Ole Frøystad looks exactly the way you would picture a fervent Norway football fan. He has shoulder-length blond hair, a Norway jersey and, most importantly, the Viking horns always proudly atop his head. Frøystad, nicknamed "Mr Row Row", is the man credited with inventing the team's viral Viking row, which has become one of the biggest fan sensations of this tournament. And as a passionate football supporter from a tiny mountain island, he is overjoyed with seeing his country thrive at the World Cup, and watching the world come along for the ride. Ole Frøystad (right) leads the Viking row in Times Square ahead of Norway's round of 16 match against Brazil. (Getty Images: Selcuk Acar)"I wanted to do something to help them perform on the pitch," Frøystad told ABC Sport."That's been super important to me and that's why I've been always in the stadium yelling, yelling and trying to support them."A spark that caught fireLike Iceland's Viking clap, which came to prominence at the 2016 Euros, the country's Scandinavian neighbours have borrowed from their medieval history in a chant that has caught fire quite unlike anything else at this tournament. The concept is simple: everyone sits down as if in a Viking vessel, there are two drum beats, then everyone pulls an imaginary oar and shouts "ro", Norwegian for '"row."The pace builds until everyone is rowing at a frantic pace before erupting into cheers. Frøystad said the idea for the chant came to him years ago, when he was watching Norwegian side Rosenborg, and its supporters."In the chant, they divided their name into three parts; one part yelled 'ro', then the other 'sen' and then the third 'borg,'" he said."And I always loved the sound of 'ro' and what an impact and pressure that made on the stadium. So for many years I really enjoyed that and thought about it."Norway fans flooded Times Square to perform the Viking row. (Reuters: John Sibley)When Norway was on the cusp of qualifying for this World Cup, its first since 1998, Frøystad started thinking about a chant to take to the tournament. "[I thought] we need something with culture, showing where we're from," he said. "And then I wanted something Viking-ish, something hard. "And just a light bulb came on. And I realised [ro] means rowing. And it has a cool movement. And I was just like, oh my gosh, this is the chant."He went to Norway supporter group Oljeberget and they worked together to finesse the execution and the integration of the drum beat Players have been leading the row at the end of their victories. (Getty Images: Steph Chambers)"I had a spark. I had a very good idea and this chant is alive now because of this supporter group wanting to use it," he said."This chant would have been nothing without the support of the group and the Norwegian supporters."'Bigger than football'The supporter group has organised choreographed rows in iconic spots across the US, notably Times Square, and spontaneous renditions have materialised on Boston train escalators, New York subway floors and even on flights. Supporters perform the row at the Norwegian royal palace. (Reuters: Martin Giaever)Some of the country's fans have been surprised by the way they have come out of their shells to take the tournament by storm."We're hyped because it has been such a long time since the last time [Norway qualified] so I feel like we see a new side of us," one supporter said before one of the team's games. "We're usually quite quiet so I'm not sure what happened, but we're just super excited," another said.Thousands of Norway fans have made a big impact at all their World Cup games. (Getty Images: Selcuk Acar)The players have been getting involved too, rowing with supporters after victories. Star striker Erling Haaland called it "bigger than football."It means a lot to Frøystad, who wants to see his nation perform at its best."We want them to win the entire World Cup, and we're doing everything we can on our part to support them," he said."No matter if they win or lose, we're there. We're going to back them."Email address