fever pitch
I just finished re-reading Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch in preparation for the World Cup. He's hilarious, and so tight. Awesome.
For those of you who haven't read it (so, um, everyone?), the book deals with Hornby's obsession with football and with Arsenal in particular. (In the late 60s, when he started watching, Arsenal had a reputation for being boring, and regularly finished the season hovering somewhere in the middle of the table. These days they are closer to the top, still notoriously hard to beat, but they play with a lot more style, thanks, in large part, to the French imports.) He describes how Arsenal shaped his thinking and his emotional habits, how sick he feels before a game, how crushed when they come so close and lose.
I've put my footie obsession on the back-burner this year; I didn't get cable so I wouldn't spend 6 hours a week watching men in shorts throw tantrums when they got fouled. But school's out and the World Cup's coming and yet somehow it's all remained blocked out: the gut-wrenching hysteria, the grown men weeping into their pints, the long, sweltering days in the air-conditioner-less pubs, everyone cheering and groaning and praying in unison. (Honestly, the only time I ever believe in god is when England's down two points with ten minutes left in the game.)
This is gonna be awesome.
Does anyone reading watch? What are your teams?
As a Canadian of Indian descent (via Kenya), my pickings are slim. Canada and India are, of course, useless when it comes to the beautiful game (although the Canadian U20s just beat Brazil! Brazil!!); and during the qualifiers Kenya got into a bit of trouble concerning the length of their shirt sleeves, and couldn't play. (No, I'm serious.) So my standard teams are Ireland (cause my footie-obsessed friend Ais supports them, and Keane - Roy, not Robbie - is awesome, but Roy left, and they didn't qualify this year), England (cause my bro was born there, and Beckham-mania cracks me up), Italy (for the drama, and Ale), and France (for Thierry Henry). This year I'm also throwing my heart in with Trinidad (cause Poopyloopy's moving there) and the various African teams (on the basis of proximity to Kenya.) The former is, of course, foolish of me, since there's no chance in heck that they'll win, or, to be honest, even survive the first round. I will be pretty impressed if they make it through their first game, against Sweden, without collectively breaking down on the pitch and pleading for mercy.
For those of you who haven't read it (so, um, everyone?), the book deals with Hornby's obsession with football and with Arsenal in particular. (In the late 60s, when he started watching, Arsenal had a reputation for being boring, and regularly finished the season hovering somewhere in the middle of the table. These days they are closer to the top, still notoriously hard to beat, but they play with a lot more style, thanks, in large part, to the French imports.) He describes how Arsenal shaped his thinking and his emotional habits, how sick he feels before a game, how crushed when they come so close and lose.
I've put my footie obsession on the back-burner this year; I didn't get cable so I wouldn't spend 6 hours a week watching men in shorts throw tantrums when they got fouled. But school's out and the World Cup's coming and yet somehow it's all remained blocked out: the gut-wrenching hysteria, the grown men weeping into their pints, the long, sweltering days in the air-conditioner-less pubs, everyone cheering and groaning and praying in unison. (Honestly, the only time I ever believe in god is when England's down two points with ten minutes left in the game.)
This is gonna be awesome.
Does anyone reading watch? What are your teams?
As a Canadian of Indian descent (via Kenya), my pickings are slim. Canada and India are, of course, useless when it comes to the beautiful game (although the Canadian U20s just beat Brazil! Brazil!!); and during the qualifiers Kenya got into a bit of trouble concerning the length of their shirt sleeves, and couldn't play. (No, I'm serious.) So my standard teams are Ireland (cause my footie-obsessed friend Ais supports them, and Keane - Roy, not Robbie - is awesome, but Roy left, and they didn't qualify this year), England (cause my bro was born there, and Beckham-mania cracks me up), Italy (for the drama, and Ale), and France (for Thierry Henry). This year I'm also throwing my heart in with Trinidad (cause Poopyloopy's moving there) and the various African teams (on the basis of proximity to Kenya.) The former is, of course, foolish of me, since there's no chance in heck that they'll win, or, to be honest, even survive the first round. I will be pretty impressed if they make it through their first game, against Sweden, without collectively breaking down on the pitch and pleading for mercy.
posted by j | 3:14 PM
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