World Cup
Scottish fans empty Boston bars after 1-0 win over Haiti
After Scotland’s 1‑0 triumph over Haiti at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, Scottish supporters swarmed Boston’s pubs, depleting Samuel Adams beer supplies and forcing bar owners to request emergency deliveries ahead of the July 4 holiday weekend. The surge of pint orders left taps empty and sparked celebrations with kilts, bagpipes and street singing.
Scotland’s victory over Haiti was celebrated across Boston with fans donning kilts and bagpipers performing on the streets. Some supporters even placed orange traffic cones on city statues, echoing the Dutch national colours.
Boston Taproom owner Sam Adams told NBC Boston that Scottish fans ordered pints from Thursday to Sunday, drinking four times more beer than American patrons during the four‑day weekend. The bar ran out of Samuel Adams Boston beer and placed an emergency order on Saturday morning to meet the demand.
Paul Morris, owner of The White Bull Tavern, said to NBC, “Almost everything was gone,” praising the fans as “incredible, sociable and having a great time.” A third local bar reported selling three times more beer than during the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.
Beyond football, Scottish fans turned up at a Boston Red Sox baseball game, extending their festive atmosphere to the diamond. Scotland’s second World Cup match is scheduled for Friday night, a midnight Saturday (Dutch time) clash with Morocco at the same Gillette Stadium.
Other World Cup fan moments included Dutch supporters turning Dallas blue, Bosnian fans painting Toronto blue, and Mexican spectators embracing Merlin the duck in a Mexican football shirt. These scenes highlighted the global enthusiasm surrounding the tournament in North America.
Amnesty Netherlands warned that the United States’ visa policy discriminates, noting that a top Somali referee was denied entry to the tournament. An Iraqi striker was held for seven hours by U.S. border police, Canadian fans jeered the U.S. flag during Toronto’s opening ceremony, and Iranian players were relocated to Mexico instead of the originally planned Arizona venue.