Translated, he says: "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, we are winning this."
June 23, 2016 4:32 AM   Subscribe

Iceland is in the European Cup football tournament for the first time. In their last game, they were tied 1-1 until the last minute when an Icelandic attacker made a move and scored. This means Iceland will move on to the next round. Listen to the Icelandic announcer absolutely lose his mind for joy.
posted by colfax (67 comments total) 18 users marked this as a favorite
 
Reminds me of the norweigan commentator's reaction when his country's side beat England 2-0 in 1991.
posted by Paul Slade at 4:52 AM on June 23, 2016 [1 favorite]


So, just text of the reaction? Or is my browser doing that thing where it hates me again?
posted by RolandOfEld at 5:19 AM on June 23, 2016


Nevermind, found it, mostly user error.
posted by RolandOfEld at 5:20 AM on June 23, 2016


I am honestly considering applying for Icelandic citizenship. You can call me Svalbarðsstrandarhreppur.
posted by rongorongo at 5:35 AM on June 23, 2016 [1 favorite]


A literal translation from reddit,
Everything's open! Theódór Elmar! Is he alone on their side of the field? Three on two! Emmi [short for Elmar]! Inside the box! Inside the box! Emmi! YEEEEEES! YEEEEEES! YEEEEEES! YEEEEEES! YEEEEEES! YEEEEEES! We are winning! We have qualified to the 16 team final! We have qualified to the 16 team competition! We are winning Austria! The voice is gone, but that doesn't matter, we have qualified! Arnór Ingvi Traustason! Just scored! Iceland two, Austria one! What a moment! What a moment! What! The referee has called the game, and I have never, I have never felt this good! Arnór Ingvi Traustason guarantees us the first win in the Euros! We have never lost, don't forget that, we have never lost but the first win is a fact! Iceland two, Austria one. Thanks for coming Austria, thanks for coming!
posted by Blasdelb at 5:38 AM on June 23, 2016 [14 favorites]


That's got to be about 60% of the Icelandic population in that stadium. Good time to invade. If you're into that sort of thing.
posted by gwint at 5:39 AM on June 23, 2016 [8 favorites]


Also excellent is when the Icelandic supporters get going on this chant they do that sounds like a shout from Skyrim during matches.
posted by GallonOfAlan at 5:40 AM on June 23, 2016 [4 favorites]


Time to do a 24-hour victory lap around the country while playing some relaxing music....
posted by schmod at 5:52 AM on June 23, 2016 [17 favorites]


The voice is gone, but that doesn't matter, we have qualified!

I love this. It's been a year for the underdogs to come out shining :D
posted by Eleven at 5:57 AM on June 23, 2016 [1 favorite]


That's got to be about 60% of the Icelandic population in that stadium. Good time to invade. If you're into that sort of thing.

I'll call Ragnar.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 5:58 AM on June 23, 2016 [4 favorites]


Here's a higher quality video of the same clip.
posted by colfax at 6:08 AM on June 23, 2016 [3 favorites]


I thought of Earl Warren's (?) remark about newspapers: "I always turn to the sports pages first, which records people's accomplishments. The front page has nothing but man's failures" (and perhaps Austrian newspapers were printed back-to-front today). In any case: Áfram Ísland!
posted by the quidnunc kid at 6:11 AM on June 23, 2016 [4 favorites]


There were a lot of complaints about the expansion from 16 to 24 teams, saying the extra teams would lower the standard and be on the receiving end of hammerings, but the smaller countries have been really impressive so far. Ireland (population 4.6 million), Wales (3 million), Northern Ireland (1.8 million), and Iceland (300,000) have all qualified for the knockouts. It really means something to the fans of those countries too.

Ireland qualified by the skin of our teeth, scoring the winning goal against Italy with 5 minutes to go in the last match. Just look at what it meant to the goalscorer and his family. Our president was at the match and could be seen jumping around with his arms in the air. Dublin was amazing last night.
posted by kersplunk at 6:14 AM on June 23, 2016 [15 favorites]


I want to see video of the announcer himself - in the booth jumping out of his seat, waving his arms all around, clutching his hair, crying with joy.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 6:16 AM on June 23, 2016 [1 favorite]


Excellent! Great for Iceland! Great for football!

Iceland's got the Big Mo right now. That counts for a lot, especially in this tourney -- ask Greece, ask Denmark. I had the feeling they would move on when Ronaldo was such a big baby after their game. They have an air about them that no other team has right now. But we'll see...
posted by Capt. Renault at 6:27 AM on June 23, 2016 [1 favorite]


> I want to see video of the announcer himself - in the booth jumping out of his seat, waving his arms all around, clutching his hair, crying with joy.

The Independent has that exact video here
posted by penguinicity at 6:28 AM on June 23, 2016 [18 favorites]


Reminds me of one of my favorite announcer moments: Dennis Bergkamp. Dennis Bergkamp! Dennis Bergkamp? DENNIS BERGKAMP! DENNIS BERGKAMP! DENNIS BERGKAMP! DENNIS BERGKAMP!


Although possibly even more exciting.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 6:30 AM on June 23, 2016 [10 favorites]


Iceland (300,000)

Wait, what?! I knew Iceland was small, but holy shit. That's much smaller than my county. I'll be cheering for you on Monday you crazy vikings.
posted by Rock Steady at 6:31 AM on June 23, 2016 [2 favorites]


There's nothing quite like the anguish of fan whose team lost a match at the last possible moment.
posted by oddman at 6:32 AM on June 23, 2016 [2 favorites]


That's got to be about 60% of the Icelandic population in that stadium. Good time to invade. If you're into that sort of thing.

You joke, but I would guess that really is probably around 7-8% of the island's populace.
posted by dances with hamsters at 6:33 AM on June 23, 2016 [2 favorites]


Here's an Arabic commentator reacting to the Irish goal - he's not even from the same continent and he's excited.
posted by kersplunk at 6:35 AM on June 23, 2016 [2 favorites]


dances with hamsters: "That's got to be about 60% of the Icelandic population in that stadium. Good time to invade. If you're into that sort of thing.

You joke, but I would guess that really is probably around 7-8% of the island's populace.
"

And the ones at home are probably fired up enough to repel any invaders!
posted by chavenet at 6:36 AM on June 23, 2016 [7 favorites]


Whenever someone posts a video here that turns into a "who brought in the onions/dust/my allergies" fest, I'm like "really? you're tearing up over THAT?"

I'm tearing up over this.
posted by Lucinda at 6:54 AM on June 23, 2016 [7 favorites]


gwint: "That's got to be about 60% of the Icelandic population in that stadium. Good time to invade. If you're into that sort of thing."
Seen on Facebook today:
ICELAND
----------------------------------------------
Population                             334,319
Females                               -170,503
Males under 18                         -40,121
Males over 35                          -85,670
Too fat                                -24,775
Off whaling                               -788
Volcano observers on duty                 -321
Sheep shearers (currently high season)  -2,856
Jailed bank managers                       -23
One-legged                                -189
Blind                                     -265
Iceland supporters in France            -8,781
Team doctor, cook and massage therapist     -3
National team coach                         -1
----------------------------------------------
Total left                                  23
posted by brokkr at 7:03 AM on June 23, 2016 [33 favorites]


Here is a more exact translation of what he was saying.

That announcer, Gummi Ben (aka Guðmundur Benediktsson), is somewhat of a national treasure in this country. If you liked that clip, you'll love just about any game he announces. He's a former footballer himself and beloved by Icelanders because he "announces" like someone sitting in the stands next to you. In good times and bad, he will shout, curse, cry, scream, laugh, taunt and generally emote in the way you would expect a genuine fan of sport to do.

It is my dream to become wealthy enough to hire him to follow me around and narrate my life.
posted by Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane at 7:23 AM on June 23, 2016 [20 favorites]


They are also a nation of readers and writers!

Iceland: Where one in 10 people will publish a book
Iceland is experiencing a book boom. This island nation of just over 300,000 people has more writers, more books published and more books read, per head, than anywhere else in the world.
They have awesome music and epic landscapes. I totally have a crush on an island!
posted by Celsius1414 at 7:25 AM on June 23, 2016 [3 favorites]




(*”Þvílíkt og annað eins” is hard to relate in meaning, but a direct translation would be: “Such things and other alike.”)

Seems roughly analogous to "Absolute scenes!"

@rvkgrapevine has been a joy to follow. I suspect the thunderclaps over London last night were Þor warning us of the upcoming smiting on Monday evening.
posted by corvine at 7:31 AM on June 23, 2016


Dublin was amazing last night

Éirinn go Brách!
posted by the quidnunc kid at 7:51 AM on June 23, 2016


@rvkgrapevine is charming. I did laugh at
GOALIE LIKE THE CLIFF FACE AT DYRHÓLAEY THE ONLY THING THAT WILL DESTROY HIM IS CENTURIES OF COASTAL EROSION. #ISL #Euro206
posted by teponaztli at 8:10 AM on June 23, 2016 [6 favorites]


I almost posted a buzzkill comment in the vein of "yeah, but the Euros with the expanded lineup is like the NHL playoffs, as long as you're breathing at the end of the group stage you probably get into the knockouts." But then I watched the video clip. Who wants to kill that buzz?
posted by kidkilowatt at 9:08 AM on June 23, 2016


You joke, but I would guess that really is probably around 7-8% of the island's populace."


I wonder if there are records for national population movements for events.

I think something like 2% of the population of Poland relocated to Rome when Pope John Paul II's funeral happened, which would beat this in head count but not per capita.
posted by acb at 9:12 AM on June 23, 2016 [1 favorite]


So I'm not really into professional sports - it always seems much ado about nothing to me. But when I watched this clip I was immediately lifted into the euphoria of the announcer, and I thought 'man, I should watch sports more often! This must be why fans watch!'

The only sporting event I really get super into is the Olympics. Particularly the winter Olympics. Particularly if Norway is competing. Then that announcer has nothing on me. Probably good it's only every 4 years...
posted by widdershins at 10:27 AM on June 23, 2016 [1 favorite]


Apparently around 8 percent of Icelanders bought tickets. The biggest mass-Icelandic attendance I was previously aware of was when Metallica played there, resulting in about 5.6 percent of the country attending.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 10:29 AM on June 23, 2016 [3 favorites]


Rock Steady: "Wait, what?! I knew Iceland was small, but holy shit. That's much smaller than my county."

The standard CIA World Factbook-style comparison in the US press is that Reykjavik has about the population of Peoria and Iceland as a whole, about the population of the Peoria Metropolitan Statistical Area. It's small, yo!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 11:07 AM on June 23, 2016 [1 favorite]


So the doggie-downer in this is that Iceland would have advanced to the Round of 16 anyway with a 1-1 draw, as one of the top four third-place teams. That late goal and victory lifted them to second place in their group and, because of the weird way the knockout round is seeded, into the side of the bracket that includes Germany, Italy, Spain, France and England (whom they play next). The other side of the bracket, where they would have landed with a draw, includes no team that has won a major tournament (Wales, Northern Ireland, Switzerland, Poland, Croatia, Portugal, Hungary, Belgium) and is wide open. They might have ridden their luck to the semis or the final. As it is they'll have to go through England, then likely France and Germany/Spain/Italy.

But the win is historic. Smallest nation ever to win a match at the Euros.
posted by stargell at 11:25 AM on June 23, 2016 [1 favorite]


I was at a small Icelandic film festival in San Francisco a few years ago, and one of the films was introduced by the consul or something something. Anyway, in his remarks he said that the population of Iceland is approximately that of the San Francisco above Market Street.

Taking that into consideration, I am astounded at the quality and breadth of Icelandic film.
posted by janey47 at 11:28 AM on June 23, 2016


I hope this bodes well for all the sports in the Summer Olympics--after three trips to Iceland and having swam in at least 12 different geo-thermal heated outdoor pools I am definitely pulling for their swimmers. My favorite country other than Ireland. And don't forget Northern Ireland--still in the competition
posted by rmhsinc at 11:51 AM on June 23, 2016 [1 favorite]


National team coach -1

I was about to say he's Swedish so he shouldn't count, but apparently they've promoted his assistant to joint head coach and Lagerbäck plans to retire after the tournament, so ok.

(Iceland-England will be fun, with Swedish coaches on both sides. More fun than any of Sweden's matches, at least, where everyone just waited for Zlatan to score and the entire team will retire from international football after the tournament...)
posted by effbot at 12:25 PM on June 23, 2016


Yay Iceland! My parents, girlfriend and I went appropriately nuts when Iceland scored the winning goal. Our one-year-old son gazed in wonder at the four adults jumping and screaming and hugging and dancing. Fun times.

If your interest is piqued, come join us in the the wonderful Fanfare threads about the Euros ably shepherded by lmfsilva. Here's the group stage, rounds 1, 2 and 3. And the knockout phase starts on Saturday with the first three games of the round of 16.

Iceland plays England on the 27th. I'm hoping it'll be epic, rather than a saga, as sagas have lots of pointless bloodshed and revenge killings and whatnot (though the sagas have better jokes than the epics).
posted by Kattullus at 1:12 PM on June 23, 2016 [2 favorites]


Northern Ireland--still in the competition

And lest we forget, Will Grigg has yet to *even play*
posted by Damienmce at 1:37 PM on June 23, 2016 [1 favorite]


#SMITE #SMITE #SMITE #SMITE #SMITE #SMITE
posted by progosk at 1:53 PM on June 23, 2016 [4 favorites]


That was lovely.
posted by OmieWise at 3:04 PM on June 23, 2016 [1 favorite]


There were a lot of complaints about the expansion from 16 to 24 teams, saying the extra teams would lower the standard

...and I was one of them, in an earlier comment. It remains to be seen how it goes from here, but the minnows have been great fun to watch--Albania and Northern Ireland also did well.
But Iceland--I was jumping up and down when they scored. Best moment of the tournament so far.
posted by librosegretti at 3:19 PM on June 23, 2016 [1 favorite]


Rog Bennett of Men In Blazers created a great video: "THE VIKINGS’ SHOCKING EURO RUN: THE UNBELIEVABLE RISE OF ICELANDIC SOCCER" here.
posted by mark242 at 4:23 PM on June 23, 2016


Here, have a little black metal remix of Gummi Ben's joyous shouting.
posted by aldurtregi at 4:29 PM on June 23, 2016 [2 favorites]


Heard the audio on the radio and it was delightful. I am not sure it's possible to listen to that without smiling.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 4:47 PM on June 23, 2016


I am in Reykjavik right now, and the streets are empty of locals - they have all gone to Nice...
posted by aeshnid at 5:13 PM on June 23, 2016 [1 favorite]


I should also mention that as a Scotsman - they have my full support in the next game.
posted by aeshnid at 5:16 PM on June 23, 2016 [2 favorites]


Oh gods, that poor man is being stabbed to death. Why does no one help him? Have his cries been drowned out by the crowd? I heard him. Such cries, such passionate cries!
posted by maryr at 7:17 AM on June 24, 2016 [1 favorite]


Iceland-England will be fun

Yes, they're a small island with lousy weather and a self-inflicted economic crisis, but I think they stand a good chance of beating Iceland.
posted by acb at 9:09 AM on June 24, 2016 [7 favorites]




So far in the game, Iceland is forcibly Brexiting the English.
posted by clawsoon at 12:37 PM on June 27, 2016


Yeah, I'm trying to decide which channel to watch it on; a UK one where the commentators focus on the game, or one of the non-UK ones where they're snarking about Brexit as well.
posted by effbot at 12:49 PM on June 27, 2016


(one of the Swedish live feeds is the funniest right now, even if I suspect Kattullus would find the references to "Lagerbäckur" a bit grating :-)
posted by effbot at 12:55 PM on June 27, 2016


It seems impossible that a country with like 98 people in it could make it this far. Amazing.
posted by Justinian at 2:04 PM on June 27, 2016 [1 favorite]


So did anyone watch it on Icelandic TV? I assume the guy just had a heart attack or something.
posted by Pyrogenesis at 2:10 PM on June 27, 2016 [3 favorites]


Like many things in 2016, if you wrote me a screenplay that had this happen the same week as the Brexit vote, I'd return it back to you in red ink "funny parallel structure but maybe a bit on the nose?"
posted by MCMikeNamara at 2:21 PM on June 27, 2016 [2 favorites]




I think I will make him my ringtone.
posted by Kabanos at 2:33 PM on June 27, 2016 [3 favorites]


My Italian neighbours went crazy when Italy won over France earlier tonight; someone was screaming ITALIA ITALIA ITALIA nonstop for several minutes, and after the game everyone got in their cars and drove around honking their horns (they were still at it when England v Iceland started). The Iceland game -- not a sound. I thought that was proof that I had no Icelandic neighbours, but a friend just pointed out that a lack of Icelanders doesn't mean anything right now; odds are they're in France.
posted by effbot at 3:13 PM on June 27, 2016 [1 favorite]


Shocking. Just shocking. And now what? Pardew? Fucking hell.
posted by Kinbote at 11:16 PM on June 27, 2016


Lagerbäck is leaving Iceland after the Euros, so you could always try to get him. I don't think he's ever lost a match against England as manager, so at least he knows what you need to work on :-)
posted by effbot at 2:34 AM on June 28, 2016 [1 favorite]


According to Swedish media, 8% of Iceland's population followed the game in France and 99.8% of the Icelanders still in Iceland watched the broadcast, at home or at Arnarhóll. This leaves around 650 people doing something else.

In both England and Sweden, around 23% of the population watched the game.

Has anyone seen Kattullus lately, btw, or is he still out partying?
posted by effbot at 7:28 AM on June 28, 2016 [2 favorites]




No water fixtures were located. But I have a small bump on my head, from jumping into the ceiling while celebrating with my girlfriend. We had to channel our energy into movement, since we had to be silent as our one year old was sleeping peacefully in the next room. The ceiling where we were is quite low, but I jumped higher than I expected myself to be able to.
posted by Kattullus at 12:00 PM on June 28, 2016 [3 favorites]


As for poor Hodgson, in a recent interview with Tommy Söderberg, who used to co-manage Sweden with Lars Lagerbäck (the pair was known as Lars-Tommy), Söderberg pointed out that they learned everything they know about organization and team structure from Bob Houghton, Roy Hodgson, and Stuart Baxter (all active and highly influential in Swedish football during the seventies and eighties).

So it wasn't just david vs goliath, but also student vs master.

(they're all about the same age, so not quite as dramatic as it could have been, but...)
posted by effbot at 11:08 PM on June 28, 2016 [3 favorites]


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