Living The Dream

Frederik Barsøe, Denmark

We have teamed up with MiXR, the app that helps you find the best pubs and bars to watch football, to showcase the diversity of fan and pub culture throughout England and Scotland during the 2024 Euros. Eight passionate fans have documented the tournament atmosphere at MiXR pubs across the UK while cheering on their national team to show there is a place for any fan, whatever you’re for.

Born in Denmark and living in London, Frederik Barsøe admires the loyalties within UK pub culture and cheered on Denmark from the Vineyard Islington. 

My name is Frederik Barsøe. I am 32 years old and from Aarhus, Denmark. I am a freelance journalist and communications consultant, and since moving to the UK in 2020, I have lived with my partner, Tinne, at our flat in Islington, London. We moved to the UK because she had an amazing opportunity to do a PhD. 

I have played and followed football for as long as I can remember. Football is massive in Denmark, but there is something extremely captivating and almost mythical about the football culture in England. Being a Tottenham fan since 2004 (yes, a very hipster decision was made by a 12-year-old Frederik), one of my biggest dreams has been to get closer to the team. I am now living and enjoying that dream. 

Our Time Would Come

Born the year before Denmark’s sensational 1992 Euros triumph, I spent my first years in a country that was in a state of complete ecstasy and almost disbelief. My first memory is the magical 1998 World Cup where we just about made it out of the group and then destroyed Nigeria 4-1 (the game with the iconic Laudrup to Ebbe Sand goal) before losing 3-2 to Brazil in the quarter-finals. Since then, I have had some amazing experiences and memories as a Denmark fan, with some of the best ones made after moving to the UK. 

The first one happened in 2021 and was an experience no Danish person will ever forget - the perfect example of how football can gather a nation. Traumatised by the images of Christian Eriksen lifeless on the pitch in the first game against Finland, and revitalised by seeing how the rest of the team acted, the Danish people found a connection with the team and a level of support I have never experienced before. And I was not even in Denmark! 

I saw on social media how everyone was going absolutely mental, street parties in Copenhagen and Aarhus, people climbing the traffic lights and jumping on top of buses. It was nuts to witness from afar, and part of me wished I was there. However, we had a blast with a massive Danish community in London, and it would soon show that our time would come. 

Our red and white fanbase in London grew game by game, and when we reached the semi-final at Wembley against England, it felt like an unbelievable culmination. With fans not allowed to travel from Denmark, the Danish FA started to drum up every Danish person in the UK and get them to buy a ticket. For my friends and I, we did not take any convincing. 

Still euphoric, we went to Wembley with thousands of other Danes. We saw Damsgaard’s wonder free kick, sang as loud as we could, and witnessed Raheem Sterling’s dive which led to a well-deserved England win (if we are honest!). That dive, though. We’ll never forget that. But most importantly, that tournament and that day at Wembley. We’ll never forget that! 

Months later, still high off all of the Euros experience, some friends came to visit from Denmark. We took the train to Glasgow to watch the last World Cup Qualifying game against Scotland at Hampden Park. Denmark had already qualified without losing a single game, so of course we had to lose this one 2-0. My clearest memory from the stadium is singing along to “Yes Sir, I Can Boogie” with the Scottish fans after losing the game. A strange experience but the result did not matter in the end. We were going to the World Cup, and more than anything, we were all in Glasgow to have a good time. 

Pub Passion

In Denmark, we have a proud tradition of songs created for or related to the national teams. One thing I do on the day of a big game is put on a Danish football playlist and blast it on my tiny speaker for all of Islington to hear. 

I have a few plans for the three group games. For the first one against Slovenia, I have gathered a group of friends to watch it in The Vineyard, one of my best Islington locals for watching football. The second one is more tricky as it is the one against England. We will have to find a pub that is not rammed with English fans so that we can have a Danish party when we get our revenge from the semifinal three years ago. For the last group stage game against Serbia, I will be in Denmark to get the proper national feeling – I will most likely be watching at a big screen event in Aarhus! 

As a foreigner, the pub culture in the UK is one of the big differences that I enjoy and appreciate. There are some sports bars and a few pubs in Denmark, but it is not the same. 

In England, people meet at the pub. Everyone has their local, and everyone has a favourite. A favourite for a sunny day. A favourite for a Guinness. A favourite for a Sunday roast. A favourite for watching the footy. Pubs are like an extended part of people’s homes, and it is something that can be hard to describe to people who have not lived here and experienced it. 

Watching football in the pub is one of the things I really enjoy. It is the feeling of intensely following something, hoping and praying for the same thing while also enjoying great company, a few drinks and a bit of food together. It is listening to each others’ questionable opinions and observations while agreeing that the commentator and the referees are clowns. It is losing it together over a goal and drinking it in after a massive result. It is reflecting over a pint when your team just lost against the odds, trying to remind each other that after all, “it is just football”. 

The Answer Is Yes

Football has been a big part of my life for as long as I can remember. I was five years old when my dad took me to an AGF game for the first time and I was drawn to it. It did not take long before I cared even more than he did. I started playing when I was seven and have continued to do so since. 

When I was a teenager, I was a football coach and spent thousands of hours watching football and playing FIFA or Football Manager. And, for reasons I cannot explain, I chose to support Tottenham when I was 12 years old. I was drawn to the underdog when all my friends supported Arsenal, Manchester United, Barcelona, or Real Madrid. For me, it was an interest and a fandom that grew into an obsession that never seemed to waver. 

At 32 years old, I sometimes ask myself if it makes sense to care this much about football. Is it worth spending so much time and emotion on? The answer is always, “yes”. 

It is so much more than just football and the 22 players on the pitch – players that I feel like I know but who have no clue who I am. To me, football is about culture and a common understanding. It is about being together and caring about something that can be extremely emotional. It is like a tribal feeling of being part of something bigger. There are incredible stories with heroes and villains, and family-like friendships made along the way. To me, as a non-religious person, going to White Hart Lane is probably the closest I get to understanding what it is like to go to church on a Sunday.