Thousands March to Fenway Park After Scotland’s 1-0 Win
Thousands of Scottish revelers marched to fenway park in Boston on Sunday night after Scotland beat Haiti 1-0 at the FIFA World Cup on Saturday. The crowd moved from a public park about a half-mile away and poured into the bars behind the Green Monster, turning Boston’s 114-year-old baseball stadium into a Scottish gathering place.
Allan Middlemass at Fenway Park
“I’m looking forward to seeing how Fenway Park deals with us,” Allan Middlemass said before the fans entered the ballpark. He came from Edinburgh and was part of the wave that followed Boston police guidance down a street behind the center-field bleachers before filling the area behind the Green Monster.
The march lasted roughly 30 minutes. Fans chanted “no Scotland, no party,” waved large Scottish flags and came dressed in kilts, while bagpipes played outside Fenway Park. The singing started before the first pitch, while the Red Sox and Rangers were taking batting practice, and it kept going once the crowd filled the park.
Scottish Heritage Celebration Night
The Red Sox billed Sunday’s game as Scottish Heritage Celebration Night, and jerseys in Scottish colors were available through a specific ticket purchase. Fenway’s sound system played John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” about 20 minutes before the first pitch, adding to a scene that mixed baseball staging with World Cup celebration.
Earlier on Sunday, many fans had been in the bars watching Japan and the Netherlands play to a 2-2 draw. Later, the crowd inside Fenway split its attention between the game and the sing-along, with Scottish supporters continuing to make themselves heard after the march ended.
Jake Burger and the clubhouse
The same chant traveled through the sport’s other side of the ballpark too. After the Red Sox game, Texas Rangers player Jake Burger said, “Just having them out there and doing their chants, that was electric,” and added, “It’s a just a different energy when everybody’s singing in unison, just having a good time. There's a sense of togetherness that sometimes we lose in American sports.”
The Rangers beat Boston 6-4, and Burger said he selected “No Scotland No Party” from his playlist. Manager Skip Schumaker called the atmosphere “pretty special,” saying, “My bucket list is to be at a European game one day with my kids, and that was probably as close to it as you can get as far the atmosphere.” Scotland’s 1-0 win capped its first World Cup appearance in 28 years, and Sunday night pushed that result from Foxborough into the center of Boston.
