By Tommy Lund
June 24 (Reuters) – Norway’s success at the World Cup has triggered euphoria at home, but the team’s trademark “Viking row” celebration is beginning to test the patience of their Scandinavian neighbours, drawing shrugs from Sweden and envy from Denmark.
The “Viking row” celebration has become a phenomenon at the World Cup, with captain Martin Odegaard even leading the players, coaching staff and supporters in a synchronised performance after the final whistle in their 3-2 win over Senegal, with Norwegian fans later trying to get the King of Norway to join in during the subsequent celebrations.
For the Swedes, however, their neighbours’ celebration is more of a nuisance than a novelty, with some finding the rowing simulation too reminiscent of the “thunderclap” made famous by Iceland fans in previous tournaments.
“I am never going to do it. We just sigh. Perhaps mostly at the TV crew who choose to zoom in on it every single time,” Sweden defender Gustaf Lagerbielke told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday. “It is very similar to the Icelandic volcano, after all. But, whatever floats your boat.”
Other members of the Swedish squad were similarly underwhelmed.
“It is probably starting to get a bit overused. It feels like they run it every time they get the chance. But it does work well for them, after all,” teammate Elliot Stroud added.
Yet while the Swedes can remain focused on their own camp, the Danes, absent from the tournament after a qualification play-off defeat to the Czech Republic, are finding the Norwegian euphoria much harder to stomach.
“It is bordering on Nordic adult bullying. The Norwegians are currently experiencing the party of their lives. And what is more, in the company of a national team that can actually play football,” Danish journalist Johnny Wojciech Kokborg wrote in the tabloid B.T.
“The fact is—unfortunately—that the Norwegians could end up hurting a lot of teams. But most of all, it hurts us Danes to admit that we are no longer the best in the Nordic region.”
He added: “It is simply unbearable. You are mocking us, Norway.”
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
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