Last night, I got my first guest article for The Elastico published on their site, entitled “My Tippeligaen Love Affair”, centred around why, in my opinion, the big football leagues are not the best and why, in my eyes, the Tippeligaen is. I should have at least another two articles appearing on The Elastico over the next month or so, so keep an eye out for those. They’re a great group of people covering some great stuff, so please head on over to their website and check out what they’ve got on offer! You can read “My Tippeligaen Love Affair” here on their website, or simply read a copy of it below:

Admit it, you know nothing about the Norwegian football league situation, right? It’s ok, I don’t blame you at all. Norway’s top division – the Tippeligaen, as it’s officially known as – has never been viewed as one of Europe’s top leagues. In UEFA’s league coefficient, Norway are currently placed 26th, sandwiched between the Slovakian and Serbian leagues, respectively. Now, tell me what you know about those two leagues… Nothing? Exactly. Of course, I’m speaking hyperbolically and generalising horrendously, but please understand the point that I am making: in the eyes of UEFA and the football fans of Europe, and the world, it ain’t no La Liga. But it is to me.

Maybe it’s to do with my lifelong admiration for the underdog, or maybe it’s due to my love of distant, different and relatively-unknown places, but I’ve always been somewhat indifferent to the major footballing leagues. Of course, as a great football fan, all of the leagues interest me in one way or the other, but I have never felt particularly drawn to the major leagues of Europe, such as La Liga, the Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and Serie A. Even the Premiership has eluded my attention from time to time. But, give me the Segunda División, the 2. Bundesliga, Ligue 2 or Serie B and I’m a very happy man indeed.

Through both my love for music and my love for nature, I fell in love with Norway as a whole several years ago. To me, it is one of the most beautiful places on the planet, home to some of the most beautiful people, and one of the most beautiful football leagues.

New Beginnings For Norwegian Football

Under its current name, the Tippeligaen has been active since 1991, and the league has been professional since 1992. Viking FK won the first season, followed by Rosenborg, claiming thirteen consecutive titles between 1992 and 2004 (their domestic title streak is second in the world only to the 14-year streak of Skonto Riga of Latvia). During the first years of Rosenborg’s success, they won by a substantial margin, minimal pressure presenting itself in the form of such teams as Bodø/Glimt, Molde, Lillestrøm and Brann. Yet, despite this dominance, Rosenborg’s margin of success began to steadily narrow as the years went on, finishing dramatically at the end of the 2004 season when Rosenborg ended up tying on points with Vålerenga, but finished ahead on goals scored.

In 2005, after thirteen years, Rosenborg’s winning streak finally came to an end when Vålerenga clinched the title, just one point ahead of second placed Start. And where were the thirteen consecutive league title winners? 7th. Rosenborg went from completely dominating the league between the years of ’92 to ’04, to never being in contention at all in ’05. And that leads me on to my first major point as to why I love the Tippeligaen so much…

Unpredictable Nature

It’s unpredictable. Norsk Tipping, the Norwegian state betting company, are the league’s main sponsors, thus causing the league to be unofficially referred to as “The Betting League”, which is the most ironic and laughable thing in football! As I’ve mentioned briefly above with the case of Rosenborg’s fall from unbeatable league champions to mid-table mediocracy, it is notoriously difficult to predict anything that is going to happen. A new day brings a new set of surprises, setbacks and, for many, sadness. Take the start of the current season, for example: 2007 runners-up and 2008 winners Stabæk were thrashed 7-0 by Lillestrøm, despite having Norwegian international Jon Knutsen between the posts, not to mention fellow Norwegian international Henning Hauger in midfield and Icelandic international Veigar Páll Gunnarsson upfront, amongst others. Yet, in round two, Lillestrøm went from delivering a thrashing to receiving a thrashing, losing 4-1 at home to Brann, and then, further surprising everyone, Stabæk went from losing 7-0 at home, to winning 2-1 away at reigning champions Rosenborg. Do you see what I’m getting at?

This unpredictability and utter madness is what makes the Norwegian league so compelling. Anything could happen at any given moment, not to mention the league’s notoriety for rewarding fans with huge score lines. We’re almost half way through the season and reigning champions Rosenborg currently sit in 11th; Viking FK, who once beat Chelsea 5-4 on aggregate in the first round of the 2002-03 UEFA Cup and who finished third in the league in 2007, find themselves in the relegation zone with a measly three wins from thirteen matches; and newly-promoted Fredrikstad have managed to bag themselves six wins from fourteen matches, find themselves in fifth place. Where else do you get this level of excitement, action and pure bewilderment? In my eyes, nowhere but the Tippeligaen!

Bored? Follow A New League

Now, I appreciate that it might be quite difficult for some to be able to fully devote the time needed to fully follow a foreign league; being bombarded with news, highlights and results, it is extremely easy to know everything that you need to know about your own national league. But, I don’t see this difficulty as a reason not to immerse yourself in a foreign league, I see it as a challenge to meet head-on and overcome. And we all like a challenge, right?

My advice to you is simple: give it a go. If you’re someone who knows little about the workings of any other leagues but your own, give one of the smaller, lesser-known European leagues a looking at. I promise that you’ll love it and find it far more interesting than your own. And for me, there is no better, more interesting, more exciting, and more entertaining league than the Tippeligaen.

Lenge leve fotball!