Ida Norheim grew up on an island inside Norway's Arctic Circle.

On Saturday, July 11, she was shoulder-to-shoulder with more than 300 people in the National Nordic Museum's Osberg Great Hall on NW Market Street, watching Norway play England in the men's FIFA World Cup quarterfinal for the first time since 1998.

The free watch party sold out within two hours of tickets becoming available. Inside the hemlock-clad hall, fans in red jerseys waved Norwegian flags, roared at every scoring chance, and performed the national team's signature "Viking Row" celebration, arms locked and swaying in unison.

Norway took the lead in the 36th minute through Andreas Schjelderup before England's Jude Bellingham equalized before halftime and scored again in extra time to end Norway's run 2-1.

"We watched every game. Norway, as everyone has said, hasn't qualified for 28 years. So it's a big, big deal," said Norheim, who moved to Seattle 11 years ago.

The heartbreak on the screen didn't erase what the tournament meant to Ballard's Scandinavian community. Down the road at Scandinavian Specialties (6719 15th Ave NW), employee Anni Korpi said the store sold out of Norwegian jerseys before Saturday's match and had only a handful of flags left. Customers stocked up on Norwegian hot dogs, sweet buns, orange soda, and Kvikk Lunsj chocolate wafer bars.

Korpi said customers often visit looking for more than groceries. The shop has anchored Ballard's Nordic identity since Norwegian sausage-maker Alf Sagland founded it in 1962 as the Norwegian Sausage Company.

Current owners Anne-Lise Berger and Osmund Kvithammer, who bought the business in 2000, have kept Sagland's original sausage recipes in production.

Norway hadn't appeared in the World Cup since 1998, when coach Stale Solbakken was a player on the squad. This summer, the team beat Brazil 2-1 in the Round of 16 behind two goals from Erling Haaland, who finished with seven goals in the tournament. Norway had never won a knockout-stage World Cup match before this year's run.

After Saturday's loss at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Solbakken was in tears.

"I hope that the summer of '26 has been okay for everybody and that we've done something good together," Solbakken told reporters. "We have had fantastic support from all of Norway."

Back in Oslo, thousands of fans marched toward the Royal Palace at 2 a.m. local time, performing the Viking Row one last time. In Ballard, the same celebration played out nine time zones away, in a 4,200-square-foot hall built to honor the same heritage.