Globe-trotting Scottish traffic cone gets hero's welcome in Boston

The spontaneous symbol of Scottish mirth has now been legitimized into a marker of friendship between Glasgow and Boston.

Scottish World Cup visitors made a habit out of putting traffic cones atop statues in and around Boston. For the days (was it really only days?) the Tartan Army was in town, seemingly no edifice was safe from a coning.

It’s an American spin on a Glaswegian tradition: Locals there are vigilant about keeping a pylon on the head of the Duke of Wellington statue outside of Glasgow’s Gallery of Modern Art. After decades of trying to de-cone the duke, city officials in recent years decided to embrace the antics, according to the BBC.

Which explains why a traffic cone was strapped into a first-class Delta seat and flown across the Atlantic this week.

The switch from spontaneous fun to state-run merriment started with two Scottish marketing guys, Danny Campbell and Andrew Dobbie, and the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, which offered up the cone as part of its effort with Boston to become sister cities.

Massachusetts officials were eager to get in on the friendship display Tuesday, welcoming the cone at Logan Airport’s international terminal.

“This is probably — yes, it is — my first official welcoming ceremony for a traffic cone,” said Gov. Maura Healey.

Speaking in turn, Healey, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Meet Boston President Martha Sheridan and MassPort head Richard Davey each swore they’d make sure Massachusetts had enough beer the next time the Tartan Army came to town.

Having safely alit in Boston, the cone will now be carried to different landmarks across the commonwealth for more media opportunities. Anyone interested in tracking the pylon’s progress can follow along at bostoncone.com. While there, visitors can donate to mental health charities in Scotland and Massachusetts.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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