Scotland is buzzing. The triple whammy of the Commonwealth Games, the Edinburgh festival and the independence referendum means that our small nation will be, consecutively, the sporting, cultural and political focus of the entire world.

Edinburgh is the place that usually attracts most tourists, but now that the Games have opened – during a spell of unusually good weather – Glasgow resembles some chic European hot spot, thronging with international visitors and outdoor cafe tables.

The opening ceremony was either cheeky, fun and knowing about Scottish tropes – Loch Ness monster, highland flings, Irn Bru – or cliched and predictable, depending on who you spoke to. Everyone agrees that Billy Connolly’s speech about Glasgow being the first city in the world to offer Nelson Mandela its freedom, before the South African lyric soprano, Pumeza Matshikiza, sang Hamish Henderson’s Freedom Come All Ye, struck the right note. The playwright DC Jackson later tweeted, not unreasonably, that John Barrowman has become Scotland’s Jar-Jar Binks, although the simple act of Barrowman kissing a male dancer, before a global audience, cancelled out the cringeworthy videos he’s been doing for the Better Together campaign this year.

As we can see, it’s difficult to keep politics and sport separate. Indeed, various groups have used the opportunity to focus on Commonwealth-related issues. The novelist Louise Welsh has opened The Empire Cafe, to examine Glasgow’s role in the slave trade. Tamil groups have staged a protest about Sri Lanka’s involvement in the Games. Peter Tatchell has highlighted the homophobic laws of 42 of the 53 nations. There have also been rumblings about sponsorship from Atos, the IT firm whose work-assessments on behalf of the UK government have caused misery for the disabled.

Given the imminence of the vote, however, the referendum debate feels as though it’s on holiday. Scots have been engaged with it for three years now, with an increasing sense of urgency. In a contrary move, Alex Salmond has announced a “self-denying ordinance” on the topic, in order for Scots to enjoy the Games. During the opening ceremony, he used his short speech to ask for a minute’s silence to commemorate the downed Ukrainian airliner, not to appeal for independence. It was the right thing to do.

The fact is that activists are too busy knocking on doors and organising talks to bother targeting a sporting event. But while the referendum may not impact on the Games, the Games might well impact on the referendum.

The summer of 2012 was sobering for those of us in the yes campaign, as an orgy of Britishness accompanied the London Olympics and the Queen’s Jubilee. The union flag was everywhere, being reignited as a fashion icon that prevails to this day. Better Together still cite Team GB as a reason for sticking with the UK.

The Commonwealth Games may give a similar boost to yes at this crucial time. Salmond’s moratorium on campaigning, while appropriate, is also good politics: he knows he can sit back and let the success of the Games demonstrate to Scots that, in the eyes of the world, they are as good as any country.

There have been many declarations of “pride” during the independence debate, most of them coming, somewhat defensively, from the no campaign. But pride is not the same thing as confidence, in fact it often masks a lack of it, and confidence is the crucial quality that will determine whether or not Scotland votes yes. The ingrained inferiority complex of Scots is the hardest thing for yes campaigners to fight. At the time of writing, however, Scotland has already won four gold medals.

Scots are not used to winning. Our woefully underachieving football team is testament to that. But the sheer fact of the visibility of Scotland on our TV screens, to ourselves and to the world, coupled with actual sporting success, might just be what we need to give us belief that we do matter, and that, yes, we can do it.