REUTERS/John Sibley
Erling Haaland and the Norway Men’s National Team are set to face off against Senegal on Monday at New York-New Jersey Stadium, as FIFA is calling it, but all of us affectionately know it as The Meadowlands or Met Life Stadium. Ahead of the clash, Norway fans have taken over parts of Manhattan in celebration.
It is safe to say that through two rounds of Group State matches in the World Cup, no other celebration amongst fans has topped the Norway supporters’ ‘Viking Ship’ rowing celebration. Thousands of Norway fans rowing and chanting in unison as a nod to their viking ancestry has captured the adoration of everyone watching these World Cup matches.
Norway Fans Take Over Times Square During World Cup
I was in Boston last week for Norway’s match against Iraq. We had amazing seats on the 30-yard line in the 100s section and had a perfect few of the Norway supporters doing the ‘Viking Ship’ celebration. This was my view at Foxborough during Norway-Iraq:
Flash forward a few days and Norway is set to face Senegal today/Monday. Senegal is ranked 17th in the world according to FIFA’s Men’s Rankings and a considerably tougher opponent than Iraq. So the Norway faithful turned out in full force to support the team.
REUTERS/John Sibley
Now imagine for a second you are a New Yorker who works in/around the theater district and have the incredible misfortune of walking through Times Square to get to and from work each day. But you step out of the subway and see this… Might be the best day ever? Seeing these Norway fans rowing is infinitely cooler than the thousands upon thousands of tourists there every day who all act as if it is their first day on planet earth and they don’t know how to walk on sidewalks.
Some more angles of the Times Square celebration:
Am I all-in on Erling Haaland winning the Golden Boot for the 2026 FIFA World Cup? I certainly am. It pains me to be so firmly behind a guy who is normally the face of Manchester City, a club I have no love for and actively root against, but Haaland is one of the most exciting players of the modern era. It’s incredible what he is able to do.