Red Sox got everything but the win vs. Rangers as Scottish fans take over Fenway Park

Boston Red Sox fans consider themselves a proud group. Fenway Park is routinely one of the loudest places to watch a game around MLB — the Red Sox (usually) thrive off the support and opposing teams feel the pressure.

But on June 14, Scottish World Cup fans brought to Fenway an energy unlike anything baseball fans have ever seen. The group, some sporting kilts, some armed with bagpipes, all with infectious energy, marched to Fenway to get a glimpse of the historic park and get a feeling for America's passtime

As the Red Sox took on the Texas Rangers, soccer cheers rang through the ballpark. Scottish-accented spectators sang through the middle and end of innings and well into the next ones. Boston fans, especially current Sox fans, could learn a thing or two from Massachusetts' newest friends across the pond — even recently-dismissed former Red Sox manager Alex Cora emerged to comment on the spectacle.

Unfortunately, the Red Sox couldn't make good on the atmosphere that the World Cup brought to them. Boston set itself up to claim its first sweep at home this season, but the Rangers attacked Connelly Early too well. The Red Sox's offense couldn't make up the deficit — the story of the year.

Scottish World Cup fans overtake Fenway Park but Red Sox can't capitalize on the energy

The young lefty gave up another first-inning home run, his fifth this year, to Wyatt Langford, which set the Red Sox behind quickly. Early started the next frame by allowing two singles to the first two Rangers who came to the plate. Catcher Kyle Higashioka then hit the second homer of the game to give the Rangers a four-run lead, an insurmountable one for the struggling Sox.

Willson Contreras continued his All-Star-worthy campaign with two home runs and another hit in the game, but there were struggles up and down the lineup after him. Ceddanne Rafaela, Caleb Durbin and Carlos Narváez went hitless. Narváez and Masataka Yoshida each fanned twice, although Yoshida had two hits. The result was a 6-4 loss and no sweep to put some wind into Boston's sails.

Still, despite the loss for the home team, the fans visiting from thousands of miles away never faltered. Maybe most of them were quite drunk, or riding the high of their June 13 World Cup win over Haiti, or both. Maybe they knew the rules of baseball, or maybe they didn't. They had fun regardless of the outcome and reminded fans what sports are really about.

Sometimes, the most fun part of a sporting event is making small talk with the strangers in the seats around you. Singing "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" and "Sweet Caroline" at the top of one's lungs are part of the Red Sox game experience, and fans shouldn't lose sight of that because of the way the team has played. Sports are about competition, but they're also about humanity and the intricacies of being rivals one second and friends the next, when the game is wrapped.

Baseball and sports, in general, are supposed to be an escape. Scottish fans reminded Red Sox fans of that while the Rangers were in town. Hopefully, they reminded Red Sox Nation what a little enthusiasm can do, even when the Sox are in last place. Scotland, Boston will have you back any time.

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