BOSTON -- Tartan Army, meet the Fenway faithful.
It was indeed a unique Sunday night as the crazed fans of the Scotland national football team, fresh off a 1-0 victory in its first World Cup match over Haiti on Saturday in Foxboro, marched through the streets of Boston and had a parade en route to Fenway Park.
The Red Sox, knowing the World Cup schedule months ago, planned for Sunday’s game against the Rangers to be Scottish Heritage Night.
On Jersey Street hours before the game, bagpipers played while many others in their kilts took it all in while enjoying their beverages of choice.
It was a party.
Most fans had on blue jerseys similar to the ones worn by the football team with the Scotland national flag and “Red Sox” printed on them.
The jerseys went to all the fans who bought the promotional tickets, which included thousands of Scots filling out sections of the bleachers.
It was a literal sea of blue in those seats, and not in honor of the Texas Rangers, who had similarly colored jerseys for Sunday’s game.
“Oh, it's been fantastic, actually,” said Susan Swindells, who earmarked this trip from Scotland to Boston months ago. “I think Boston's really taking us [into] their hearts. We've got a really friendly welcome here, which is fantastic. It's my second time in Boston. I actually came to my first baseball game at Fenway Park and saw the Red Sox beat the Twins a number of years ago. So it’s nice to be back again, and hopefully after we saw Scotland win last night, we’ll get to see another victory today.”
Swindells was one of many swept up in the festivities.
“It’s a very different pace to the game,” Swindells said, comparing baseball to soccer. “This has a more leisurely pace to it compared with football or soccer, which is intense.”
Many of the spectators seemed to be looking forward to having more time to socialize, which is something that’s hard to do in the heat of a World Cup match.
“It’s a little like cricket,” said Karl Johnston. “It’s kind of the ambience of the whole thing. You can talk to your friends, you don’t have to intensely concentrate the whole time like football. It’s a slower build.”
And one that Johsnston and his friend, Gordon Campbell, couldn’t wait to take part in.
“We were at the game last night, and we can hardly speak, so it's been brilliant,” said Campbell. “I think If we hadn’t won last night, we might have been a little flat today.”
Johnston, seemingly the more gregarious member of the duo, disagreed.
“We’re always in good spirits -- whether we win or lose,” said Johnston. “We’re not the most historically successful team. If anything, football comes second to all the stuff that surrounds it.”
There was little doubt the Scots were all in on their night of revelry at MLB’s oldest ballpark.
“It’s an iconic stadium,” said Swindells. “The Green Monster! It has such a great tradition.”
“We've got our flags and will be singing songs,” Johnston said. “We might not be able to understand the rules very much.”
“Hit the ball!” interjected Campbell.
Without a doubt, the night in which two famous sports crossed over, was sure to be a hit.
“Yeah, it was crazy," Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said. "Felt like a soccer game with the chanting and all that. It was pretty loud.”