Scotland beat Haiti 1-0 on Saturday. By Sunday night, their fans had taken over Fenway Park.
The Red Sox hosted Scottish Heritage Night, complete with tartan jerseys handed out at the gates. The Tartan Army showed up in force — marching to the stadium in groups, playing traditional Scottish music in the streets, and then doing what Scottish football fans do better than almost anyone: singing their lungs out inside a stadium that had no idea what was coming.
European terrace culture meets American baseball
The best part of the whole thing wasn't the jerseys or the pre-game parade. It was the moment Scottish fans transplanted European football singing culture into a mid-June Red Sox game. Full-throated chants echoing around one of sport's most storied venues, from fans who probably couldn't name a single Red Sox player but showed up and made it something special anyway.
Susan Swindells, one of the fans there, put it well: "I think Boston's really taking us into their hearts. We've got a really friendly welcome here, which is fantastic."
The Red Sox lost 6-4, falling to 29-40 on the season. Nobody who was there seemed to care much.
What this says about the 2026 World Cup
Before the tournament kicked off, there was no shortage of doom. Concerns about immigration policy blocking fans from entering. Questions about whether NFL stadiums were fit for World Cup football. European commentators skeptical the United States could generate genuine atmosphere.
Two weeks in, those arguments have aged badly. The USMNT's opener in Los Angeles moved Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimović to visible emotion. Brazil vs Morocco at New York-New Jersey produced scenes that belonged on a World Cup highlight reel. And in Boston, Scotland fans have effectively colonised an entire New England city — the national anthem filling Boston Stadium before kick-off, and now bagpipes marching down the streets toward Fenway.
Scotland's odds of progressing from their group just got a lot more interesting with a winning start, and the fan energy they're generating makes Boston one of the tournament's genuine atmospheres to watch. If you're backing them to go deep, the vibes are at least pointing in the right direction.
The Tartan Army didn't just attend a baseball game. They made it the most memorable home match Fenway Park will host all year.
