BOSTON -- As a group of Scotland supporters left the departures gate at London Heathrow on Tuesday morning and headed onto the America-bound plane, a member of staff sent them on their way with a cheeky "see you in a couple of weeks!"
"Maybe, maybe not," was the retort. That neatly packages the Scottish psyche. On one hand, there's the knowledge that they have never reached the knockout stages of a World Cup, and their journey could be over before it gets started. But, outweighing that, is the hope of this being their moment to snap that trend.
That was Tuesday, and World Cups move fast. By Friday afternoon in Boston, the place was awash with tartan. "With the fans here at last, the party is definitely on," read the headline on The Boston Globe. Among the fans, there were the stories of planes running out of beer, bagpipes waking up residents, and the state of Scott McTominay's stomach and Scott McKenna's calf were the chief concerns among the thousands of Scotland supporters who made the trip.
But above all, there was one clear message uniting both fans and the team, the mantra guiding this whole campaign as captain Andy Robertson outlined. "I don't think we want any regrets," he said.
Scotland's travelling support was one of the wonderful threads of the 2024 Euros. Ultimately, as they danced in the rain, their tournament fizzled out. But two years on, there's renewed optimism. They've had to wait 28 long years for this, their last kick of a World Cup ball back in 1998 when Scotland lost 3-0 to Morocco.
Catching a glimpse of their team back on football's biggest stage led to the mass migration of supporters. Thousands have travelled en masse over to the States looking to capture memories, unsure of when they'll get to see this like again.
Ultimately, there are three aspects of this whole experience for Scottish fans. Firstly, Boston is a fantastic place to visit. Then there's watching their team in a World Cup. But there's also hope this could be their moment to reach the knockout stages for the first time.
This is Scotland's ninth men's World Cup, laying out a collection of matches which have returned just four wins. You have snapshot moments like Archie Gemmill's 1978 wondergoal against the Netherlands. This qualification campaign brought Kenny McLean's wondergoal in that 4-2 win over Denmark. But that's all in the past. "That moment wasn't just about me. It was about us getting here, and now that we are here, we want to do more. I would switch it in a minute," McLean said on Thursday when asked by reporters if he'd trade that goal in for a spot in the last 32. This campaign is one where Scotland want to make history.
Even for those who have won the sport's biggest honours, this is the pinnacle. "I've been very fortunate to play in big games, win trophies, play for the biggest club in the world, but for me, playing for your country is that one step above," Robertson said. "To do it at a World Cup is a dream come true. I'm so proud and happy this group are the ones who have done it."
You can sense the excitement and expectation building here in Boston. There's a tonne of external noise around this group. A few players left their hotel to get coffee on Friday morning, but any hope of anonymity was ruined by a brazen blue team bus on the road outside and the sheer number of Scottish fans here. The trio of players were cheered back into the hotel, clutching their coffees. There's going to be a lot of that. The team had already received their messages from Andy Murray, among others, while Adidas also dropped their outstanding Trainspotting-inspired commercial on Friday morning. Bundesliga side FC Köln also sent Scotland a good luck message, fondly remembering the team's fans from the Euros two years ago who packed out Alter Markt rain or shine (usually rain).
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They came away from that campaign feeling like they fluffed their lines. Steve Clarke has admitted he didn't enjoy their last two Euro campaigns. The delayed Euro 2020 was still under the cloud of COVID. Euro 2024 started with Scotland getting "humped," as Clarke put it, by Germany. The fans on Friday were recalling how they felt Scotland were negative in that campaign, and left without ever firing their own shots. So they've learnt the hard way not to underestimate matches (Costa Rica in Genoa back at Italia '90 is a reminder of that too, for a certain vintage).
Whether Scotland like it or not, they are favourites for Saturday and Haiti. They have "super" John McGinn, Andy Robertson and McTominay, complete with his upset stomach. McTominay, Scotland, and Napoli's world-class midfielder missed training on Thursday and travelled from the team's base in Charlotte to their hotel in downtown Boston separately. But by lunchtime on Friday, Clarke said McTominay is "ready to go".
"Thankfully he's okay and he trained today. He's unbelievable," Robertson said of McTominay. "I can't speak highly enough of him."
But it wouldn't be a Scottish major tournament campaign without a little bit of angst. They'd already seen Billy Gilmour's World Cup hopes dashed before they began after he was injured in their Hampden Park farewell against Curacao, while McKenna will be absent on Saturday in Foxborough.
And there are the cautionary tales. Haiti could yet provide another. Clarke says, "we respect [Haiti's] abilities on the pitch. Since they've qualified, they've improved the squad." He says they have "dynamic players," putting Scotland on guard. This is Haiti's second appearance in a men's World Cup, with their last coming in 1974.
So there's a desperation on their side to to make up for lost time. Their build-up was disrupted this week by FIFA, with Haiti having to change the design of their kit just three days before the match due to the shirt previously paying tribute to the Battle of Vertieres in 1803, which secured Haiti's independence, and therefore deemed to have fallen foul of FIFA's rule prohibiting "political, religious, or personal messages or slogans" on kits.
On the pitch, Sunderland's Wilson Isidor and Wolves' Jean-Ricner Bellegarde will be among the players looking to secure Haiti their first ever World Cup win.
But there's no escaping the fact that Clarke's men desperately need a win on Saturday. With Morocco and Brazil lying in wait, victory in Foxborough would be a huge help in nudging Scotland through to the round of 32. "There will be nerves," Robertson said. "There always is [among the fans]. I do believe we've gained the trust of the nation, and I think we deserve that trust. We hope we inspire the next generation to go out and kick a ball with their brother, mates or sister.
"I did that with my brother in the back garden and with my mates. Society and football has become more expensive, but people can always kick a can down the road as they say. This is obviously on the world stage. We see back home how excited kids, parents and grandparents are. We just hope after the World Cup the buzz is still there."
The buzz is certainly in Boston. Scotland's fans are the talk of the town. Bars will be packed on Friday night, songs of "No Scotland, No Party" will be heard in and around the harbour, in various bars, and perhaps loudest in the city's dedicated Scotland pub: The Haven.
Meanwhile, the 26 players will be trying to find moments of calm and focus in the midst of this wave of expectation and wonderful outpouring of Scottish joy. And they'll tap into a familiar refrain, as Robertson reiterated on Friday. "You never want to leave any match with regrets, that's the aim. That's never changed."