Black and yellow coffins have become a topic of discussion in Moss. Fan Roy Kenneth “Hjælmen” Nilsbakken will have one.
In Moss it will now be possible to be buried in the colors of the local football team. Bentzen Begravelsbyrå launched the MFK coffin painted in black and yellow on Thursday.
– We want to show that it is possible to make the coffin as personal as possible. Since we are located in Moss, we wanted to make it as local as possible and therefore we think the Moss football team was a good alternative, says general manager Erik Krogsvold.
They were thinking of displaying the Liverpool-themed coffins, or Manchester United. But they concluded that it might be offensive to some.
Mossy newspaper mentioned the matter first.
Krogsvold thinks MFK is the one who captures the vast majority of people in Moss. And he was absolutely right.
– There was a huge response. Much more than we thought. Some supporters think this has been very positive. Several have already ordered it, he says.
He says they can make coffins with all possible themes.
– Arranged with style
Roy Kenneth Nilsbakken, better known as “Hjælmen”, is perhaps the most famous supporter of the MFK.
He travels the country and the coast to follow the club in his heart, and is the singer and board member of the Kråkevingen fans club.
When VG calls, he jokingly asks if the funeral home has prepared for things to go wrong in the OBOS league.
– It’s great, says Nilsbakken.
– Will you order one for yourself?
– Yes, absolutely. It’s morbid stuff, but we’ll all be in the pencil case at some point, so why not an MFK pencil case.
Of course, he hopes it will take several more years before he will need it, but he says he might as well order it now.
The new coffin has become a talking point in the local community, he says. It didn’t take long before he got the first message that this was to be the coffin for him.
– Now you can be buried in style, says Nilsbakken.
I think we need to talk more about death
Funeral director Erik Krogsvold says the MFK coffin wasn’t supposed to be fun.
– There are probably some who think it’s funny, but that’s not why we did it, says Krogsvold.
But he believes it is healthy to use humor in connection with death.
– Death is something that comes to everyone, making speaking more common is something we stand for. This humor is widely used at funerals and creates a slightly more relaxed atmosphere.
MFK supporter Roy Kenneth Nilsbakken agrees.
– Death is as natural as life itself. It’s sad for some, but it’s often just the end of a long and happy life, says Nilsbakken.
Passed to the second highest level
The MFK’s coffin comes just weeks after the club, which became league champion in 1987, rose to the second highest level in Norwegian football.
The club has played at level three since 2010.
The promotion led to wild scenes of jubilation, where among others the NRK profile and MFK supporter Emil Gukild took the field by storm:
