Morning! Our learned compadre Vic was an exchange student back in his college days, which was a fancy way of saying he worked as a farm hand on a cattle ranch southeast of Oslo in 1971.
Accordingly, he has been doing the Viking Rowing thing ever since it looked like Norway might make a deep run in the World Cup. The Norwegians ultimately bowed out in the quarterfinals, but not before introducing much of America to one remarkable young striker.

That would be Erling Haaland.

Vic was watching when Haaland returned home to Norway, and it appears he brought back a few distinctly American souvenirs from the tournament. According to reports, he spent nearly $10,000 at Wild Bill’s Western Store in Dallas.

The haul reportedly included cowboy boots, an authentic Stetson and assorted Western gear. But what caught everyone’s attention was something considerably more unusual—a $750 taxidermy whiskey raccoon.

The Manchester City striker was photographed stepping off the team aircraft in Oslo carrying a pair of bags over one shoulder while carefully cradling the raccoon in his left arm. The bottle it was holding, apparently once filled with Greenall’s Wild Berry Gin, was already empty.

Haaland, 25, enjoyed a memorable World Cup debut, scoring seven goals in five matches. His performances—and his easygoing personality away from the pitch—have reportedly earned him more than 22 million new Instagram followersduring the tournament.

Wild Bill’s owner Julie Newport, who purchased the famous Dallas store from founder Bill Dewbre four years ago, confirmed that Haaland actually bought the raccoon rather than receiving it as a gift.

“It was from us,” Newport told reporters. “We’ve had a couple of these taxidermy raccoons in the store for the last few years, and he obviously gravitated to that—and a couple of the squirrels.”

The raccoon promptly sold out on the store’s website.

The Norway squad returned home after its quarterfinal elimination from the expanded 80-team FIFA World Cup, but Haaland’s popularity appears only to have grown.

This afternoon the spotlight shifts to another classic international rivalry as England meets Argentina in a semifinal carrying echoes of memorable matches—and, inevitably, memories of the Falklands War in 1982.

Vic claims he helped keep Pacific Fleet Headquarters informed about that conflict while serving on active duty, and says he intends to follow today’s football contest with equal enthusiasm—though, thankfully, under considerably more peaceful circumstances.

As for those taxidermy squirrels?

We have no official word.

Vic says he intends to investigate.

Copyright 2026 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com