In the United States, the NFL is king. But around the world, a different football reigns.
Fans from across the globe have poured into the U.S. to support their national team for the 2026 World Cup and they are bringing their traditions with them.
On Thursday, June 11, a group of Scotland fans delighted locals in Boston by playing bagpipes and wearing kilts at 6:30 a.m.
Mike Morrison, who is a Senior Director of External Communications at Mass General Brigham, posted a video sharing the moment with the world.
“In the dead of night the Scots arrived at the Airbnb across the street,” he wrote. “Decked out and playing the pipes at 6:30 am. So it begins…”
The video has 886,000 views at the time of publication with people commenting that the scene is “beautiful” and “fantastic.”
In the dead of night the Scots arrived at the Airbnb across the street. Decked out and playing the pipes at 6:30 am. So it begins… pic.twitter.com/LczU1loVXp
— Mike Morrison (@MDMorrison82) June 11, 2026
Scotland opens its World Cup journey against Haiti on Saturday, June 13 at Gillette Stadium. The European country is making its return to the tournament for the first time since 1998. They failed to qualify for six World Cups in those 28 years.
Another World Cup fan who has been entertaining Americans is a German supporter who goes by the name Freddy. He has been documenting his journey through the South ahead of Germany’s opener in Houston on Sunday and has amassed more than 380,000 followers on X. He posted about visiting a Bass Pro Shop, calling it “surreal,” enjoyed discovering country music star Ella Langley and embraced the venerated American tradition of eating Waffle House at 1 a.m., saying “Great food, great prices, and friendly staff. 10/10, we will be coming back.”
Just had our first Waffle House experience at 1am. Great food, great prices, and friendly staff. 10/10, we will be coming back.😋 pic.twitter.com/QHgftpqfoX
— Freddy🇩🇪 (@FreddyLA7) June 8, 2026
According to Sprout Social, Freddy’s biggest post yet is his commentary about visiting a Buc-ee’s, where he said, “DUDE LMAO THIS IS A GAS STATION.” At the time of publication, the post has 23.2 million views.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Scotland fans play bagpipes bright and early ahead of World Cup return
