Football Extra newsletter: Dispatches from inside the Tartan Army
Article excerpt
Pat Nevin files dispatches from inside the Tartan Army, Scotland's famously passionate fan base, at a major football tournament. The newsletter captures the atmosphere, stories, and perspectives of Scottish supporters as they follow their national team. Rather than breaking news or analyzing tactical decisions, this piece prioritizes on-the-ground color and the emotional experience of being embedded with one of football's most devoted supporter communities. Nevin, a former Scottish footballer turned broadcaster, uses his insider access to bring readers the texture of tournament life beyond what official team coverage provides.
The party started long ago for the Scottish fans lucky to be in Boston for today's World Cup opener against Haiti [Getty Images]
Just travelling to a World Cup is its own special adventure. Before I got out of Glasgow Airport en route to Dublin and then on to Boston, the fun had well and truly started.
At check in there were flights going to Reykjavik, London, Dublin, Lisbon and many more widespread cities. Each flight had a snaking line full of kilted Scots. It looked like a tartan clad exodus had begun or a friendly invasion organised, with everyone delighted to be going along.
Before even dropping my suitcase, two men were being interviewed beside the airport entrance doors. Their less-travelled but still impressive route was to be Glasgow to Lisbon, on to the Azores, then I think Cancun in Mexico before flying up to Boston. All very impressive except they had slept in and missed the first of those flights. I don't even want to think of the thousands lost for the sake of a 'wee' lie in!
The best was yet to come, when I made it through passport control, I was sipping a coffee when a very serious sounding lady made an urgent announcement over the intercom: "Would anyone who has lost a kilt, please come to the lost property immediately".
I then witnessed something very rare, an entire airport laughing together.
He might not have noticed he'd lost his kilt, but if he was a true Scotsman (wearing no underwear underneath) then I bet everyone else had!
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Go big against Haiti, or face going home
There is nervousness buried beneath the Scottish smiles of my fellow travellers from the Tartan Army though.
Scotland have a problem: our most important game of the World Cup will almost certainly be the first one against Haiti. Win that and they can go through, anything else and it is a long shot even Cristiano Ronaldo wouldn't fancy trying.
The same scenario is the case for the Haitians as well because wins against the mighty Brazilians or the ultra-talented Moroccans seem distant, though not impossible, hopes.
Four years work, or 28 if you consider how long the Scots have waited to make a World Cup finals, could disappear in less time than in takes to watch a movie.
The entire nation seemed to go into some sort of mini nervous breakdown when it emerged Scott McTominay had missed a training session with a sore tummy.
This is not a natural reaction but it underlines what everyone already knows; if Scotland do not win against Haiti then it might be an idea to start packing the bags before they are fully unpacked.
You are Steve Clarke, what do you do against Haiti?
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The Scotland fans who have hopped over the pond, whichever route they chose, are going to have a great time and be very entertaining. They will be fun but also fearless which is what you need to qualify on the field.
The top teams are fearless at the start. I don't think England are particularly worried about not getting out of their group. Croatia aren't quite the force they once were, Ghana are not the strongest team in Africa and if England can't beat Panama there will be questions in the Houses of Parliament.
England have also got a rather helpful habit of keeping clean sheets, no goals shipped in qualification is a sobering challenge to others at this party.
Whatever Thomas Tuchel says to relieve the pressure on the English, considering the depth of talent, they are most certainly amongst the favourites. I would also suggest that this is the most open World Cup I have ever been to.
Since 1998 the winners have been from the powerhouse nations of Europe and South America, the usual suspects as it were, but maybe the outsiders have a chance because there is no outright clear and obvious favourite this time.
Turkey and South Korea got into the last four in 2002, while Croatia and Morocco upset the odds in getting that far as well in the years since. Who is to say one of the others can't take that extra step this time?
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No tea at this Boston party
There was a party in Boston on Friday night.
I must admit, going to it probably wasn't the best idea while still being a bit jet lagged from the flight over. Being a Tartan Army affair, it certainly couldn't have been described as a Boston Tea Party in any sense.
I intend to give a full and frank account to everyone, as soon as the lawyers have checked it out and I can actually remember some of it.
There were a bunch of songs by The Proclaimers, a rousing rendition of 'Flower of Scotland', then a few toasts and after that it got a bit messy…but as the hilarious broadcaster Kenny Everett used to pronounce, "it was all done in the best possible taste".
I did however find myself sitting beside Hearts manager Derek McInnnes for the evening and decided not to push the journalistic parameters too far and ask about his immediate future. He wouldn't have told me anyway.
With John Swinney, Scotland's first minister there alongside Hollywood actor Gerard Butler and a host of other celebrity figures, the vibe seemed to be "what happens in Boston, stays in Boston"...
This is the joy of the World Cup, fun and camaraderie. Even though the prices are horrendously high for the travelling fan, every plane leaving Scotland and indeed Ireland was jam packed with the Tartan Army this week.
I walked the length of our airbus and did not see a single American going home, or even a casual tourist among the football fans. These seats have been booked up for many months.
Flights have doubtless been commandeered en masse around the world too, even if the Scots are particularly keen followers of their national side.
The competition is a few days old, but just starting for some of us. With the real fans around you, if you concentrate, you can just about block out the gruesome monetising of this year's festival…for a little while anyway.
This is my full column from this week's BBC Football Extra newsletter. Throughout the World Cup we'll be sending editions daily, landing in your inbox ahead of the day's play to help guide you through the biggest and busiest tournament ever.
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