27 June 2026

By Göran R Buckhorn

No, it didn’t go Norway’s way when the team met France in the World Cup match in Boston yesterday, Friday – France won 4 to 1.

I’m sure it’s not only HTBS Types that have observed the Norwegian’s special football chant: RO [“ROW”], which is followed by the motion of a rowing stroke: arms straight out – RO! – arms being pulled into the body, [repeat], the beat if often helped by someone beating on a drum.

This is how it looked when Norwegian fans took over Times Square in New York on the eve of their country’s match against Senegal, which ended 3-2 to Norway.

The Norwegian supporters not only rowed in Times Square, but they also rowed outside and inside stadiums, at the airports, hotel lobbies, the subway, sport bars, department stores, on escalators – every place where the supporters gathered, they would suddenly break out rowing.

So did the fans back home in Norway: to show their support, the Norwegian parliament “rowed”, doctors and nurses rowed at the hospitals, kids rowed at day cares, “old folks” rowed at retirement homes, groups from the Norwegian armed forces sitting on the floor rowed (cadets and higher up officers in mess dress uniforms rowed sitting on chairs).

The Norwegians’ RO chant is all over social media! It’s all good fun.

Though I can’t help expressing my disappointment in those Norwegian fans who wear helmets with horns. The Vikings never wore helmets with horns. I have written about this before, for examples in May 2018.