The Agony and Ecstasy of Football Fandom: Norway’s “Viking Row” and Other Soccer Chants

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Crowd of Norway football fans in red shirts perform the Viking Row cheer in unison at a stadium during the 2026 World Cup match against Senegal.

Composite image featuring the faces of fans painted in their national flags, representing each of the 48 teams participating in the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Fans performing the Mexican wave during the UEFA Euro 2016 Group A match between France and Romania at Stade de France in Paris, France.

Distressed football supporters flee across a stadium walkway, some clutching bags and holding their heads, with crowded stands and scattered debris in the background.

Argentina supporters cheer in a stadium beneath a large banner showing illustrations of Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, both wearing number 10 Argentina jerseys.

Three England soccer fans wearing lion manes and team jerseys cheer and pose with fists raised before a FIFA World Cup match at a stadium.

Merlin the Duck, a white Peking duck, wears a green Mexico national soccer team jersey and black socks while walking on a paved surface in Mexico City.

A Japan World Cup fan in face paint and costume collects trash in a blue bag among empty stadium seats after the match between Tunisia and Japan in Monterrey, Mexico.

Four USA soccer fans in striped team shirts pose together, two wearing bald eagle masks and two wearing Statue of Liberty crowns, before a World Cup match at Seattle Stadium.

Norwegian fans and the “Viking Row”

The Agony and Ecstasy of Football Fandom: Norway’s “Viking Row” and Other Soccer Chants: Media

Soccer chants, Ultras, and hooliganism

Images

Crowd of Norway football fans in red shirts perform the Viking Row cheer in unison at a stadium during the 2026 World Cup match against Senegal.

Norwegian fans at the 2026 FIFA World Cup

Supporters of the Norway football team performing the “Viking Row” during a 2026...

© Timothy A. Clary—AFP/Getty Images

Composite image featuring the faces of fans painted in their national flags, representing each of the 48 teams participating in the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Football makes the world go round

This composite image shows one fan from each of the 48 national teams participating...

© Getty Images

Fans performing the Mexican wave during the UEFA Euro 2016 Group A match between France and Romania at Stade de France in Paris, France.

The Mexican wave

Fans performing the Mexican wave during the UEFA Euro 2016 Group A match between...

© Matthias Hangst/Getty Images

Distressed football supporters flee across a stadium walkway, some clutching bags and holding their heads, with crowded stands and scattered debris in the background.

Heysel Stadium disaster

Football (soccer) spectators at Heysel Stadium in Brussels fleeing violence after...

© Dominique Faget—AFP/Getty Images

Argentina supporters cheer in a stadium beneath a large banner showing illustrations of Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, both wearing number 10 Argentina jerseys.

Argentine fans at the 2026 FIFA World Cup

Supporters of the Argentina football team cheering in front of a banner depicting...

© Paul Ellis—AFP/Getty Images

Three England soccer fans wearing lion manes and team jerseys cheer and pose with fists raised before a FIFA World Cup match at a stadium.

English fans at the 2026 FIFA World Cup

English fans dressed as lions posing for photographs ahead of the team's 2026 FIFA...

© Buda Mendes/Getty Images

Merlin the Duck, a white Peking duck, wears a green Mexico national soccer team jersey and black socks while walking on a paved surface in Mexico City.

Mexico's unofficial World Cup mascot

Merlin the Duck became the breakout, unofficial mascot of Mexico at the 2026 FIFA...

© Luke Hales/Getty Images

A Japan World Cup fan in face paint and costume collects trash in a blue bag among empty stadium seats after the match between Tunisia and Japan in Monterrey, Mexico.

Japanese fan at the 2026 FIFA World Cup

A Japanese football team fan clearing trash from the stands after his team's 2026...

© David Ramos/Getty Images

Four USA soccer fans in striped team shirts pose together, two wearing bald eagle masks and two wearing Statue of Liberty crowns, before a World Cup match at Seattle Stadium.

American fans at the 2026 FIFA World Cup

Fans of the United States men's national soccer team (USMNT), dressed as bald eagles...

© Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Norwegian fans and the “Viking Row”

Norwegian fans and the “Viking Row”

Norwegian football fans cheering their team by doing the “Viking Row” during a 2026...

© Timothy A. Clary—AFP/Getty Images

A Portugal supporter in a stadium holds a banner depicting Cristiano Ronaldo as a saint, surrounded by fans wearing red at a 2026 World Cup match in Houston.

Portuguese fans at the 2026 FIFA World Cup

A Portugal team supporter posing with a banner depicting superstar Cristiano Ronaldo...

© Ronaldo Schemidt—AFP/Getty Images

Fans in yellow Brazil jerseys gather in Times Square, waving large banners with illustrations of soccer legends Pele and Mario Zagallo ahead of the 2026 World Cup match.

Brazilian fans in Times Square

Brazilian football (soccer) fans gathering in Times Square ahead of the team's 2026...

© Daniela Porcelli/Getty Images

Congo DR fan Michel Nkuka Mboladinga, known as Lumumba Vea, stands still in a red jacket and blue pants amid cheering fans at a FIFA World Cup match in Guadalajara Stadium.

Democratic Republic of the Congo superfan

Michel Nkuka Mboladinga from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, also known as...

© Ryan Pierse—FIFA/Getty Images

A Mexico fan in a colorful luchador mask and Mexican flag holds up a replica World Cup trophy, celebrating in a stadium before a football match.

Mexican flair at the 2026 FIFA World Cup

A Mexican fan wearing a wrestling (luchador) mask and holding a replica of the World...

© Ulises Ruiz—AFP/Getty Images

Curacao football supporters, including superfan Roald Balentien with his face and beard painted blue, cheer and pose with a Curacao flag in a stadium crowd.

Curaçao fans at the 2026 FIFA World Cup

Curaçao superfan Roald Balentien (center), known as “Captain Blue Face,” at his country's...

© Ronaldo Schemidt—AFP/Getty Images