{"id":752300,"date":"2026-07-09T09:41:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T09:41:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/752300\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T09:41:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T09:41:15","slug":"row-with-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/752300\/","title":{"rendered":"Row with us"},"content":{"rendered":"

Norway\u2019s historic World Cup performance has brought together Southern California\u2019s relatively small, but spirited Norwegian community.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve been packing into a San Pedro Church, a Westside Irish bar and have taught people to row like a Viking at watch parties throughout the region, after Norway qualified this year for the World Cup for the first time since 1998.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Several Norway soccer watch parties, including the one at Joxer Daly’s in Culver City, promise waffles. <\/p>\n

(<\/p>\n

Courtesy Elise Maeland <\/p>\n

)<\/p>\n

\u201cThis whole experience also just reminded me of why I’m proud of being Norwegian and all of these values that the society and my parents instilled upon me from a young age,\u201d said Vilde Vevatne, who was born and raised in Oslo but now lives in L.A.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s proud of the team\u2019s performance on the pitch but also its attitude outside of the matches.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200a\u200aHow kind and humble the team are being. \u2026 They’re not bragging unnecessarily,\u201d Vevatne said. \u201cThey’re genuinely just excited to be there. They’re doing their best job and not thinking they’re better than anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vevatne says it\u2019s the embodiment of the Law of Jante<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s like an unwritten rule in Norwegian culture where we’re taught from a young age \u2014 \u2018Don’t think you’re special. Don’t think you’re better than everyone else,\u2019\u201d Vevatne said. \u201cJust be part of the pack and just be a nice, genuine person.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Norway’s Erling Haaland has scored seven goals in the World Cup as of July 8. \u201c\u200aI think he has just exploded as a superstar coming out of the game,\u201d said Erik Steigen. <\/p>\n

(<\/p>\n

Image Photo Agency<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

Getty Images<\/p>\n

)<\/p>\n

And now SoCal\u2019s Nordic community has an open invitation for anyone looking for a team to support during the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n

Row with us. (The practice of imitating a Viking longboat of warriors rowing into battle started within the last year<\/a>, but quickly became a viral phenomenon.)<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200aWe’re a small country. We need every fan we can have,\u201d said Petter Isaksen, who helped organize the watch parties at the Norwegian Seaman\u2019s Church in San Pedro.<\/p>\n

Waffles, rowing and Norwegian soccer<\/p>\n

The Norwegian Seaman\u2019s Church or Sj\u00f8mannskirken was founded in 1941 to serve the community of Nordic sailors in San Pedro<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow there are almost no Norwegian sailors left, but there’s still a lot of Norwegians in L.A. and in SoCal,\u201d Isaksen, who works as a host at the church, said. \u201cWe’re there for them as a church and as a cultural center,\u201d<\/p>\n

There are about 42,000 people who reported Norwegian ancestry<\/a> in L.A. County according to the U.S. Census Bureau\u2019s 2024 American Community Survey<\/a> estimate.<\/p>\n

The church hosts groups for toddlers, knitting and Norwegian language classes in addition to a Sunday Lutheran service that welcomes all faiths.<\/p>\n

And five days a week, there are waffles for sale \u2014 always heart-shaped and with your choice of goat cheese, jam or sour cream.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can eat several,\u201d Isaksen said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The Seaman’s Church in San Pedro has long been a gathering place for Southern California Norwegians and has hosted watch parties since the World Cup qualifying matches. <\/p>\n

(<\/p>\n

Courtesy Petter Isaksen<\/p>\n

)<\/p>\n

Isaksen has followed Norway\u2019s football team \u201csince I was born\u201d and started organizing the watch parties at the church during the qualifying matches.<\/p>\n

He said dozens of people, including several new to the church, have attended each watch party for communal singing, waffle eating and rowing.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone, whether they’re, like, 12 weeks or 99 years old, they’re in on it,\u201d Isaksen said. \u201cIt’s so much fun, and it brings so much togetherness.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Cathrine Chiaro, left, and Petter Isaksen, right, both work at the Norwegian Seaman’s Church in San Pedro. <\/p>\n

(<\/p>\n

Courtesy Petter Isaksen<\/p>\n

)<\/p>\n

\u2018Where are all the Norwegians at?\u2019<\/p>\n

A Culver City Irish sports bar has become another bastion of Norwegian pride during the World Cup thanks to Erik Steigen.<\/p>\n

When he first moved to Los Angeles 30 years ago to work in the music industry, he didn\u2019t prioritize seeking out his countrymen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m not moving to the US \u2026 to hang out with Norwegians and eat lutefisk,\u201d Steigen said, referencing the divisive dried, lye-soaked fish. \u201cI’m here to try to build a career and pursue my own dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n

But that changed about a decade ago.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Petter Wichman, right, and his son Erik, left. During the knockout game against Brazil, they lead the whole bar in a session of rowing, despite the fact that most people were cheering for their opponents.\n<\/p>\n

(<\/p>\n

Courtesy of Petter Wichman<\/p>\n

)<\/p>\n

\u201cI started wondering, \u2018Where are all the Norwegians at?\u2019\u201d Steigen said. He joined the board of the Seaman\u2019s Church in San Pedro and today helps organize events through Peer Gynt LA<\/a>, a cultural group that evolved from an early 20th century chapter of the Sons of Norway lodge.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you’re from a different country \u2014 I’ve spent most of my life in the U.S. now \u2014 I think you become extra patriotic about your native country,\u201d Steigen said.<\/p>\n

So why organize a watch party at an Irish sports bar?<\/p>\n

Steigen is a lifelong soccer fan, but when he first arrived in the U.S., the national team\u2019s games didn\u2019t broadcast in the states. So he adopted the Liverpool Football Club and often catches the games at Joxer Daly’s in Culver City.<\/p>\n

When people asked him where to watch Norway play, he defaulted to his home bar.<\/p>\n

Steigen wasn\u2019t sure if anyone would show up to watch Norway take on Iraq in their first match, but dozens did \u2014 and Norway won 4-1<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200aIt’s amazing how many Norwegians really exist in L.A. that you’ve never heard of,\u201d Steigen said.<\/p>\n

\"Three<\/p>\n

From left, Erik Steigen, Finn “The Viking” Orvin and Henning Gabrielsen are among the many Norway fans that have watched the matches at Joxer Daly’s in Culver City. <\/p>\n

Elise Maeland, has attended several of the matches at Joxer Daly\u2019s.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s made a handful of Norwegian friends since moving to Southern California more than a decade ago for grad school, but outside of May 17, Norway\u2019s Constitution Day, she said there are few large Norwegian gatherings.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like that was what was really cool about the World Cup is that it really brought Norwegians together in L.A.,\u201d Maeland said.<\/p>\n

She hasn\u2019t decided whether she\u2019ll watch Saturday\u2019s quarterfinal at Joxer Daly\u2019s or join a larger watch party in Venice Beach.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200aI’ll go where the most Norwegians go,\u201d Maeland said.<\/p>\n

Where to watch the game<\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s quarterfinal game between Norway and England in Miami is scheduled to start at 2 p.m.<\/a> local time.<\/p>\n

The Seaman\u2019s Church \/ Sj\u00f8mannskirken<\/p>\n

Address: 1035 S. Beacon St., San Pedro<\/a>
Watch party: 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
More information: Website<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>
Good to know: This family-friendly watch party promises waffles, hot dogs, popcorn and a bouncy castle for the kids. In addition to Sunday services, the church also runs a Norwegian goods shop \u2014 and sells waffles \u2014 Wednesday through Sunday.<\/p>\n

Joxer Daly’s<\/p>\n

Los Angeles World Cup 26 Fan Zone at Venice Beach<\/p>\n

Address: 1 Windward Ave<\/a>.
Watch party: Noon-10 p.m.
More information: Website<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>
Good to know: This event has both free and premium tickets<\/a> that include a reserved viewing area, food and drinks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Norway\u2019s historic World Cup performance has brought together Southern California\u2019s relatively small, but spirited Norwegian community. They\u2019ve been…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":752301,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[88,216],"class_list":["post-752300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/752300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=752300"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/752300\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/752301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=752300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=752300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=752300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}