It started with bagpipes at 6:30 am, and Boston never really recovered.
An estimated 30,000 Scottish football fans arrived in the city last week, and videos of their time in Boston spread across social media. One of the first viral moments came from a quiet Massachusetts suburb, where Mike Morrison filmed fans staying in an Airbnb across the street.
“In the dead of night the Scots arrived at the Airbnb across the street. Decked out and playing the pipes at 6:30 am. So it begins…” Morrison wrote in a post on June 11, 2026.
Morrison was not complaining. The account said he grilled sausages for the fans, and the exchange took off online. Airbnb is now sending him to Miami for Scotland’s June 24 match against Brazil, where he will reunite with the Tartan Army after they presented him with an honorary membership certificate and repeatedly offered him a morning beer.
“No Scotland–No party” became a familiar chant in the streets. The Samuel Adams Boston Taproom had to order four emergency deliveries after fans drank 4,000 pints in four days, leaving the venue with 90 empty kegs. The account said that was four times as much as the pub would usually sell over the busy 4th of July weekend.
Another widely shared moment came outside Faneuil Hall, where Scottish bagpipe player Neil Wilson joined street musician David Bowdre in an impromptu performance. The duet, captured on video, drew a large cheering crowd.
Scotland beat Haiti 1-0 in its first match, its first World Cup appearance in 28 years, before losing 0-1 to Morocco at Boston’s home stadium.
Police also joined in during the week, kicking soccer balls in the streets and trying on shirts in Tartan colors for visitors. Sgt. Connor Hardy drew attention after doing soccer juggling tricks in full tactical gear, and the account said his captain later bought him a kilt after the video went viral.
In nearby Providence, Rhode Island, where an estimated 6,000 Scots were staying, the police chief said, “We simply don’t want them to leave!”
After the fans left, The Boston Globe printed a full-page farewell tribute to the Scots. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu also announced plans for a new partnership between the two cities, building on historic ties and the goodwill created during the visit.
Musician David Law later posted a song about the week on social media, alongside a montage of videos, and it drew hundreds of thousands of views. In the lyrics, he wrote: “It took thirty thousand strangers / To remind us we were neighbors.”
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