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Heartfelt
A lifelong Hibs fan takes on the challenge that TV's "Faking It" and "Wifeswap" were too scared to even contemplate as he tries to follow his team's hated rivals Hearts for an entire season. With gritty realism and riveting detail, Aidan Smith demonstrates the importance of loyalty in being a fan. Going undercover, he swaps his colours, drinks in rivals' pubs and even sings their songs, trying to get under the skin of the opposition. His personal accounts of match days with his father and his affectionate appreciation of fan culture are as absorbing and insightful as Gary Imlach's "My Father and Other Working-Class Football Heroes". Like Imlach's book, "Heartfelt" reveals the source of a fan's passion for their team and is a must-read for every football fan dedicated to the beautiful game.
- GenresFootballNonfiction
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 29, 2021
With the football season upon us again I found this book written by a Scottish sports journalist. A few years back he decided for a one off experiment ,to cross the Edinburgh derby divide and for one season only ,he would go from supporting Hibernian to supporting their biggest rivals Hearts, going to their games home and away to watch them playing in the SPL and Europe sitting with their fans supporting Hearts.
All football fans can enjoy this book ,the fans banter pre and post match and other topics over a beer . He made some new friends and learnt some valuable lessons about life and football in general. I enjoyed this book and,
I now find myself looking out for for
Hearts and Hibs results and Pollok fc from the Scottish non league. please note this book is not about someone infiltrating a gang of football hooligans and causing trouble.
All football fans can enjoy this book ,the fans banter pre and post match and other topics over a beer . He made some new friends and learnt some valuable lessons about life and football in general. I enjoyed this book and,
I now find myself looking out for for
Hearts and Hibs results and Pollok fc from the Scottish non league. please note this book is not about someone infiltrating a gang of football hooligans and causing trouble.
August 4, 2022
Quite a dull read to be honest.
August 31, 2007
For the first book I have ever read on football, soccer, it was great fun. Though I didn't know half the stuff he was talking about he gave a great understanding of why people are so obsessed about the game. Very Cool
September 2, 2011
Not as good as I thought it might have been, the authors green tinted vision on everything wee team being exciting and superior in comparison to everything Hearts being dull and boring made me almost stop reading after the first few chapters. FTH 107 in a row
August 7, 2007
I purchased this book at the Easter Rd club shop on a visit last year and loved it! Very funny and informative for an American who wants to learn more about Hibs fitba.
July 9, 2017
This book, if you will indulge me for a few moments to call it that, is both awful and excellent.
It is awful because it is almost entirely made up, yet it is being passed off as non-fiction. There are points in the book where I actually stopped reading, looked around my bedroom, and double-checked to see if there was a talking door-knob, a skittish rabbit with a pocket watch or a dormouse poking its head out of a teapot.
Had this been the first attempt at contemporary fiction by teenager, then I'd be giving it a star. The man who wrote this is an adult. A proper one, with a job and grey hair...
The reason that I say it is also excellent, is that it very accurately highlights the state of our society these days. It shines a light on the fantasy land that modern day adults are so willing to pitch their tents in, and call real life.
I would be frankly devastated to find out that the author was not inspired by Guillermo del Toro's 'El laberinto del fauno' (Pan's Labyrinth). The way that Aiden effortlessly slips between reality and fantasy is impressive to say the least. His witty chat about the colour of socks and hair-cuts from the seventies is that of an accomplished fantasy author. You are reading about interesting historical football matches one minute, and then all of a sudden, you are whisked over the bridge that leads to Terabithia. This is no bad thing in the world of fantasy fiction, but when it's coming from a middle aged man who is attempting to tell you a story about real life culture and sport... you find yourself wishing you were the wee lassie that drowned in the bloated river, or the other wee girl who went off to live with the fairies. Instead you are left behind in the grim outback or the savage civil-war torn 40s Spain.
It's the kind of book that should have been left existing only in the author's weak mind, as opposed to being shat in to society for others to suffer.
To sum up, I once got splashed by a bus whilst walking along Shandwick Place in Edinburgh. I was on my way to work at the time. A few minutes later, I was hit in the eye by a woman's umbrella as she hurried past me at the bus stop. When I finally got to work I found out that my post was going to be made redundant. That was a terrible day. I would gladly relive that day over and over again, if it meant that I never again had to acknowledge this book's existence.
It is awful because it is almost entirely made up, yet it is being passed off as non-fiction. There are points in the book where I actually stopped reading, looked around my bedroom, and double-checked to see if there was a talking door-knob, a skittish rabbit with a pocket watch or a dormouse poking its head out of a teapot.
Had this been the first attempt at contemporary fiction by teenager, then I'd be giving it a star. The man who wrote this is an adult. A proper one, with a job and grey hair...
The reason that I say it is also excellent, is that it very accurately highlights the state of our society these days. It shines a light on the fantasy land that modern day adults are so willing to pitch their tents in, and call real life.
I would be frankly devastated to find out that the author was not inspired by Guillermo del Toro's 'El laberinto del fauno' (Pan's Labyrinth). The way that Aiden effortlessly slips between reality and fantasy is impressive to say the least. His witty chat about the colour of socks and hair-cuts from the seventies is that of an accomplished fantasy author. You are reading about interesting historical football matches one minute, and then all of a sudden, you are whisked over the bridge that leads to Terabithia. This is no bad thing in the world of fantasy fiction, but when it's coming from a middle aged man who is attempting to tell you a story about real life culture and sport... you find yourself wishing you were the wee lassie that drowned in the bloated river, or the other wee girl who went off to live with the fairies. Instead you are left behind in the grim outback or the savage civil-war torn 40s Spain.
It's the kind of book that should have been left existing only in the author's weak mind, as opposed to being shat in to society for others to suffer.
To sum up, I once got splashed by a bus whilst walking along Shandwick Place in Edinburgh. I was on my way to work at the time. A few minutes later, I was hit in the eye by a woman's umbrella as she hurried past me at the bus stop. When I finally got to work I found out that my post was going to be made redundant. That was a terrible day. I would gladly relive that day over and over again, if it meant that I never again had to acknowledge this book's existence.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews