Somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000 Scottish football fans have flooded into Boston this week, transforming the city into an unofficial annex of Glasgow. The occasion: Scotland’s return to the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 28 years.
The last time Scotland competed on this stage, the 1998 World Cup in France was the team’s most recent appearance, a drought that has tested even the most committed members of the Tartan Army, the famously loyal and famously loud supporter base that follows Scotland wherever the pitch takes them.
Boston gets a tartan makeover
The Tartan Army’s arrival at Logan International Airport has been, by all accounts, a spectacle. Reports emerged that fans depleted in-flight beer supplies on transatlantic crossings before even touching down on American soil.
Once on the ground, Scottish supporters wasted no time making themselves at home. Local bars across Boston, including famous spots like Cheers and The Point Boston, have been packed with fans wearing kilts and waving the blue-and-white Saltire.
