Imagine this: the ground itself is shaking with excitement! That's exactly what happened when Scotland's men's team secured their spot in the World Cup after a nail-biting victory over Denmark. It had been 28 long years since they'd qualified, and the Tartan Army's jubilation was so intense, it registered on seismographs!
The British Geological Survey (BGS) confirmed the earth-shattering celebrations. They recorded what they described as an "extremely small earthquake" following Kenny McLean's goal, which put Scotland ahead with a 4-2 win. The seismic activity intensified when the final whistle blew.
The BGS station at the Glasgow Geothermal Observatory in Dalmarnock, just about 2km (1.2 miles) from Hampden Park, picked up the readings. A smaller surge was also detected when Kieran Tierney scored Scotland's third goal during injury time.
But here's where it gets interesting: the main peak of activity was recorded between 21:48 and 21:50, precisely when McLean scored. The official attendance at the game was 49,587 fans.
According to the BGS, the activity registered between magnitude -1 and zero on the Richter Scale, generating the equivalent of 200kW of power. That's enough to power between 25 and 40 car batteries! It's also comparable to blasting a football at approximately 900 m/s (2,013 mph). For context, that's roughly 15 times faster than the fastest recorded speed a ball has ever been struck – about 131.2 mph (58 m/s) by Brazilian defender Ronny Heberson in 2007.
Interestingly, the BGS also noted that Taylor Swift fans caused similar seismic activity during her concerts last summer at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh. However, the BGS couldn't directly compare the two events due to differing site conditions.
And this is the part most people miss... The BGS also stated that around 300 naturally occurring earthquakes occur in the UK each year, but only about 30 are powerful enough to be felt. Last month, a 3.3 magnitude earthquake was felt across Perthshire.
What do you think? Does this make you appreciate the passion of football fans even more? Could this be a new way to measure the impact of major sporting events? Share your thoughts in the comments!
