A quote from Fever Pitch

JANUARY 19, 2003

Novel by Nick Hornby

I picked up this book based on its listing in Sports Illustrated's top sports books of all time.  The book is about the author's obsession with English soccer, and in particular his beloved English Premier League powerhouse Arsenal.  Here is a brief selection:

"As I get older, the tyranny that football exerts over my life, and therefore over the lives of people around me, is less reasonable and less attractive.  Family and friends know, after long years of wearying experience, that the fixture list [schedule] always has the last word in any arrangement; they understand, or at least accept, that christenings or wedding or any gatherings, which in other families would take unquestioned precedence, can only be plotted after consultation.  So football is regarded as a given disability that has to be worked around.  If I were wheelchair-bound, nobody close to me would organise anything in a top-floor flat, so why would they plan anything for a winter Saturday afternoon?"

You check out more selections from the book here:  Fever Pitch, by Nick Hornby

Review:  This book is outstanding.  For a yank like myself, I had to figure out some of the stuff Hornby was talking about.  Bottom line:  This guy is talented.  I look forward to reading some of his other books including High Fidelity.  I hear they are making a movie soon.