The story behind Tartan Army’s traffic cone tradition as Scotland fans take over Miami for Brazil clash | OneFootball

The Tartan Army have brought a distinctive Glasgow tradition to the US by placing traffic cones on the heads of statues.

The unusual sight prompted local media in Boston to try and explain the phenomenon when thousands of Scotland fans took over the city for their first two World Cup matches.

Their high-spirited presence injected a vibrant atmosphere into the city, with numerous bars and pubs reportedly experiencing beer shortages due to soaring demand, and now supporters have moved on to Miami for Scotland’s final group match against Brazil.

The Tartan Army appear to have been given the green light to “go cone crazy” with statues in Miami, after a city commissioner spoke to fans in the US city.

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Scotland fans have been placing cones on statues around the US (Andrew Milligan/PA) (PA Wire)

Rolando Escalon, who is the commissioner for Miami’s District 3, told fans he does not object to the Scottish tradition.

This came after Chris Nicoll, from St Andrews, provoked the ire of local officers on Sunday when he tried to crown a statue with a cone in the Little Havana area of the city.

A video which has been viewed thousands of times online shows him scaling a pedestal which supports a statue of the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León.

As soon as he places an orange traffic cone on the head of the statue, a nearby police car blares its horn and somebody shouts “get off of there” before he climbs down.

But what is the traffic cone tradition all about?

This playful mischief is most famously associated with Glasgow’s Duke of Wellington statue outside the Gallery of Modern Art. Since the late 1980s, a cone has persistently topped the statue’s head, only to be replaced whenever removed.

The tradition has now been transplanted across the Atlantic.

NBC Boston shared footage of a group of Scotland fans last week attempting to crown Samuel Adams, a US founding father whose statue stands on a tall pedestal.

After several attempts to throw the cone, one fan scaled the pedestal to successfully balance it on Adams’ head. A cone has also been spotted on the statue of basketball legend Bill Russell in Boston.

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Scotland fans enjoyed their time in Boston (Reuters)

Lee Turnbull, a fan born in Scotland now residing in California, revealed that supporters had discussed bringing the cone tradition to Boston’s statues prior to the tournament.

He told the Boston Globe: "As soon as someone saw a cone and decided to put it on a statue, it just took over." He added: "It’s a little mark, it’s a little bit of fun. It now defines a culture, almost."

The US newspaper noted that Scotland fans possess "the occasional penchant for tomfoolery," a characteristic now vividly on display in Miami after their previous ventures in Boston.

Scotland head into Wednesday evening’s game knowing that a point against Brazil will likely secure their passage to the knockout stages of the World Cup.

Steve Clarke’s men have three points from their opening two games having beaten Haiti 1-0 before losing to Morocco by the same scoreline.