Scotland's Tartan Army appears to have been given the green light to place traffic cones on statues in Miami, after a city commissioner spoke to fans in the US city. Rolando Escalon, commissioner for Miami's District 3, has been telling fans he does not object to the Scottish tradition.
Fan's Attempt Sparks Police Response
The development comes after Chris Nicoll, from St Andrews, provoked the ire of local officers on Sunday when he tried to crown a statue with a cone in the Little Havana area. A video viewed thousands of times online shows him scaling a pedestal supporting a statue of Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León. As soon as he places an orange traffic cone on the statue's head, a nearby police car blares its horn and someone shouts "get off of there" before he climbs down.
Boston Embraces the Tradition
During the Tartan Army's time in Boston, fans crowned many statues and objects with traffic cones, echoing the cone famously sitting on the Duke of Wellington statue in Glasgow. The Massachusetts capital took to the tradition with good humour, with even the mayor of Boston placing a cone on a statue of basketball legend Bill Russell.
Speaking to the Press Association, Mr Nicoll said he explained to the police officer that he did not intend to be "disrespectful" to the Tartan Army's American hosts.
Commissioner's Blessing
A day later, Mr Nicoll said Miami commissioner Rolando Escalon came to Little Havana to give Scotland fans his "blessing" and to place a cone on a statue himself. Mr Nicoll told the Press Association on Monday: "Today we had the commissioner of Miami come to Little Havana and put a cone on here, and then give us a blessing. He apologised for yesterday and said 'all bets are off, go cone crazy'."
As he spoke, Mr Nicoll gestured behind him to a statue of a chicken with a cone on its head, which he said had been placed there by the commissioner. Another Scotland fan posted on Instagram showing Mr Escalon next to a chicken statue with a cone on its head. When a Scotland fan asks if they can now put cones up, Mr Escalon replies: "Yes sir, we are here to support you guys. We are so happy. Welcome to Little Havana, we hope you have fun today. I know you will."
Fans' Spontaneous Trip
Mr Nicoll and a friend decided to travel to the US at the last minute for the Scotland v Morocco game, paying £900 each for tickets. They made an equally impulsive decision to head to Miami, where Scotland will play Brazil on Wednesday evening. He also said the atmosphere in Miami has been "brilliant" despite the sweltering heat.
The Miami police department has been approached for comment.
