With the 2026 FIFA World Cup underway across the United States, traveling fans are filling their holidays with a quintessentially American tourist activity: attending an MLB game.
From Fenway Park to Yankee Stadium, MLB stadiums are suddenly filled with bagpipes, kilts, Viking hats, flags, songs, and new baseball fans learning the game in real time.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It may be loading or it may have been deleted.
It all started on June 14, the day after Scotland defeated Haiti 1-0 in Foxborough to win their first World Cup since 1990. At that time, crowds of Scottish fans marched through Boston to Fenway Park for the Red Sox vs. Rangers game, which was already planned as Scottish Heritage Night. Kismet!
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It may be loading or it may have been deleted.
Crowds of fans wearing kilts and Scottish jerseys filled part of the stadium, singing throughout the game and bringing so much energy that Red Sox president Sam Kennedy later wrote a letter to the Scottish Football Association thanking the Tartan Army for making Fenway “a meeting place for two sporting cultures.”
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It may be loading or it may have been deleted.
From there, the stadium tour continued. On June 16, with a few days between Scotland’s World Cup games, fans headed to Yankee Stadium and took over part of the upper deck as the Yankees played the White Sox.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It may be loading or it may have been deleted.
But no, they didn’t stop there.
Mashable Trend Report
On June 22, ahead of Scotland’s World Cup game against Brazil, thousands of Scotland fans marched from Little Havana’s Ball & Chain to Depot Park for the Marlins vs. Texas Rangers game.
Inside the stadium, approximately 8,000 of the announced 28,000 spectators were from the Tartan Corps. Starting pitcher Tyler Phillips called the atmosphere “unbelievable” in his postgame press conference and said, “You’re going to get those guys to pay to come to the game.” (He may have been joking, but the Marlins ticket office should have at least listened to him.) Cody Freeman was also in awe.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It may be loading or it may have been deleted.
Scotland isn’t the only fan base bringing World Cup energy to MLB. On June 24, a group of Norwegian fans gathered at Citi Field for a doubleheader between the Mets and Cubs, moments after Norway defeated Senegal 3-2 at MetLife Stadium, sending the team to the playoffs for the first time since 1998.
Norwegian fans painted part of the outfield red, wore Viking hats, waved flags, danced in the stands, and held a “Viking Row” celebration in the stands. Mr. and Mrs. Met also attended. We love that effort.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It may be loading or it may have been deleted.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It may be loading or it may have been deleted.
Some World Cup teams have also announced their participation. On June 18, the England national team visited Kauffman Stadium during their World Cup stay in Kansas City, where manager Thomas Tuchel threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Royals game. According to social media, it was definitely a strike.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It may be loading or it may have been deleted.
Meanwhile, the Rangers are capitalizing on this new fan base by building World Cup-themed promotions throughout the tournament, including football-style jerseys, global scarf giveaways, flag patches and a “Texas Baseball Guide” for international visitors heading to Globe Life Field.
Baseball may not be on every World Cup fan’s itinerary, but it remains one of the best surprises on days off from the tournament. It’s great to see everyone having a good time at a regular season baseball game again, even if half the crowd still doesn’t understand what counts as a strike.
Source link
