We Ate All The Pies: How Football Swallowed Britain Whole
Author(s): John Nicholson (Author)
Publisher: Biteback
Publication Date: 19 Aug. 2010
Language: English
Print length: 256 pages
ISBN-10: 1849540675
ISBN-13: 9781849540674
Book Description
Football is weird. Damn weird. Why do we love it so intensely? Why are millions of us utterly obsessed by it? Is it a kind of drug or some sort of hypnosis? It can t just be the 22 preening millionaires running around on a rectangle of grass that keeps us all hooked. Have you watched football? A lot of it is so boring it can make your eyes melt. In We Ate All the Pies, John Nicholson, gonzo sports writer and star columnist for www.football365. com asks a question which few, if anyone has asked before; just why is football so damn popular? Football is Britain s big love. It has consumed the nation totally. Drawing on his life as a devoted football obsessive and lifelong Middlesbrough fan, John delves into the culture that surrounds the game to discover how and why it has got under the skin of the British public like no other sport. He explores the history of the football shirt in style and design; how and why sponsorship became the norm; the culture of food inside the ground, around the stadium and in the pubs and clubs and how the modern trend of fine dining changed the match day experience (explaining why prawn sandwiches are the perfect expression of the class-politics of football in Britain). From the crucial role booze and food takes, to the importance of shirts and merchandise, John also considers how football helps define who we are, who we think we are, how we behave, how it affects our relationships in life and how the game is used by people to vent their everyday frustrations and emotions. Along the way, he also recounts the history of football on TV and how it changed perceptions of teams and countries (in particular, the 1970 World Cup TV revolution) and just what part the game takes in the intricate complexities of national identity, not least of being a Teessider, Northern and English, in that order! This is a unique, funny, warm and thought provoking excursion into our football lives, told in John s trademark off-beat, powerful and irreverent style.
Editorial Reviews
Review
Two words guaranteed to make any piece of writing worth reading: John and Nicholson…..even when you don’t agree with him you sort of wish you did. In fact, you wonder if you even agree with yourself any more –Sid Lowe, The Guardian
Johnny has ideas about football you didn’t know you had until you find yourself nodding along to every word. Except the words that drive you mental, of course. But the beauty of Johnny is that you love those words too.’ –Sarah Winterburn, Editor. Football365
John is often compared to Hunter S Thompson, to Vivian Stanshall and to Bill Bailey, but comparisons are erroneous if they suggest that he is anything other than a 100 percent original –Steve Anglesey, Editor. Mirror.co.uk
The cumulative effect is akin to a long, rambling and unexpectedly interesting conversation with the bloke on the next stool in a pub you’ve stumbled into by accident, and is none the worse for that. –Simon Redfern, Independent on Sunday –Steve Anglesey, Editor. Mirror.co.uk
A thematic survey of football in his lifetime… with much that is perceptive or simply funny –Huw Richards, The Guardian
John is often compared to Hunter S Thompson, to Vivian Stanshall and to Bill Bailey, but comparisons are erroneous if they suggest that he is anything other than a 100 percent original –Steve Anglesey, Editor. Mirror.co.uk
A thematic survey of football in his lifetime… with much that is perceptive or simply funny –Huw Richards, The Guardian
John is often compared to Hunter S Thompson, to Vivian Stanshall and to Bill Bailey, but comparisons are erroneous if they suggest that he is anything other than a 100 percent original –Steve Anglesey, Editor. Mirror.co.uk
About the Author
John Nicholson is the star columnist of www.football365.com, the UK s most popular football website
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