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Erling Haaland stands at 6 feet 5 inches, an intimidating force who can make other soccer players look diminutive in stature and talent. Scoring seven goals in four World Cup matches through Saturday, the Norwegian player has been described as a machine. But if you ask some new loyal fans, he’s also a girl and a princess.
Haaland has become a social media phenomenon, with his own posts and others’ memes turning even football newbies into die-hard fans.
His dominant physical appearance along with his goofy online personality have contributed to the trend. Fans comment on her flowing blonde hair, color-coordinated hair bows, and fun posts like a leaked Snapchat selfie in which she proclaims Shrek her “twin.” The contrast between his strength and skill on the field and his softer, more relaxed online presence has also subjected him to the “girl” treatment online. That term is often used by fans of endearing male celebrities or characters who appear sensitive, caring, or vulnerable.
Haaland is emblematic of a broader acceptance of soccer players as pop culture figures, driven in large part by how they present themselves off the field.
Haaland as a ‘pretty Norwegian princess’
Sarah Wilson, a baseball content creator in New York, is new to the world of soccer, but she’s become such a big fan in the past month that she embarked on a long search to buy her new favorite player’s jersey.
“I love Erling Haaland more than life itself,” Wilson, 31, said in a now-viral video. “I can’t imagine being such a pretty Norwegian princess and at the same time being one of the best strikers in all of football.”
Haaland is being catapulted to even more intense fame than he already knew as the Premier League’s top scorer. This moment comes down to combining elite skills with a quirky personality, Wilson said.
“That he’s very, very talented, that’s the first pillar of everything. And then you find out that he’s 25 years old and he’s probably the most Gen Z athlete in the World Cup,” Wilson told The Associated Press, noting his use of Snapchat and ridiculous filters on online photos. Many think, “‘Wow, I love that guy, he’s so funny. He’s my new favorite player now,’ which is exactly what happened to me,” he added.
Haaland’s expressive reactions on the field and his unique appearance have generated hundreds of memes. He has built on this virality, posting racy selfies on Instagram, uploading long vlogs on YouTube, and interacting with his fans on his public Snapchat stories, often poking fun at himself.
After scoring two goals to eliminate Brazil, he posted a smug selfie from the locker room with the caption: “Good, good, good.” When an Instagram video with nearly 100 million views compared her appearance to a green onion (her wiry roots look like her hair), Haaland responded in the comments with a GIF of a dog looking askance. When Google added a Viking queue animation to its search results, Haaland wrote in X: “One thing to do today… Google my name,” with a winking emoji.
Haaland said at a team news conference Thursday that he enjoyed being welcomed into the United States.
“I think it’s a good thing because I like Americans. I think they’re kind of funny too. They’re funny. I like the way they are,” he said. “I think it’s just good and honestly, in every aspect, the World Cup here so far has been incredible.”
Sports are a “cultural force,” on par with politics or religion, said Jeffrey Kassing, a professor at Arizona State University who has studied social media use by fans and athletes. It’s natural that Haaland has “moved on” to non-football audiences, he said. A song from his youth has gone viral. A similarity contest is in the offing. Even the dogs sport blonde wigs.
“There used to be a lot of vigilance with athletes; you would only hear from athletes maybe in an interview or a press conference,” Kassing said. Haaland is proof of how players now have much more control when it comes to shaping their image, he added.
Fans also try to ‘shape the perception’ of their favorite players
Fans’ access to athletes contributes to what’s called a parasocial relationship, defined by one-way knowledge, said Gayle Stever, a professor at Empire State University who has studied the dynamics between celebrities and fans for decades. Haaland’s fans feel like they know him on a personal level, but he doesn’t know the nearly 60 million people who follow him on Instagram alone.
Most parasocial relationships are “positive, healthy and normal,” Stever said. Only a small percentage of people take it to the extreme, he said.
Skyla Clarke, a 19-year-old sports management student in Brisbane, Australia, and lifelong soccer fan, says she’s seen that uglier side rear its head; Attacks on players after poor performances and even unprovoked hatred towards athletes’ wives and partners are not uncommon. Haaland himself called the AI-generated player content “a little scary.” But he noted in Norwegian that the attention paid to the team and its traditions (the joy of the rowers, for example) is a sign of praise.
“Usually, if it is, it means you’re doing something right and your country is doing something right,” Haaland said.
Even healthy parasocial dynamics can seem unusual to those uninitiated in Internet culture. Haaland is not the only player whose personality has exploded on social media, nor is he the only one who has been anointed a girl by fans.
Fans have described feeling “motherly” towards Luka Modric, especially after Croatia’s elimination in the 40-year-old’s last international match. Modrić is a “special case” whose difficult upbringing amid the breakup of Yugoslavia influences how fans characterize him online, Clarke said. Some will incorporate photos of him as a child into their content, creating “a deeper appreciation for him as a player,” he added. Clarke’s TikTok video about Modrić’s possible retirement reached hundreds of thousands of viewers in a matter of days.
Modrić himself has a fairly moderate presence on social media, especially compared to Haaland, but Kassing noted that fans “take it upon themselves to try to shape the perception” of those with whom they develop a parasocial bond. In the cases of Modrić and Haaland, some do it by superimposing bows and hearts on their images.
Ahead of Norway’s quarterfinal match against England on Saturday, fans have also been intensely focused on Haaland’s friendship with England player Jude Bellingham, his former teammate. Some have “shipped” the two football players, editing them hugging or celebrating together and drawing comparisons to the television sensation “Heated Rivalry,” in which two professional hockey opponents develop an off-ice romance.
World Cup stories from Norway
“People have been saying ‘Heated Haalandry,'” said Nulara Ratwatté, a 19-year-old art student at the University of Melbourne. She is one of many fans whose videos about her new love for Haaland have gone viral.
Ratwatté said he is “not supposed to talk about football” due to his lack of knowledge, but he is not looking back after contracting Haaland fever. She describes him as a “big, friendly giant” and, despite his lack of football knowledge, is now tuning in to cheer on Norway.
“Truly, from the bottom of my heart,” she said, “I love him.”
Information from The Associated Press.
