As the game between Scotland and Haiti reached its nail-biting conclusion at Gillette Stadium on Saturday evening, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown stood among the passionate Tartan Army, his hands gripped tightly behind his head—a classic pose of a football fan bracing for the worst.
For the full 90 minutes, Brown stood in the sweltering New England heat, surrounded by fans of all ages with their faces painted in Scotland’s iconic blue and white. The air was thick with hope and a longing to revive the pride of Scottish football after years in the shadows.
Brown, the last Scotsman to hold the office of British Prime Minister, became an emblem of national pride as he joined the throng of fans queuing to enter the stadium. Both inside and outside the venue, supporters eagerly approached him for photos, gathering in groups to capture the moment with selfies.
Known for his typically reserved demeanor, Brown showed a different side at the match, whether cheering for his beloved Raith Rovers or the national team. As Scotland’s players were introduced an hour before kickoff, their names and faces displayed on giant screens, Brown offered a thumbs-up for each one.
Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown (left) with Daily Mail Chief Sports Writer Oliver Holt (right)
Brown has always been a refreshing antidote to the procession of disingenuous politicians professing love for a game they knew nothing about in order to curry favour with voters
Accompanying him to the game, I noticed how he quietly sang along to the ‘Bonnie Banks o’ Loch Lomond’ when it played. As the teams assembled around the center circle, flanked by their national flags, Brown acknowledged the fervor and beauty of the fans’ rendition of ‘Flower of Scotland’ with a nod, expressing pride in the camaraderie displayed between the Scottish and Haitian supporters.
It was an emotional journey for him to get here, a football journey that has taken almost 70 years. It was a landmark in his life as a football fan. He was there in Genoa at the 1990 World Cup when Scotland last won a match in the tournament, beating Sweden 2-1 and now he had finally witnessed another victory.
And 15 years ago, he had promised his younger son he would take him to a World Cup match when Scotland next qualified. He had started to wonder if he would ever be able to fulfil that promise but now here they were, standing side by side on an occasion they will both cherish for the rest of their lives.
Brown’s own father had taken him to his first Raith Rovers game in 1958, when he was seven. He sold programmes outside the ground in Kirkcaldy to earn ‘a few shillings’. He got into the game for free that way, too, about 20 minutes after kick-off.
‘It taught me about mathematics, economics and finance,’ our former Chancellor of the Exchequer told me once, smiling. Later, after he had become an MP, he persuaded Craig Levein to become Raith manager, helped with the signing of the centre-back Marvin Andrews and intervened to rescue the club from problematic owners.
He remembers listening on the radio to Scotland’s 9-3 demolition by England in 1961. Frank Haffey, who played for Celtic, was the goalkeeper and he emigrated to Australia not long afterwards. Years later, Denis Law went out to Australia for some sort of football engagement and met up with Haffey. Haffey asked him if it was safe for him to come back yet and Law said “no”.’
This was the fourth World Cup where Brown, who was Prime Minister between June 2007 and May 2010, has watched Scotland play
Brown’s footballing hero was the great Scottish midfielder, Jim Baxter, who began his career at Raith Rovers
Brown’s knowledge of the game is encyclopaedic and his enthusiasm infectious. He has always been a refreshing antidote to the procession of disingenuous politicians professing love for a game they knew nothing about in order to curry favour with voters. Brown was never like that.
I sat next to him at a dinner in London 20 years ago and not only was he excellent, warm company but all he wanted to talk about was football. He had found a sports bar in Washington DC, he said, where he loved to sit on Saturday mornings before big International Monetary Fund or World Bank meetings, watching games from Britain on the banks of screens that lined the walls.
I have been to his house outside Edinburgh, too. In his office, on the top floor, he only has two pictures on the wall. Neither is of any of the great statesmen he has met. One is of his children. The other is of his footballing hero, the great Scottish midfielder, Jim Baxter, who began his career at Raith Rovers. When Baxter died in 2001, Brown gave a reading at his funeral in Glasgow Cathedral.
‘Jim Baxter came from Fife and played for Raith Rovers,’ Brown said on Saturday. ‘He started off as a coal miner and his mother was a member of the Labour Party. In that match in 1967, where Scotland beat England after England had won the World Cup, Baxter played brilliantly. I used to watch him when I was growing up but then he got sold to Rangers.
‘I’ve always been a supporter of Raith Rovers and when you see a player like Baxter playing for your local team and then playing in the Scotland shirt, you get an idea of the golden thread that links one with the other.
‘I am a patriot. I feel Scottish football should be given the stages it deserves. That makes you want Scotland to do well. The Scotland team is a very strong reflection of our sense of Scottishness.’
Brown’s knowledge of the game is encyclopaedic and his enthusiasm infectious
Brown has been a lifelong fan of Raith Rovers and was taken to his first Raith Rovers game by his father in 1958
This was the fourth World Cup where Brown, who was Prime Minister between June 2007 and May 2010, has watched Scotland play. He went to every one of their games in Spain in 1982, the 5-2 victory over New Zealand in Malaga, the 4-1 defeat to Brazil in Seville and the 2-2 draw with the Soviet Union in Malaga. David Narey’s opening goal in that game against Brazil, he says, is his favourite moment watching his country play.
‘When you see the scoreboard and it says Scotland 1-0 Brazil, you think you have got a chance,’ he said. ‘But then the Brazilian drumbeat took over the ground and Brazil stepped up. They scored some wonderful goals that day as well. Zico’s free kick was unstoppable.’
He was there in Genoa at Italia 90 for the victory over Sweden and he was at the opening game of the 1998 World Cup when Scotland fell to a narrow defeat to Brazil in the Stade de France.
‘It is the first time I have seen Scotland win at a World Cup for 36 years,’ Brown said after the game, ‘and I think I was more nervous today than I was in 1990. What happened tonight can change the way people think about a country. It has taken so long and it means so much.’