FEVER PITCH AND PERFECT CATCH

In 1989 on this day, Liverpool and Arsenal played out a thrilling Premier League title decider when at Anfield, the home side did not need to win! At home, Liverpool just had to avoid a two-goal defeat which would allow them to take the title. Having won their last ten home matches, Liverpool players and the adoring crowd were shocked when Alan Smith gave The Gunners the lead after 52 minutes. Later with around 80 seconds left on the clock, Liverpool fans were celebrating, but Michael Thomas had something left in his tank, when he chipped the ball over Bruce Grobelaar to grab the victory from the home side and crowd! This inspired Nick Hornby to write "Fever Pitch".

After finishing the previous season without winning any titles, Manchester United can match this excitement, when on this day in 1999, the Red Devils completed an historic Football Treble. Two late,late goals from Sheringham and Solskjaer were enough to beat Bayern Munich in the most dramatic fashion ever to a European UEFA Champions League. United had also won the Premier League and the FA Cup that season.

This made them the first English club to achieve this feat. The final match of the Champions League, where they beat Bayern Munich, was particularly dramatic, with two late goals in injury time. This event, which took place in May 1999, cemented their legacy in football history. 

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 1988-9 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 1989, in which a last minute Michael Thomas goal gives Arsenal the 2–0 win they need to win the title. Fever Pitch compares Hornby's life at Arsenal and other football clubs.

A 2005 film remake of Fever Pitch, directed by the Farrelly Brothers with Hornby as an executive producer, starred Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore. In this adaptation (based on the 1997 film, not the 1992 book), the action is moved from London to Boston, the focus of the protagonist's obsession is shifted from football to baseball and the story is based on the 2004 Boston Red Sox season, which culminated with the team's first Major League Baseball World series victory  in 86 years. This championship was entirely coincidental; the 2005 version was being filmed during the 2004 regular season, including scenes filmed at Fenway Park during actual games. As the Red Sox continued to progress through the playoffs, the Farrellys rewrote the script to include the historic moment. The movie was renamed The Perfect Catch outside North America, to avoid confusion with the 1997 film.