Of all the bases Scotland fans could have found for their World Cup journey, it had to be the city renowned for chasing the English out of town. Boston, known for its revolutionary history, has become the epicenter of the Tartan Army's celebrations as Scotland returns to the World Cup for the first time in 28 years.
Sam Adams and Bannockburn Flags
Sam Adams is the beer of Boston, named after a founding father of the United States who was the fourth governor of Massachusetts. Downtown, there's a tap room where you can drink it all day. On Thursday lunchtime the bar was packed, full of Scotland fans, and hanging over the first-floor balcony was a big yellow flag bearing the legend "Remember Bannockburn 1314."
Supporters dressed like William Wallace have been bonding with tour guides dressed as Paul Revere. Others have been walking around wearing "Boston T Party" T-shirts, where the T stands for Tennent's. Meanwhile, next to the site of the Battle of Bunker Hill, the Scottish Football Association has rebranded a local pub as Scotland House, even having it sponsored by M&S Food.
Thousands of Fans Flock to New England
The 2,000-person venue is expected to be at capacity on Saturday night, full of fans who have traveled to the US but don't have a ticket for the game with Haiti and are in the market for complimentary Percy Pigs. Most bars in the city are already full of punters, with many giving interviews to local TV. With flights from Scotland crammed all week, estimates suggest as many as 40,000 Scots could be heading to New England for the World Cup.
"There are very few things in life left that you can genuinely describe as once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, but getting to see Scotland at a World Cup is one of them," says Gordon Sheach, who runs the Tartan Scarf social media account. "I'm old enough to remember 1998. I was nine years old and actually it was what made me a Scotland fan. I watched the tournament and I thought: 'I can't wait till the next one.' I didn't think it would take the entirety of my teenage years, my 20s, and almost my 30s to come back. So now that it's here, we're fully committed to having the absolute time of our lives."
A Team of Resilience
Alan Risk, part of the Hampden Roar podcast, regards Scotland's story under manager Steve Clarke as one of growing resilience. "What we've got is a squad that has rebounded numerous times from disappointment," he says. "As a fanbase, we've done the exact same thing." The stories of players like Andy Robertson and Scott McTominay, who have become national heroes, are told in defiance of hard starts and setbacks. "There are so many players you can feel attached to. At one end you've got the bold personality of John McGinn but at the other there's Aaron Hickey, someone who has had his setbacks but subtly gone about his work. I think quieter fans identify with his subtle professionalism."
Looking Forward to Haiti Clash
From being knocked out of the World Cup without losing a match in 1974, to the infamous campaign of '78, a solitary point from Uruguay in '86, defeat by Costa Rica in 1990 and a drubbing by Morocco eight years later, Scotland's World Cup record is full of examples of the folly of daring to dream. But Sheach and Risk are focused on looking forward and convinced that victory will be secured on Saturday night.
"I think Haiti will come out of the traps very fast," says Risk. "They've got a lot of speed and I think they'll have to start the game rapid. But if we can get control of it fairly quickly, we can take control of the game."
The venue for this Group C encounter is the Fifa-renamed Boston Stadium, actually 22 miles from the city in the town of Foxborough. The journey to the ground is poised to be a second odyssey of the week, with reports of phalanxes of school buses being secured to drive Scotland fans to the game. Sheach and Risk will be on the first train, stumping up the $80 return fare, arriving about three hours before kick-off in the hope of meeting Haiti fans.
"This is just as big a moment for them as it is for us, if not more so," says Sheach. "It's their first World Cup game in more than 50 years. So it's a very special thing. It's just one of those unique moments the World Cup can throw up."
