Scotland fans were already gathering in Boston on Thursday lunchtime with Saturday night’s World Cup match against Haiti coming into view, and the city has become the place where the wait feels real. The Scottish Football Association has turned a local pub into Scotland House beside the site of the Battle of Bunker Hill, and the 2,000-person venue is expected to be full on Saturday night.
That is why the question what time is Scotland playing today is being asked now. Scotland is back at a World Cup for the first time in 28 years, and the trip to New England has become a wider fan pilgrimage. Estimates suggest as many as 40,000 Scots could be heading there for the tournament, which helps explain why Boston is already crowded with fans long before the match begins.
For Gordon Sheach, the journey carries a kind of weight that cannot be manufactured. He said getting to see Scotland at a World Cup is one of the few genuine once-in-a-lifetime opportunities left. He was nine years old during 1998, and he said that watching Scotland then is what made him a fan. The return has taken nearly his whole teenage years, his 20s and almost his 30s, which is why he and many others are determined to make the most of it.
The mood in Boston is festive, with drinking, costumes and national pride doing much of the work, but it is not only about celebration. Alan Risk said Scotland’s story under Steve Clarke has been one of repeated resilience, and that the fans have matched it. He and Sheach both want the trip to end with more than memories of a party; they want Scotland to be successful on the pitch as well.
Scotland’s last World Cup was 1998, so the return has already changed the way supporters are behaving and where they are gathering. Scotland House gives them a fixed base, Boston gives them a meeting point, and Saturday night gives them the next test. What remains unresolved is the detail everyone is still looking for: the exact kickoff time against Haiti.
