What did we learn from the Scots?

You could not avoid the big World Cup news. The Scots invaded Boston, complete with kilts and bagpipes. The Tartan Army took the city by storm, and the city fell in love with them. The stories abound. Did they really put traffic cones on the revered statues that dot the city? Yes, they did — even on Paul Revere. Authorities removed them. The cones quickly reappeared.

The Scots invaded the bars, made friends, and gained fans. It was rumored that the bars ran out of beer. They didn’t. The best stories are the ones that reveal the true character of Scotland. To the surprise and dismay of city sanitation workers, the Scots cleaned up after celebrating, picking up litter and garbage and even sweeping the streets. Scots have a reputation, a good one. Wherever they go in the world and cheer for their teams, they clean up.

With a middle name like MacQueen, I was all in. My memories of travels in Scotland are vivid. The landscape is dramatic and brutally beautiful. Bagpipe music grabs me every time. Its people are friendly and often fun, proud of their country. Their history is about a fierce people who are fierce about their sports teams.

The Big Guy and I are huge sports fans and are trying to learn more about soccer. It is such a different game, focused on feet and sometimes the head, played on a huge field. It is a game anyone can play anywhere. You just need a ball and a piece of ground where you can kick it around. It is played everywhere in the world by all ages. We are learning about yellow and red cards and a confusing time clock. Like any sport, there are different names for things. The field is a pitch, the person who kicks a goal is a striker, and jinking is moving the ball down the field. It helps if you follow a team like the USA or Scotland and get to know the players. We are learning from the announcers. It will be interesting to see if soccer enthusiasm grows with all the World Cup attention.

So what did we learn from the Scots?

• Supporting your team is a worldwide passion
• Having fun is contagious
• Cleaning up after the party is the right thing to do
• The best ambassadors for a country are its people

So in these times of such concerning news, what fun to embrace the kilt-wearing, bagpipe-playing, beer-drinking Scots. No wonder Boston embraced them so warmly.