Boston & the World Cup: A Match Made in Sports Heaven
Boston is just one of those cities that was tailor-made to host the World Cup.
It’s a town that loves sports so much that they permeate its very modern foundation. You quite literally can’t tell the story of Boston over the last century without including the legacies of its sports teams.
Now, with the arrival of thousands of rabid fans from all around the world over the next month or so, it seems that a wholly unique and new chapter of that sports history is being written day by day.
From the outset, I promise neither the city of Boston nor FIFA (nor anyone, really) is paying me to write this; it’s just simply been that special to witness firsthand as it has developed over the past few days.
I hadn’t been back here since 2008, and even back then, I was unable to appreciate just how much the city has to offer in terms of food and entertainment. But it’s the sheer variety of sports bars and watch parties available for World Cup fans that is making Boston really shine right now.
I arrived from DC near midnight on Saturday in the wake of Scotland’s tight 1-0 victory over Haiti, and you’d better believe the Tartan Army was still wandering the streets and packing the pubs well into the AM.
The Scots aren’t the only fans showing out in Beantown at the moment, but they are certainly the fanbase that’s taking center stage across traditional and social media. And they are having the time of their lives.
Most Scottish fans I spoke to were agitated by their team’s performance in the match itself, but gave mountains of praise for the venue, Gillette Stadium (renamed Boston Stadium for the event), as well as the incredible atmosphere.
“I’m not a fan of Trump, but man, America knows how to put on an event,” said one fan.
“It was the best match I’ve ever been to in my life,” said another. “The stadium was unbelievable, it felt like a Scotland home match….it was a fight, but three points are three points, I think it’s just in our nature as Scots to be negative towards our team’s chances.”
Sunday began with a quick trip to a local German restaurant for the early Germany vs. Curacao match. The watch party featured a $22 liter beer and shot wheel spin combo (again, this is just more free advertising) along with some solid vibes thanks to the Deutchland faithful around the bar. The 7-1 drilling dished out by Die Mannschaft kept the mood happy throughout the match, as Curacao entered rare territory, joining Brazil as the latest team to be annihilated by the Germans at the World Cup by that same scoreline.
This was followed by a watch party at The Greatest Bar, an impressive four-story downtown sports bar which featured a lively crowd of Dutch supporters taking in their match against Japan.
The thrilling back-and-forth 2-2 affair made for a fantastic viewing experience, as the passion of the Oranje fans was on full display from start to finish, even though the result left many of the patrons ultimately dissatisfied.
Then, as dusk fell, things got taken to a whole new level. I regrettably in retrospect didn’t attend the Red Sox vs. Texas Rangers game, but once again the Tartan Army stole the show.
They marched to Fenway Park with bagpipes, kilts and all and invaded the iconic stadium turning a run-of-the-mill baseball game into likely an unforgettable experience for every Red Sox fan that showed up.
American sports fans, especially Boston fans, pride themselves on creating top-notch atmosphere, but on Sunday night, they got a little taste of what UK football culture brings to the table, and it made for an unreal spectacle.
As of now, I have another day in Boston remaining before I head up to Foxborough to get ready for my first-ever World Cup match: Norway vs. Iraq. I have yet to see the Boston FIFA fan fest, as I will be checking it out tomorrow.
Until then, all I can say is that if you’re looking for a place to attend a match or even just to experience some fun World Cup vibes, I highly recommend giving Boston a shot. This is a sports moment that the city will likely be looking back on for quite some time, and we are not even a week into the tournament yet.
After somewhat of a bumpy start for this crazy US World Cup experiment, it feels like things are starting to really heat up, and it’s only going to get wilder and wilder.