other cultural goods. The enthusiasm for the game of football extends far beyond the crowded bleachers of modern stadiums in metropolitan areas around the globe and handcrafted goal posts on agrarian fields in the British Lake District. “ Football is not a woman ’ s game, it ’ s not a pastime for milksops or sissies, it ’ s a man ’ s game.

Gender identity - Hegemonial concepts of masculinity

Fever pitch novel