The numbers behind Scotland’s World Cup road trip across the United States are starting to look almost made up.
Across the past two weeks, the Tartan Army has drunk Boston dry, filled Fenway Park for a Red Sox game and turned ordinary American sports fixtures into something resembling a cup final.
The latest example came in Miami on Monday, where roughly 8,000 Scotland supporters descended on loanDepot Park for the Marlins’ game against the Texas Rangers, as part of a special Tartan Army ticket package.
It was the second baseball game in two weeks to be swallowed up by the traveling Scots, and it likely will not be the last.
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A takeover two weeks in the making
The support has followed Scotland from Boston, where the national team opened its first World Cup campaign in 28 years, down to Miami for Wednesday’s group decider against Brazil.
Their reputation arrived before they did. A week earlier, the fans forced Boston bars into emergency beer runs and packed Fenway Park, where the Red Sox staged a “Scotland Day” in their honor.
loanDepot Park got the same treatment. The Marlins put together a ticket package, and the supporters responded in numbers, marching to the stadium behind a pipe band before filling the stands.
The announced crowd of 20,008 was one of the biggest the Marlins have drawn all season, with the Scotland contingent making up close to half of it. Miami went on to lose 4-3 to the Rangers, though the result barely seemed to matter.
For a club that often plays in front of sparse crowds, the noise was a novelty. For the Tartan Army, it was just another night on a tour that has charmed every American city it has touched.
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