September, elite sport, and the not-quite death of Jante Law: The Danish Year Part 9

About this episode

This episode explores Denmark's elite sports culture, the impact of Jante Law, and the popularity of various sports as the fall season begins.

Denmark may be a small country, but it produces world-class athletes in cycling, tennis, handball, badminton, and golf. How do they do it? And how does the tax-financed effort to create athletic champions fit with the culture code of "Jante Law", the idea is that no one should think themselves better than anyone else? September is when fall sports season starts in Denmark. The badminton league begins, so does volleyball and basketball and hockey. Most importantly, the handball season kicks off, and while I'm not a handball fan myself, I always know when that season is underway because my otherwise mild-mannered downstairs neighbor begins screaming at his flatscreen, cheering on or scolding Denmark's handball girls or handball boys, the teams are equally popular in Denmark. Team handball was invented in Denmark – and like design, it's a national passion. Danish teams have won several World Championships and many Olympic Gold Medals. Football, otherwise known as soccer, is popular too, although given the international competition, it's a bit harder for little Denmark to win championships. The Danish national team did win a European championship in 1992, something any Danish man…

People in this episode

Host: Kay Xander Mellish

Topics covered

• elite sport
• Jante Law
• Danish culture
• athletics
• fall sports
• handball
• football

Keywords

• Denmark
• elite sport
• Jante Law
• handball
• football
• athletes
• fall sports
• Danish culture

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Danish national team, Jante Law

Places: Denmark, Denmark's handball girls, Denmark's handball boys, football

More episodes of How to Live in Denmark

• My Awkward First Year in Denmark · April 29, 2026 · 9 min
• The Spontaneous Dane: Why Friendship Needs a Calendar · March 30, 2026 · 6 min
• Danish dinner party customs & why it's OK to break your Royal Copenhagen cup · February 15, 2026 · 7 min
• Danish Movies and TV as a Guide to Danish Culture · January 22, 2026 · 9 min
• December: Little Nisse, Big Money: The Danish Year Part 12 · December 3, 2025 · 7 min
• November Rain and "daylighting" buried rivers: The Danish Year Part 11 · November 22, 2025 · 9 min