Fever Pitch Each chapter is about a football match that he remembers watching, most but not all at Arsenal Stadium, Highbury, and how it related to the events that were going on with his life. As well as recounting Arsenal's highs and lows, Hornby talks about other football clubs that played in London. "Fever Pitch" sold over a million copies in the United Kingdom. It won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year in 1992 and was reprinted with a new cover and made available as part of the 2005–06 Arsenal F.C. membership pack as part of the "Final Salute" to
Fever Pitch Highbury Stadium. The book was made a Penguin Modern Classic in August 2012. A 1997 film version of "Fever Pitch", with a screenplay adapted by Hornby, fictionalised the story, concentrating on Arsenal's First Division championship-winning season in 1988–89 and its effect on the protagonist's romantic relationship. Paul Ashworth, played by Colin Firth, the character based on Hornby, a teacher at a school in North London and his burgeoning romance with Sarah Hughes (Ruth Gemmell), a new teacher who joins Ashworth's school. The film culminates with Arsenal playing title rivals Liverpool in the final game of the season on 26 May