Check this out. In the previous game back in Anaheim, the fans booed the Canadian national anthem. Here’s how they responded in Edmonton…
I’ve been to my share of live sporting events. Not a ton, probably fewer than most of you, but I’d say I have about my share. And the things I remember most aren’t big plays or big shots, but those moments when you really feel something… and yes, that can come from a big play in the game, but it can also come from a shared sense of pride, or a shared sense of anything, really, and knowing that thousands of other are sharing it with you… that’s what makes it worth going. The actual watching of a game, you can do anywhere. A moment like that one… that’s why you go. I doubt that many of the people in the audience are going to forget that.
Fuckin’ A, Canada. Credit goes to a lot of people. Whoever thought of it, of course. And then, all those who jumped on the bandwagon, and helped spread the idea. And to all of those who sang their healthy Canadian lungs out. And especially to the guy who was hired to sing the thing, but got the idea quickly, did the right thing, and just let the fans take over. A very slick move. My hat is off, Canada.
This sort of thing just couldn’t happen in America. One, no one really has that much nationalistic pride. Just having a magnetic ribbon on your car doesn’t qualify. And two, I doubt that many people really know the words to the national anthem. Myself, I prefer the Enrico Pallazzo version.
Anyway, big big thanks to “oiler” in The Sports Frog‘s Swamp for the find.
Tooner
The best part of this is when they were playing in San Jose. Their fans started the anthem booing…the only thing is that ALL of their best players are Canadian. Thats gotta make a guy feel good standing on the blueline listening to that.
May 26, 2006 at 11:20 am
DookieStyle
That was fucking awesome. I now hope Edmonton wins the cup.
May 26, 2006 at 11:28 am
nick
As a Canadian, I find this touching. Also, embarrassing. Do we really need the mounties on the ice? Do we? The only time I ever see mounties is at parades and sporting events. Ridiculous.
May 26, 2006 at 11:31 am
Cox
That was truly incredible. Thumbs up to Canada, a country where the people there actually seem to give a crap about each other and where they give a crap about Canada.
And a huge thumbs down to Anaheim for booing the Canadian national anthem. What’s up with that? I can understand booing players from another team, but why boo an entire country? Especially when that country is responsible for over 50% of YOUR team’s roster. That’s not nationalistic pride, that’s just dumb. Screw you, Anaheim.
May 26, 2006 at 11:34 am
Wes Mantooth
Good for Oiler fans. The asshats that boo national anthems should be shot. But I disagree that Americans can’t do it right sometimes. I was at the ’91 NHL All-Star game in Chicago, 2 days after the start of the first Gulf War and fans cheered so loud in the arena that you couldn’t hear the anthem. The Blackhawks keep a video of it archived on their website, and if you enjoyed the Oiler clip, you’ll love this one. Go to
http://www.chicagoblackhawks.com/multimedia/AudioVideoClassicsArchive.asp
and click on the link for the 1991 NHL All-Star Anthem.
May 26, 2006 at 12:02 pm
Sweet Lou
wow, the high road. wonder what the view is like from there…
May 26, 2006 at 12:15 pm
Bouj
Welcome to the party, goosebumps.
May 26, 2006 at 12:16 pm
Doug
This is a sporting even, right? People boo at these things, right? People hate their opponent in these things, right? People especially hate them during the playoffs, right? Who cares if they booed during a national anthem? The fans hate that team and are going to make it known, loud and clear every chance they get.
It’s a sporting event with drunk fans. Get over it. If this were some diplomatic convention and people were booing during anthems, that’s one thing, but but doing at a sporting event is no world altering moment.
May 26, 2006 at 12:20 pm
Theri Maa Bhanchod!
CANADA FUKNG RULES
May 26, 2006 at 12:45 pm
Pete
“This sort of thing just couldn’t happen in America. One, no one really has that much nationalistic pride.”
It could, and did, happen. Obviously you didn’t attend any NFL games in the fall of 2001, or werent’ at Yankee stadium during their 2001 title run when Challenger the Eagle flew out during the anthem. I saw people moved to tears during the anthem at those games. Seeing/hearing that, as well as the deafening chants of “USA,” were bone chilling.
May 26, 2006 at 12:54 pm
Lil' Hater
Are you sure you are not confusing Anaheim and San Jose? I was at Game 1 and didn’t hear any booing of the Canadian National Anthem.
May 26, 2006 at 12:58 pm
Rob
I’m not sure what you’re smoking mjd, but this has been an awesome week to read your blog. From the NBA 2011 All-NBA Teams to Flip’s turtle to posting this clip … you’re on a roll.
Now how about using that trim tag sometime today?
May 26, 2006 at 1:16 pm
Remis
I think you’re confusing Anaheim with San Jose in the last round.
Some people at the game in Edmonton also sang very loudly for the American anthem that you could hear them over the guy singing with the microphone.
May 26, 2006 at 1:41 pm
VTHokie
That did happen in the US of A didn’t it? Rememeber the 1991 Buffalo loss to the Giants when Whitney Houston sang the national anthem? I thought everyone did a sing-a-long then, too.
May 26, 2006 at 1:43 pm
the mighty mjd
I could very well be confusing San Jose and Anaheim… I’m not really paying a whole lot of attention to hockey these days. Sorry.
And about the post 9/11 national anthem, I don’t think that really compares. That had nothing to do with sports… that was everyone saying, “I don’t really know how the hell I’m supposed to feel, so I guess I’ll just go to a football game and when it’s national anthem time, I’ll sing really loud.” There was no joy involved. This thing in Canada was way different… it was all about joy, it was all about celebrating your country, rising above someone else’s petty actions, and having fun… completely different.
May 26, 2006 at 2:17 pm
Bouj
I agree with the “9/11-not-about-joy” thing. It was about catharsis. I was at the 9-13-01 WWF Smackdown show in Houston. It was the first big public entertainment event in the US after the attacks. When the anthem was sung, there wasn’t a dry eye in the place. It was about the emotion and the mourning and beig together. At no point did I feel like we were showing off pride for the USA as much as we were feeling a big feeling of collective mourning and healing.
I guess you could compare it like this: the Canadian Anthem moment above was like the happy-family-reunion-so-let’s-sing-sweet-caroline, but the US Anthem moment after 9-11 was Dad-died-so-let’s-remember-the-good-times.
I imagine the US anthem singing during the Yankees WS run in 2001 gave off a vibe closer to the one in Edmonton.
May 26, 2006 at 2:55 pm
The Big Picture
glad everyone was singing and all…good nat’l pride. but didn’t that anthem seem to go REALLY slow?
May 26, 2006 at 5:45 pm
Lil' Hater
That’s great that you admit that you are wrong. Mind changing it then? SoCal gets enough of a bad rap from the East Coast.
May 26, 2006 at 6:22 pm
fetal_wonder
Was at a Broncos game at the old Mile High Stadium in 1999. It was Alumni Reunion Weekend, and former offensive lineman Reggie McElory was singing the National Anthem. Mile High being held together by that point with chewing gum and baling wire, his microphone went out about halfway through. The crowd picked things up without skipping a beat and finished it for him. Not quite a goosebump moment, but it was pretty cool.
May 26, 2006 at 11:09 pm
Dan
I was at the first Air Force football game after 9/11. The Cadet band played the National Anthem while 55,000 strong sang along. Even the people who were still outside the gates at Falcon Stadium, waiting for their security screening, put hand to heart and sang. That’s the only thing I’ve experienced that even comes close to this clip.
May 27, 2006 at 12:28 am
Iain
Not quite the same vein…but one of the better anthem moments of the past few years has to be when Mo Cheeks helped that girl finish off the US anthem at the Rose Garden after she blanked on the words. Just solid.
May 27, 2006 at 4:31 pm
unc_samurai
So the people of San Jose and Aneheim booed the Canadian anthem. I hope it’s not a reflection of the people in California, but it wouldn’t surprise me. I’ve been to about two dozen Canes games over the last few years, and I’ve never seen such behavior. One night in the nosebleed section, I sat next to a couple from Toronto, and they remarked at how much they enjoyed their visit. Apperently a couple of trips to the northeastern U.S. had soured them on American road trips.
May 28, 2006 at 11:10 am
burnplant
Most of these “equivalent” examples are Gulf War I or 9-11 related.
Americans with war boners and/or feeling sorry for themselves is not the same thing.
May 30, 2006 at 11:02 am