There were chaotic scenes in Miami on Wednesday afternoon after Scottish football fans interrupted a live broadcast ahead of the nation’s World Cup clash with Brazil.
WPLG Miami’s Kacy Hintz was reporting from Marlins’ IoanDepot Park when her segment went off script with buoyant football fans attempting to grab her microphone to speak to viewers watching at home.
‘We love Miami,’ one rowdy member of the Tartan Army told Hintz before belligerently adding: ‘Come to f***ing Scotland!’
With Scotland’s World Cup team in town for Wednesday’s Group C game against Brazil, an estimated 25,000 members of the Tartan Army were expected to be on hand for Tuesday’s Marlins-Rangers game in Little Havana.
Hintz was assigned to cover the festivities outside the ballpark, where kilted, shirtless Scotsmen were seen pounding beers and singing the succinct refrain: ‘No Scotland, no party!’
‘A lot of them don’t even have tickets to go home,’ Hintz said while somehow managing the surrounding chaos. ‘They’re waiting until Scotland plays out in the tournament.’
And the celebrating Scottish fans made a clear effort to show their appreciation for the hospitality they’ve received in Massachusetts, where the team beat Hait and fell to Morocco, and now Miami.
Invading Scottish infantry nearly overwhelmed WPLG Miami’s Kacy Hintz live on air
The Miami-based reporter attempted to interview members of Scotland’s fanbase
‘Honestly, it’s been absolutely incredible,’ one of the more intelligible Scottish fans told Hintz. ‘The people of America have been wonderful, so welcoming to us. It’s been an absolute joy to be part of the World Cup again, finally, after 28 years.’
And while alcohol has fueled the Tartan Army’s US invasion, a few of the group’s members made sure to point out that the group isn’t in the country to start trouble.
‘No arrests, zero arrests, just fun,’ one fan told Hintz.
Before cutting the segment, Hintz did address the earlier profanity with her audience.
‘We do apologize, folks, of course for a couple of drunks here,’ she said. ‘These folks have been drinking all day.’
Hintz also shared some footage of bagpipers walking through the streets of Little Havan, where they later attended the Marlins loss to the visiting Rangers.
Much to the amusement of American baseball fans, the Tartan Army reacted with amazement to even the most mundane moments of Monday’s game in Miami. Even routine pop flies were punctuated with an outburst of applause when the ball eventually fell into the waiting outfielder’s glove.
And in perhaps the best moment of the evening, the Tartan Army serenaded Miami with a rendition of the Proclaimers ‘I’m Gonna Be.’
The Tartan Army invaded Miami this week ahead of their clash against Brazil on Wednesday
Around 5,000 members of the Tartan Army were expected to bring their antics to Miami
In total, around 50,000 Scotland supporters descended on the US for their first World Cup berth in 28 years.
The Tartan Army made Boston their base for the opening two group games against Haiti and Morocco, winning widespread praise for their good humor during their visit.
Their antics in Massachusetts went viral around the world – from drinking the city’s bars dry of Tennent’s lager to placing traffic cones on the heads of statues and even doing spontaneous street singalongs with fans from rival nations.
Boston’s police officers joined in the fun too, filming themselves doing keepy-uppies in the FIFA Fan Zone and attempting to play the bagpipes.
South Florida police have been slightly less enthusiastic.
A video circulating on social media shows a Scotland supporter attempting to place a traffic cone on top of a statue in downtown Miami, only to be stopped by nearby police.
The cone-on-statue tradition is a beloved piece of Scottish cultural heritage.
Glaswegians have been placing traffic cones atop the Duke of Wellington statue outside the Gallery of Modern Art for decades, a custom believed to have begun with late-night revellers in the 1980s.
