First 24 hours in Miami following the Tartan Army ahead of Scotland Brazil game

It feels a little unfair to compare the two cities. Given that they sit at opposite ends of North America, the experience was always going to be different.

What is comparable, however, is the reception afforded to the Tartan Army and their antics as they descend on Florida for one of the most important World Cup games Steve Clarke’s team will play.

The sheer size of Miami, compared with Boston, makes the Scottish invasion feel less obvious. They are also sharing the city with a huge Hispanic community, including its own ‘Little Havana’, meaning there are lots of Brazil and Argentina fans in town.

In Boston, it was little short of fan mania in the city centre when it came to the men in kilts and the Glasgow-rooted tradition of placing traffic cones on statues. In Miami, despite temperatures climbing into the mid-30s, it has taken a little longer for the city to warm to the Tartan Army.

One video from the supporters' first days in town showed a Scotland fan attempting to place a cone on a statue's head. He was swiftly interrupted by the blare of sirens from some clearly unimpressed sheriffs and instructed to remove it.

Much like Boston, though, the local baseball stadium went all out in welcoming the Scotland fans.

LoanDepot Park hosted a true fiesta de Escocia as thousands of supporters, many sporting Scotland-themed bucket hats, bounced up and down to We Like to Party by the Vengaboys. The public-address announcer wore a kilt, as did one of the television cameramen.

Once inside, I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) by the Proclaimers rang around the stadium alongside a catalogue of Scottish favourites. An estimated 8,000 Scotland supporters were in attendance as the Miami Marlins took on the Texas Rangers, singing along throughout. Saltires draped the grandstand while bagpipes echoed across the concourse.

At one point, the St Andrews Pipe Band of Miami stole the show, drawing hundreds of spectators who raised their phones to record renditions of everything from Flower of Scotland to Highland Cathedral.

One of the pipers had clearly read the brief. He launched into Super John McGinn, a Tartan Army favourite that has been sung so often during this trip that you can hear locals humming it in the street.

The world-famous Ocean Drive has been taken over by supporters of competing nations and Scotland's presence is unmistakable among them. A giant beach ball decorated with the Saltire sat on the seafront bearing the message: "Miami Beach welcomes Team Scotland."

The Irish pubs, however, have become the Tartan Army's natural home. As in Boston, queues of sweating kilted supporters formed on the pavement outside these watering holes buzzing with Scottish hits and karaoke.

While the traffic cones tend to be firmly on the road or pavements in Miami, Scotland fans are finding other ways to make their presence known.

Saltire and Lion Rampant flags flow from windows or hang on the walls of dozens of hotels dotted about the Miami Beach area. North East Tartan Army, as with in Boston, arranged for a booze cruise and a march for fans took place ahead of their final and mammoth match against Brazil on Wednesday.

My first night spent walking round the city ended in a typical Tartan Army encounter. Scott, from East Lothian, offered to add a stop for my hostel on his Uber ride back to his hotel to save me a 40 minute walk. The kindness and good nature of the Tartan Army remains a constant.

“Miami has not been the same as Boston,” he said to me in the back of the car.

“But we still have time to win them over.”