A London football-obsessed school teacher has spent the last 20-some years, and every day going forward, viewing life through the one lens: his favorite team, The Arsenal Football Club. Having sublimated the grief of his parents' divorce through English Football, he views every week of his life as another football match in pursuit of fortunes always hiding.Colin Firth, who usually plays the archetypical sullen Brit, is resounding as author Nick Hornby's autobiographical noncommittal single man who's really just a lad grown up. Hornby's character then grows smitten a prim and proper English teacher who dislikes him at first but warms up to him and his enthusiasm for sport and life in general.Fever Pitch is a nice portrayal of the struggles of an irrational sports lover reluctantly coming to terms with the fact that, to the rest of the world, there are more important things than Saturday's game.written by Andy Frye, MySportsComplex.blogspot.com

Not a sports movie, per se, as those tend to focus on athletes, but a fan movie. (I wasn't aware that they were called fans in England, I had always heard the term "football supporter") Colin Firth plays a lifelong soccer fan, from his formative years. I don't know if his obsessiveness is at all common in England, but it must be enough so for people to recognize the archetype. I have not seen the American remake, which focuses on baseball, (probably because of the word "pitch" in the title) but in the States, that sort of fandom comes closer to (American) football. But it never get like this. The story is about how his fanaticism drives his entire life, overcoming love, marriage, parenthood, and all else. It's an OK film, but I find it hard to recommend.

This movie is an overlooked gem - much better than the American remake.Colin Firth's Paul really hasn't a clue as to how stunted he is emotionally, due to his obsession with his favorite football club, Arsenal. Sarah, the uptight teacher who sort of conveniently falls into his life (if she hadn't been teaching in the class next to his, he probably would have remained alone) is aghast to discover the depth of his attachment to Arsenal (the Arsenal boxers that Paul blithely sports give her the first clue).I love the scene where Paul is trying to convince her of his newfound maturity, but only succeeds in lighting his dinner napkin on fire. Firth's portrayal is quietly brilliant and hilarious. And as a baseball fan who wears rally caps and refuses to move her spot on the couch when her team is winning a big game, I found so much to relate to. I've been there with Paul in the depths of despair and the heights of delirium. Luckily I married a baseball fan too! I bought this movie on DVD after renting it, and love to watch it once or twice a year. Undeniably and proudly English, it entertained this American to no end.

Often alluded to as ' The Beautiful Game', that famous night in May 1989 exemplifies exactly why football is worthy of such an endearing nickname. And I'm not only talking on the level of how, against all odds, the resilient Arsenal snatched the title from the mighty Liverpool with practically the last kick of the season; Nor only on the level of the soaring emotional significance of that night for the losing team and their fans, who hoped to dedicate their almost-certain-victory to the 90 Liverpool fans crushed to death just a month earlier in football's most horrific tragedy; and neither on the level that the game's ball-for-ball account was delivered by one of the greatest commentators in living memory , Mr Football himself Brian Moore (R.I.P.) in which he produced one of the most famous lines in sporting history 'It's up for grabs now!'. In the light of the movie being discussed I'm going to speak on level that will further emphasise Hornby's point on fanatism and how ridiculously far some of us will take it. Yes, the championship decider between Liverpool and Arsenal had all of the above and more, but the very first thing that springs to my mind with its every mention is its aesthetics. In my opinion that night showcased 2 of the most (for lack of a better word) stunning kits to ever grace a football pitch. Both adorned with the famous 3 Adidas stripes down the sides and the old-school leaf; Liverpool in flaming all red sporting the cursive 'Candy' logo across the front in white, Arsenal in banana yellow with dark navy almost black sleeves and shorts with the neat 'JVC' logo printed on the front. I'm not sure which one I preferred but if I was to take this even further and look at the game on a metaphorical level as the 'Battle of the Shirts', I think Arsenal shaded it …just! Forget Football Factory and Greenstreet Hooligans. For all you non-football fans who wish to learn more about REAL supporters and their so-called idiosyncratic passion for their team, watch this movie. But bear in mind, as good as it is, it barely combs the fringes of Nick Hornby's more elaborate hilariously witty novel .I also recommend that you watch the last 5 minutes of the Liverpool-Arsenal championship decider of 1989. Trust me, it surpasses any Hollywood script on all levels; audio, visual, dramatic, emotional.… Fever Pitch!