Tartan Army takes over Boston as Scotland fans relish World Cup return

BOSTON: From drinking the bars dry to lustily serenading an iconic baseball stadium with a rendition of “Flower of Scotland”, the bagpipe-playing, kilt-wearing hordes of the Tartan Army have captivated Boston since arriving at the World Cup.

Scotland’s famously good-natured travelling supporters had waited nearly 30 years for the chance to follow their team to a World Cup and the thousands who have made the journey to the tournament are merrily making up for lost time, to the delight of Bostonians.

“Oh my God, they’re amazing. I have enjoyed so much watching them enjoy the city,” Cara DiBenedetto, a 54-year-old resident of Boston’s North End, told AFP.

“It’s really kind of renewed my love of Boston because I’m seeing them see things that I take for granted and it’s been great.”

Reports have put the estimated number of Scottish fans in the Massachusetts city for the team’s opening World Cup game against Haiti last weekend at 40-50,000, and a fresh wave are expected for Scotland’s second match against Morocco on Friday.

The Tartan Army were a welcome feature of many major tournaments towards the end of the last century.

But before this year they had not qualified for a World Cup since 1998, and fans jumped at the chance to cross the Atlantic to follow Steve Clarke’s team, not remotely put off by the cost of tickets or the current political climate in the United States.

“Not at all. If anything that is the sort of thing I will lie to my wife about,” joked Jamie Grewar, 42, who came from Edinburgh with two friends for the Haiti game, each paying 500 dollars a ticket plus the considerable cost of travel and accommodation.

He was speaking in New York City, where he was spending the night before taking the train north. On the streets of Manhattan, Scottish fans in replica jerseys and kilts were visible at almost every intersection.

‘Bigger drinkers than we thought’ 

They saw their team beat Haiti 1-0 thanks to a John McGinn goal in front of a majority of Scottish fans in the 64,000 crowd at the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, 20 miles south of downtown Boston.

“I didn’t realise until we actually stepped out onto the pitch just quite how many Scottish people were there,” said midfielder Lewis Ferguson.

“Our support is never in doubt. They will travel everywhere, they always have and always will.”

Fans then returned into the city to celebrate the only way they know how – NBC News said one bar ran out of its local lager over the weekend “because Scottish soccer fans drank it dry”.

“They’re great, man. They’re great, great people. They showed us nothing but respect,” said Chris Wildt, a 49-year-old bartender at the Black Rose.

“They’re a little bigger drinkers than we thought, but we appreciate it.”

On Sunday, after nursing their hangovers, Scottish fans marched together to Fenway Park to watch the Major League Baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and the Texas Rangers.

Morocco and Brazil next

Instagram is awash with viral reels of those fans creating some very different vibes to those usually seen at baseball, singing favourite songs like “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” by The Proclaimers and “Super John McGinn”.

“What a night, just a brilliant group of people,” says the commentator.

But Scotland don’t want to just be remembered for having great supporters. They want to reach the World Cup knockout phase for the very first time.

This is Scotland’s ninth World Cup, and up to now they have always been eliminated in the group stage.

The win against Haiti was only Scotland’s fifth in 24 matches at the tournament, and how they needed it given what is to come.

Friday’s opponents Morocco are ranked seventh in the world and reached the semi-finals in 2022.

Their last Group C game is against record five-time winners Brazil, for which the Boston-based colony of Scots supporters will have to travel south to Miami – the kilts might weigh a little heavier in the Florida heat.

“We know we have the best fan base in the world, we know they follow us in their numbers, we know how long they have been waiting for this moment as well, and we know how excited they all are, and it is up to us to try to give them a good time,” said captain Andy Robertson.