Norwegian fans bring viral rowing celebration to World Cup stands

After Norway beat Senegal 3-2 in New Jersey, thousands of Norwegian fans sat shoulder-to-shoulder and began rowing in their seats, turning the postgame scene into the night's defining image. Players on the field soon joined in, with captain Martin Ødegaard banging a large drum as the crowd chanted “ro,” the Norwegian word for row.

The routine first surfaced in March during a 0-0 friendly draw with Switzerland, as Norway prepared for the World Cup. Since then, the Viking Row has moved far beyond the stadium bowl, showing up on subway trains, escalators and in Times Square as fans tried to recreate the same tight formation that makes the celebration work. Ashley Locke, 34, of Nashville was among the supporters who took part in a group row in Times Square on Monday. For Norway, which had not qualified for a men’s World Cup in 28 years, the celebration has become one of the team’s signature public rituals.

The tournament’s expanded scale has given those scenes a larger stage. FIFA says the 2026 men’s World Cup is the first to feature 48 teams and 104 matches across Canada, Mexico and the United States, and fan traditions have become part of the event’s public identity, not just its backdrop. Supporters are carrying those rituals into city centers, transit hubs and tourist landmarks, where imported match-day customs now sit beside the familiar pageantry of American sports crowds.

Scotland supporters have brought their own spectacle to Boston and Miami. An estimated 50,000 Scotland fans traveled to Boston for the team’s matches, filling Foxborough, Providence and downtown Boston while Boston pubs ran out of beer amid the celebrations. FIFA said Boston welcomed Scotland fans with open arms, and on June 18 Boston Mayor Michelle Wu signed a letter of intent for a twinning agreement with Glasgow while wearing a pink Scotland jersey.

The Tartan Army also decorated Boston statues with traffic cones, echoing a Glasgow tradition tied to the Duke of Wellington statue outside the Gallery of Modern Art and familiar there since the 1980s. The Boston Globe thanked the fans with a full-page note after Scotland’s match against Morocco, and one fan said the shared energy felt “very cool and special,” something that does not happen outside the World Cup.