The World Cup has begun and the country of Scotland is setting records….not on the pitch but on urban society….
First they set a record while singing the Scottish national anthem….
Scotland’s World Cup fans made some noise—and possibly a bit of history—outside Boston. A sound meter at Gillette Stadium hit 125 decibels during the singalong for the “Flower of Scotland” anthem before the team’s 1–0 win over Haiti, reports the Times of London. If verified, it would be the loudest noise ever recorded at a World Cup match. The mark also smashes the stadium’s previous record (at an NFL game) by nearly 20 decibels and tops the 116-decibel mark Brazil fans hit at a past tournament, per the Scottish Daily Express. It is, however, well short of the loudest crowd noise on record, 142.2 decibels for a 2014 Kansas City Chiefs game at Arrowhead Stadium.
Audiology experts are less celebratory. They liken 125 decibels to standing next to a rock-concert speaker or siren, with “safe” exposure measured in seconds, not minutes. That kind of sound can trigger immediate ringing, muffled hearing, or permanent damage, and they urge supporters to use earplugs or step away from the stands periodically if things get that rowdy.
Then there is the beer thing…..
The parent company of Sam Adams said its Boston Taproom ran out of the brand’s flagship Boston Lager over the weekend because Scotland soccer fans in Boston for the 2026 World Cup drank four times as much as the bar usually sells.
Boston Beer Co. said in a news release that from Thursday to Sunday, the Tartan Army — Scotland’s supporters organization — drank four times what the company normally stocks during a typical four-day holiday stretch like the Fourth of July, adding that it had to schedule an emergency delivery of beer Saturday morning and are adding extra deliveries this week to make sure it has enough.
“We’ve never seen anything like it,” Billy DeCain of the Sam Adams Boston Taproom told NBC Boston.
“The White Bull Tavern, there was no beer,” Scottish fan Dave Orr told NBC. “The Scottish fans just drank the place dry and all they had was Bud Light.”
“Pretty much everything. We ran out of everything,” Paul Morris of The White Bull Tavern said. “Tennent’s being number one.
“The fans have been unbelievable. They’re great — fun, drinking, partying — having a great time.”
Okay I am starting to like Scotland and its fans….after all I am a fan of Sam Adams Boston Lager as well…..
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”
Scotland fans are known for being loud and drinking a lot. But then most England fans are the same. I have not seen a single minute of the football, I have no interest in it.
Best wishes, Pete.
I salute Scottish futbol fans with a pint – or 4 -of my favorite Scottish ale while wearing my Sicilian-made kilt and playing – very badly – my bagpipes. I paint my face blue and yell at the top of my lungs, “FREEEEEEDOM!!!”
Oh wait, that was just a movie – lol!