As the Tartan Army leaves for Miami to see Scotland take on Brazil in their final World Cup group game, the Daily Record has gathered the most viral moments from their takeover of Boston. Thousands of fans turned the Massachusetts capital into a sea of tartan, creating moments shared around the globe. Scotland's supporters became the talk of the World Cup as they drank the city dry of beer and blasted bagpipes along the streets.
1. Craig Ferguson's Epic 3,000-Mile Walk
Scotland superfan Craig Ferguson reached Boston on June 12 during his epic 3,000-mile Tartan Trek across America, raising over £1 million for men's mental health. The fundraising hero set off in February from Santa Monica, California, walking and running the equivalent of more than 120 marathons. Battling extreme weather and physical exhaustion, he crossed 12 states before arriving at Boston Common, where bagpipes and hundreds of fans greeted him. Upon arriving, he said: "I will never ever be able to find the words to describe this. No one will ever know how f***ing hard that was. Every part of that - the walking, I said I would do it. I said I'd raise £1 million, we hit it for men's mental health. And every single one of you that have supported it from the start and believed that I could do it. We're f***ing here, we done it!"
2. Jobi Liquor: A Name That Left Scots in Stitches
The Tartan Army was left in hysterics at the name of a Boston booze shop, with hundreds seen taking pictures outside 'Jobi Liquors'. Owner Jimmy Ryan, 65, was baffled at the sight of giggling Scots posing for snaps. He told the Record: "Everyone has been telling me what it means over there. I didn't believe them at first, then the next thing hundreds of people are turning up outside my shop getting pictures. We've all been joshing around, it's been funny. There's been thousands of them - every single day there's groups outside the shop."
3. Bagpipe Wake-Up Call
A clip showing Scotland fans blasting bagpipes at 6:30 am went viral, racking up millions of views. Local resident Mike Morrison, who posted the video, said: "It's great having them in the neighbourhood. It's a novelty for us and I'm an early riser. Nothing like waking up to coffee and pipes. Helps clear the pipes. With so much crap going on in the world, it's nice to see."
4. Party Cruise
Hundreds of fans piled onto a huge party cruiser the day before Scotland's clash with Morocco. With an open bar and extensive spread, fans chanted 'No Scotland, No Party' and 'Scotland's on Fire'. North East Tartan Army chief Chris Gibson, 50, said: "What a day. We've all been partying here. This one has blown the rest out of the water."
5. Brave the Shave
David Carsey, 42, from Aberdeen, shaved his beard aboard the party cruise for charity. He said: "I did the same thing for the Euros and I thought I might as well do it again. If I can raise a bit of money for charity - too right. I'm doing it for the STV Children's Appeal and also a Boston hospital. Now my beard is gone, it feels very weird! I always have a beard - I've had one for 10 years."
6. Keepy-Up Cop
Boston police Sergeant Connor Hardy went viral after performing keepy-uppies in a FIFA fan zone. He told WCVB Channel 5 Boston: "It was funny. A bunch of fans - Scots and Americans - were playing with the ball and I think they thought when I came over that I was going to be the fun police and steal their ball. I did steal actually steal their ball but I just ran with it and did my thing and it was funny and took off. I didn't think it'd get the legs it did - no pun intended - but it was great, it was fun to see us being out here as police interacting with everybody and having a fun time."
7. Traffic Cones on Statues
The Tartan Army placed traffic cones on Boston statues, including Robert Burns, the Arms of Friendship statue, former mayor Kevin White, and Celtics legend Bill Russell. The cone stunt is a nod to Glasgow's Duke of Wellington statue, which has sported a cone since the 1980s.
8. Glasgow Kiss
A viral clip showed a Scotland fan headbutting a boxing punch arcade machine, scoring 581 out of 999, while an American trying the same technique scored just five. The 28-second clip left Boston locals in awe.
9. Fenway Park Takeover
More than 5,000 Scotland fans brought the party to a Boston Red Sox game against the Texas Rangers. Fans marched to Fenway Park, singing and clapping to bagpipes, and adapted 'No Scotland, No Party' to 'No Red Sox, No Party'. The stadium DJ kept the atmosphere going with songs like Gala's Freed From Desire and The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond.
10. Boston Pubs Run Out of Beer
The chief operating officer of Hennessy's Bar told Boston sports radio station WEEI Sports: "We've been here for over 30 years. We've never seen anything like it. We tripled St Patrick's Day over the weekend with the Scottish visitors. They brought back fun, that was lost." The demand was so intense that the bar sold out of beer by Sunday night, forcing emergency restocks ahead of the next Scotland game. Federal Wine and Spirits also reported rapid sell-outs of popular beer brands.
