THE Tartan Army has brought a Glasgow tradition to Boston, placing traffic cones on the heads of statues in the city.
Media in the Massachusetts capital are attempting to explain the appearance of the orange cones in unexpected places.
Thousands of Scotland fans have flocked to Boston for the World Cup, as the men’s national team plays its first two matches in Massachusetts.
The high-spirited fans have brought a colourful atmosphere to the city, with many bars and pubs reporting that they have run short of beer due to surging demand.
Tartan Army members have also adopted the traffic cone as their own form of headgear, with some sporting orange and white novelty hats.
If you've noticed traffic cones appearing on top of statues around Boston, you can thank the Scottish fans. It's a decades-old tradition from Glasgow, where a traffic cone has sat atop the Duke of Wellington statue since the 1980s. pic.twitter.com/dUsAO35SXa
— Only In Boston (@OnlyInBOS) June 17, 2026
The traffic cone tradition is most associated with the statue of the Duke of Wellington outside the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow.
Since the late 1980s, a cone has been atop the statue’s head and it has been persistently replaced whenever it is removed.
NBC Boston shared a video of a group of Scotland fans attempting to place a cone on the head of Samuel Adams – a founding father of the US whose statue is atop a large pedestal in the city.
The fans attempt to throw the traffic cone onto Adams’ head before one climbs on to the pedestal and is eventually able to balance the cone on the statue’s head.
Big News this morning : The George Washington statue near Fenway Park in Boston has been given the Highest Honour By the 🏴 Scottish Fans. Someone has got up there God knows how and placed a traffic cone □on his heed. 😅🤣😂😂. This is a proud moment for 🏴 Scotland. 👍🏻 pic.twitter.com/4yNTf61fZK
— Medusa lay (@LayMedusa) June 13, 2026
A cone has also been spotted on the head of basketball legend Bill Russell, whose statue is in Boston.
Fan Lee Turnbull, who was born in Scotland but now lives in California, said fans had discussed adorning Boston’s statues with cones ahead of 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 continued: “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 have “the occasional penchant for toomfoolery”.
