Pipers and dreams: World Cup fever grips Scotland again after 28 years

A Scotland fan looks forward to the action in Boston, Massachusetts. Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA View image in fullscreen A Scotland fan looks forward to the action in Boston, Massachusetts. Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA Pipers and dreams: World Cup fever grips Scotland again after 28 years The country is ready to blow away decades of dashed hopes and celebrate, with marching bands and all-night parties Scotland is leaning into one its most treasured traditions: embracing the hope and anxiety of a football World Cup , with a healthy dose of self-deprecating style. There are brash new tartans, an Edinburgh bar offering free Irn-Bru-infused “fiery ginger” beers for patrons with red hair, a collaboration between Scottish whisky firms and a Brazilian distiller, and all-night parties in nightclubs repurposed as fanzones. Supporters flying off to the US at Edinburgh and Glasgow airports were serenaded by pipers in the check-in halls; at Edinburgh it was the full military tattoo marching band, with a troupe of Highland dancers. Sprinkle all that in with a traditional row with the English – this time over disparaging remarks on Good Morning Britain by Ed Balls, Susanna Reid and the pundit Kevin Maguire about the extra bank holiday for Scotland sanctioned by the king – and the scene is perfectly set. View image in fullscreen John Swinney in front of the Scott McTominay mural in Glasgow. Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/PA Media It has taken Scotland 28 years to qualify for a World Cup, nearly three decades of grinding defeats and disillusionment, all while enduring its bitterest rival, England’s, repeated qualification for the tournament. The wait will end at 2am UK time on Sunday, when the team play underdogs Haiti in Boston. And despite the hour, perhaps a million or more Scots will be awake, watching at home, at friend’s houses, in bars and at fanzones dotted around the country. The first minister, John Swinney, will be at the game – a guest of the Scottish Football Association. He is mixing sport with opportunistic Brand Scotland trade, and cultural meetings at Harvard University and with local political leaders. The fanzone at one of Scotland’s cooler venues, SWG3 in the post-industrial west of Glasgow, has already sold out for that match and the following ties against two challengers for the trophy, Brazil and Morocco, with 1,300 people to gather for each of those two overnight games. “The venue’s certainly no stranger to a party atmosphere at 2am,” said its operations director, Bob Javaheri. “However, we’re usually looking to start winding down by that time, not ramping up. “I have a few friends that are heading Stateside for the tournament and, as disappointed as I am to not be joining them on the road, I’ve absolutely no doubt they’ll be keeping me well posted about their time away, so I’ll be living it all through them. View image in fullscreen A ‘Choose Scotland’ mural featuring Scott McTominay at a famous location from the film Trainspotting in P