Win, Lose or Song: Scotland Returns, Trailed by Its Tartan Army

Rambunctious, joyous and thirsty, the Tartan Army became a tourist attraction in its own right, a traveling horde of merriment that stood out in a culture in which fans were all too often known for leaving behind a trail of blood and broken glass.

This week, though, after a 23-year absence, the Scots are back on the big stage at last.

On Monday, they will open play in the monthlong European Championship with a game against the Czech Republic in Glasgow.

Somewhere in Paterson’s yard there is a patch of turf that has been growing for more than 44 years.

Hamish Husband, then 19, remembers seeing a group heading out on Wembley Way, the famous thoroughfare that leads toward England’s national stadium, with pieces of the goal posts.

Hooliganism had taken hold in England during the 1980s and ’90s; pitched battles involving soccer fans became commonplace; and nations drawn to face England would regularly brace for violence.

By the 1980s, Scotland’s fans had become an attraction in their own right.

A year earlier, he said, he was in Paris for a qualification game when a Scottish fan emerged from the back of a police van to huge cheers after swapping clothes with a gendarme.

Low expectations helped foster good humor.

By the time the 1998 World Cup was played in France, the Tartan Army’s popular appeal and global standing had largely surpassed its team’s.

Fans like Paterson, Coyle and Husband, for whom following Scotland to championship events formed a backdrop to their lives, have waited more than two decades for their team to get to another major tournament.

Scotland’s presence at the 1998 World Cup, Sheach said, was a transformational experience, the moment he fell in love with soccer, and with his national team.

As he grew from boy to adolescent to man, Scotland persistently — maddeningly — found new and painful ways to fail.

A charity affiliated with Scottish fans, the Tartan Army Sunshine Appeal, makes a donation to children’s causes in every country where Scotland plays a game.

But when Scotland finally ended its exile, its fans were absent, forced to watch from home because of the coronavirus pandemic.

We knew that coming into the game we could give a little something to this country, and I hope everyone back home is having a party tonight.

Scotland, and the Tartan Army, is now back in the big time.

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