Hay's Way heads to USA to track the heart and soul of Tartan Army
It is the US of Hay as our rural affairs correspondent heads stateside to follow the Tartan Army and - hopefully - some World Cup glory
From the west coast woodlands of Argyll to the Eastern Seaboard of the US, Hay’s Way is off to the World Cup.
In less than a week, I will be on an aeroplane with members of the Tartan Army, heading out to see Scotland play in this global tournament for the first time in 28 years.
My knowledge of the game is about as good as my skill in playing it. My legs may have carried me thousands of miles through Scotland, but when it comes to dribbling a ball, I have two left feet.
The main purpose of me going west, however, is not to document the sport itself. My quest is to absorb and document the life and soul of this country’s fans in one of Scotland’s biggest moments in the history of the beautiful game. I am looking forward to meeting these people at the zenith of Scottish football and the euphoria and emotion that it brings.
At least, I hope that to be the case. An unwelcoming surge in costs, pricing out the very people who make the World Cup, has tainted this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for many over the last few months. Last minute US visa changes this week appear to have put some Scotland fans in limbo as to whether they can still enter the country or not. But also the sticky humidity and high temperatures of Miami threaten to dampen the roar of tartanised bagpipe marches either side of the games.
A few party invitations, however, suggest this clan of fans is soldiering on. On the eve of Scotland’s first group game against Haiti in Foxborough, near Boston, which most expect to be their first major-tournament victory since a 1-0 defeat of Switzerland at Euro 96, I will be attending a soiree of A-list Scottish celebrities coming together. Indeed, the Tartan Army live by the motto: No Scotland, No Party.
And the US knows it. Stonehaven-born Jason Waddleton has ordered over 100 kegs of Tennents for his bar in Boston, The Haven, to support the T-parties.
The football marches and partying might seem like a far cry from my rural affairs beat walking Scotland, but I have drawn a few similarities.
After telling a designated shepherd of the Tartan Army that my job normally involves talking to people who herd things, he said: ‘That’s one way of describing what I do.’
I also plan to meet a fellow Scottish walker, Craig Ferguson, who has been walking across the States for a mental health charity to finish in Boston in time for the first Scotland game.
Never miss a bit of the action and subscribe to The Scotsman’s World Cup newsletter. We’ll have our very own Alan Pattullo and Katharine Hay reporting every day from the USA, bringing us all the updates as the Tartan Army descend on American soil. Sign up here.
And while I am not going to be camped out in a tent, The Scotsman has put me in bunkbeds in eight-bed dormitories for the entire trip, so not much change there.
A highlight to watch will be an hourly video update of my 33-hour Greyhound bus trip across the US to make Scotland’s third game against Brazil in Miami. Here’s hoping the ordeal is worth it. The whole point of taking the ‘Walmart of travel’ option was in the hope of meeting other navy blue and white stripes hoping to save a penny here and there. But it turns out most Tartan Army fans have opted to fly.
Nonetheless, I hope to attract fellow Scots with my Scotland Hay’s Way 8 shirt. For a moment, I thought I might get a call from the national squad after they lost Billy Gilmour (8) in a recent warm up game.
As a wink to the Tartan Army’s adopted anthem, I’ll start my coverage of the World Cup with a letter to the Editor:
Sir,
I can boogie.
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.