of the Scottish National team despite having three players (Shankland, Souttar and Curtis) in this year's squad. Having been a Rangers season ticket holder and attended a number of games in Scotland (and Europe), it's not that Rangers fans hate Scotland. It’s that for decades, the Scotland national team didn’t feel like it represented their (Rangers) identity. The matchday culture, the politics, and the fan atmosphere leaned heavily toward the Celtic side of Glasgow. So a lot of Rangers fans grew up feeling disconnected from the national team, and that habit stuck.

It's 13 years old, but it holds up just fine.

I was in the UK training with their Para Regiment...an exchange program and they had a lot of experience from their days in Belfast vs the IRA. On a weekend, some of the guys wanted to take me to a "proper" football game so we took the train up to Glasgow, got a few hotel rooms and enjoyed a Rangers weekend. I became hooked because Rangers had USA MNT players on their team regularly (Reyna, Bocanegra, Edu, Beasely) and being an Army Ranger, the club just fit. So I followed the club, watched all their games and would attend a game or two. When I started to attend more regularly, I started to notice the huge sectarian angle ...huge. That angle not only was in Scotland but in Belfast/Northern Ireland. Protestants vs Catholics...and I was a Catholic supporting the Protestant club. But it was also hugely political with Rangers supporting the Queen and the UK while Celtic supported Northern Ireland joining the Republic of Ireland and Scotland independence from the UK. Its crazy and something that I never would have imagined in a 1st world country...

Huge adrenaline rush before, during and after the game.

Rangers’ traditional identity is: Unionist / Protestant Pro‑UK / British Army British‑first The Scotland NT, especially in the last 30 years, has leaned culturally toward: Scottish nationalism Anti‑UK sentiment in some fan sections A vibe that feels more “Celtic‑” to Rangers supporters.

I mean, you'd think they might win more than one in 100 years if they played as one UNITED Kingdom rather than a separate countries of England, Scotland, and Wales. Is there a Northern Ireland team? Bigger pool of players s should allow them to assemble a better team, n'est-ce pas?

the late 1800s. When FIFA formed in the early 1900s, they just accepted the different national associations. The whole UK thing is a bit weird, I'll agree. In the Olympics they compete as one, although they call themselves "Team GB (Great Britain)" instead of "Team UK". Which would seem to exclude Northern Ireland (and other UK territories) since "Great Britain" is just the big island that contains England, Scotland and Wales. Of course, the U.S. is no stranger to this...Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa and the US Virgin Islands all have their own Olympic teams. Bottom line...the ruling federations...FIFA, IOC, etc. can basically accept whoever they want as a "separate" country for purposes of the competitions.

them play an international friendly not too long ago.

San Marino has a team. Both the US and British Virgin Islands have teams. Guam has a team. Etc. 211 national teams worldwide.

So does Gibralter...

keep a straight face.

** Edited by Chris Coleman at 6/14/2026, 6:24:58 AM