Hours before first pitch at loanDepot Park, bagpipes and chanting from Scotland’s Tartan Army turned the Marlins’ struggling home crowds into a full-on celebration—despite Miami’s 4-3 loss to the Texas Rangers.
MIAMI — Hours before the first pitch at loanDepot Park, bagpipes echoed around the outskirts of the Miami Marlins’ ballpark as Scotland fans announced their arrival in South Florida days before their squad’s World Cup match against Brazil.
On Monday night. dressed in kilts and shouting “No Scotland. No Party. ” the supporters marched roughly one mile from a popular Miami bar to the stadium. It was the latest stop on the Tartan Army’s Major League Baseball takeover tour after they filled the streets of Boston and New York for Scotland’s previous matches.
Inside the ballpark, the noise didn’t feel like a routine weeknight game. It felt like a takeover. Longtime Marlins supporters. used to seeing the team struggle with attendance in recent years. came looking for their stadium to change. Victor Munoz, a Miami native, said he was expecting it to happen immediately.
“It’s going to give a really good experience to us fans,” Munoz said. “Usually the stadium’s not full, now it’s going to be full. It’s going to be packed. It’ll be fun.”
Scotland fans roared during a routine groundout in the first inning and chanted in anticipation of nearly every pitch. They kicked around empty beer cans as if they were soccer balls, and took over the concourse—wearing traffic cones atop their heads while cheering.
“We’re loving everything. ” said Johnnie Sloan. who flew to Boston from Glasgow. Scotland. and drove to Miami for Wednesday’s match. “We’re here for the World Cup. obviously. but tonight we’re here in Miami going to watch the baseball (game). This is a warmup for Wednesday. I guarantee the Miami Marlins win tonight because they’ve got the full support of the Tartan Army.”.
The script didn’t fully hold for Sloan. The Marlins lost 4-3 to the Texas Rangers. Still, the feeling didn’t evaporate when the final outcome was decided. The Scots sang afterward, embracing the night anyway.
“Lively out there tonight,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “That was quite the atmosphere.”
The announced crowd of 20,008 included about 8,000 members of the Tartan Army. That number stood out against where Miami has been: the Marlins entered Monday averaging 12. 604 fans per game in the regular season. loanDepot Park also recently hosted the World Baseball Classic. where a sellout crowd of 36. 190 watched Venezuela beat the United States in the final earlier this year.
It wasn’t only the visiting fans making noise, either. Miami has been climbing in June—going an MLB-best 14-4 during the month with an eight-game home winning streak entering Monday.
Munoz hoped the takeover would translate into more than one unforgettable night.
“It’s going to give us visibility,” he said. “The Marlins are a fairly new team. So it’s good because that way, the world is going to get to know us. And we’ll eventually get to become like a Yankee team.”
Back in Scotland’s World Cup journey, the Tartan Army’s momentum has been visible everywhere they’ve gone. They descended on bars and filled pubs in the Boston area as they celebrated their team’s first World Cup appearance in 28 years, and a historic victory over Haiti in their opener.
At loanDepot Park, that same wave brought a real mix of excitement and concern from home supporters. Harry Guerrero, a Marlins season ticket holder born and raised in Miami, said he wasn’t sure the ballpark was ready for the scale of the celebration.
“I don’t think the ballpark is ready to supply so much beer,” Guerrero said. “I honestly think it’s going to be out of hand. But I wish the ballpark well.”
Guerrero said he showed up early—his earliest arrival at a Marlins game in at least five years—after the Tartan Army met at Ball & Chain to begin their march. He described it as an odd sight at first, then quickly as something he was glad to see.
“It’s kind of crazy. We’re so glad to have them in Miami and we hope they enjoy themselves,” he added. “I hope they’re getting hydration — I told them — and their sunscreen because they’re a bunch of pale guys.”
Before the game, fans leaned into a live pregame performance by Nick Morgan, who released the song “No Scotland, No Party.” The crowd turned the familiar chant into “No Marlins, No Party” throughout the night.
“They brought their spirit over. It was really cool to see,” said Owen Caissie, who had to corral a few water-filled beach balls in the outfield.
Even the players felt it. Tyler Phillips, a Marlins starting pitcher, said the atmosphere hit him the moment he came out.
“If it was up to me, I would have us paying those people to show up to the games. That was unbelievable. Like from the second I walked out and then up the dugout, I felt it in my chest. It felt great. … And man, if I ever see them, like if I’m ever out there, I got their backs.”
By the time the Marlins’ 4-3 loss was final, the Tartan Army hadn’t come for baseball points. They came for the experience—and for a chance to carry their World Cup energy into Miami. where a struggling ballpark attendance story was briefly rewritten by bagpipes. kilts. and a crowd that refused to quiet down.
MIAMI MARLINS Texas Rangers Scotland fans Tartan Army loanDepot Park World Cup warmup bagpipes kilts attendance Tyler Phillips Clayton McCullough