“HÚH!”, The Icelandic Viking Clap And How It All Started

The magnificence of the Viking Clap has captivated audiences from all over the world, whether they were affiliated with Iceland or not. But how did it all start? (Hint: probably not in Iceland.)

Yahoo Sport travelled all the way to Reykjavík to talk to Iceland’s football fan base Tólfan (The Twelfth Man), and unveiled the story behind Icelanders’ fearless “HÚH.”

In their dramatic video shot close to the raging sea, drummer Jóhann Bianco (also known as Joey Drummer) talks about the importance of football in Icelandic society and how he came up with the chant. “When I was a kid here in Iceland we were always playing football, watching football on TV, and we had big dreams: Iceland going to the Euros and to the World Cup,” he says. “But we never thought we could actually go there because, let’s face it, our time wasn’t that good. So we got together and started this big support group and created some chants. Now, everybody at the games is Tólfan—The Twelfth man.”

Follow Iceland’s adventures at the World Cup on our IcelandSmites page and on Twitter at @rvkgrapevine. Our football match commentary is pure poetry, so don’t miss out.