Miles away from Miami, where Brazil beat Scotland 3-0 And with their playoff hopes dashed, Boston lamented. In a week in the city, where Scotland played Morocco and Haiti in the group stages, the tartan army captured the hearts of Bostonians so completely that Mayor Michelle Wu signed a letter of intent to make Glasgow and Boston sister cities.
After Scotland’s final group game against Morocco in Boston, the Boston Globe devoted an entire page to thanking him. It read: “You came for the World Cup, but gave us so much more. For a week, you turned train stations into singalongs, Fenway into football fields and a normal June into something we’ve been talking about for years. The World Cup will go on. And the songs, but we’ll never forget the joy you brought to our city.”
Patriots owner Robert Kraft has petitioned the NFL to play regular season games at Hampden Park in Glasgow. The Boston Red Sox wrote to the Scottish Football Association. “None of us will ever forget what happened at Fenway Park on June 14th. We knew the Tartan Army was coming. We didn’t fully understand what it meant until we saw it,” Red Sox president Sam Kennedy said.
In today’s time @BostonGlobe pic.twitter.com/AVejWDgIsO
— Ben Volin (@benvolin) 20 June 2026
The Scots marched to Fenway, filled the stands and cheered everywhere, raising the atmosphere beyond anything most of them had ever known. Gov. Maura Haley joined in the sentiment, sitting down with a Scottish podcaster as she signed an executive order declaring haggis legal in Massachusetts — clarifying the next morning that it was a joke. Haggis, made from sheep’s heart, liver and lungs, has been banned under federal food regulations since 1971. On Change.org, a petition has been launched: “Build a Tartan Army statue on the waterfront.” Senator Paul Feeney of Massachusetts went ahead and proposed that the Tartan Army return to Foxboro every year.
Football fans from Scotland take part in the Tartan Army March, making their way to Fenway Park before a baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and the Texas Rangers. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)
Around 50,000 people turned up for the two matches against Haiti and Morocco, spending six days in the city. Wearing kilts and playing bagpipes, they swarmed the public spaces, interacting with locals, giving them their shirts and inviting them over for dinner and drinks. He donated $10,000 to Hasbro Children’s Hospital. He set a new trend by placing a traffic cone over the statue of Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell outside City Hall. Thousands have since followed. Even Mayor Wu admitted: “I think we’ll see some lingering traditions from his visit, and I have to admit, I even put a cone on Bill Russell’s head outside City Hall. That was fun.” Benjamin Franklin and Abraham Lincoln were not spared either. It’s a Scottish tradition that dates back to the 1970s, when a group of revelers placed a cone on the head of a statue of Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington.
The pub almost ran dry. Boston Beer Co. said the Tartan Army drank four times the equivalent of the company’s 4th of July sales in just four days. Devon Savage of Boston Beer told NBC Boston: “Thursday through Sunday, the Tartan Army drank four times as much Boston lager as they did during a four-day holiday period like July 4th. We had to schedule an emergency delivery for Saturday morning.” The Haven, a Scottish pub in Jamaica Plain, finished about 65 kegs — 10 gallons each — in six days.
Thomas Mathew, an Indian bartender at Boston’s Public Tavern, says this week was unlike anything he’s ever seen. “We stocked up in anticipation of the tourists, but never imagined we’d be completely dry. We ran out of beer the day after the Haiti game. Shops usually close around midnight, but they were here until morning. It was fun.” He missed the sights and sounds, the throngs of fans, their lyrical English and their sparkling music. “I’ve become a fan, even though I haven’t seen any of their games,” he says.
New England – It’s an absolute delight. You have welcomed us with openness and incredible hospitality in Boston, Providence, Newport, and many cities in between, and we cannot thank you enough.
As we begin our journey to South Florida, we hope it’s not goodbye, but… pic.twitter.com/VgvpZsgVJ0— Tartan Army 🏴 Tartan Army 20 June 2026
“As we begin our journey to South Florida, we hope he will not say goodbye, but see you again soon,” the Tartan Army wrote on X as they departed. Local citizens are expressing such expectation. If Scotland progress as one of the best eight third-placed teams, they have a real chance of playing in Boston again, although the loss to Brazil makes that path much more difficult. “We’ll never forget the week,” says Jimmy Chang, who runs a restaurant in the city’s Chinatown. He sighs: “I’m disappointed for the fans the way the team played. All of Boston will echo him. And they live on a prayer. To host the Tartan Army again.”