No, Canada: Booing the US National Anthem
Posted on July 25, 2008 9:15 am
I sincerely hope that all of you who think I’m unfairly rough on the topic of further MLS expansion into Canada caught THE LOUD, SUSTAINED BOOING FROM THE TORONTO CROWD during the playing of our national anthem.
“It was the whole stadium,” said Maria Badillo, executive producer of the Miami-based I Sorpresa TV show for kids to promote soccer and exercise. “I was surprised.”
As a Mexican who lives in the U.S., she was floored this would happen in Canada.
“It was sad and it showed a lack of respect,” she said.
“Lack of respect” is putting it mildly. “Open hostility” is more like it.
“They didn’t mind taking my money all week,” said Jim Ivey, who flew up here for the all-star festivities with his wife, Laurie, and their two sons, Trevor, 13, and Trent, 9.
No Jim, they never do.
Personally, I can’t wait for the next time the league tells us about the “great great fans in Toronto” and what a “wonderful atmosphere” they have in that stadium. The next sound you’ll hear will be me throwing up.
They told us what a great day it would be when the US finally got it’s own professional soccer league. Whatever happened to that anyway?
They’re saying this morning that the crowd was booing because they thought the Canadian national anthem was not going to be sung.
That may be, but not a peep was heard during the playing of “God Save the Queen”. It was only when “The Star Spangled Banner” began that the “loud, sustained booing” from “the entire stadium” began.
Give me whatever explanations you want. Go ahead. My favorite will be “well, of course, the US is really evil, as we all know, so it’s understandable”.
But the bottom line is that if Canadians want to show just how much they want to be a part of our national soccer league they might want to find a better way.
Those flappy headed, beady eyed bastards.
And the president of the USSF sits back and says nothing while Garber stuffs his pockets with loonies. Disgusting.
So, the Canadians showed their true colors last night. Who would have thought that color was GREEN?
Oh did the big nasty Canadians boo your national anthem. Get over it
Green?
A league to call our own. Thanks, Garber.
Shameful. Maybe its the anti-American sentiment I don’t know but it’s classless nonetheless. I would never dream of disrespecting a nation’s national anthem. I can seperate politics and sports. The beauty of sport is that its the one spectacle where people can put aside their political and cultural differences and come together in joy and peace. I cringe at the thought of the Olympics. I just have a feeling we are going to hear more booing.
The excuses:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl…y/GlobeSports/
The MLS should grow a pair and hold off on giving 2 new expansion teams to Canada until they can establish decency among their fans. I’m not saying that have to love Americans but at least show a little bit of respect and remain quiet during the national anthem. This is a problem that also happens in the NHL and its ridiculous.
Does anyone really care? It’s Canada we’re talking about.
I care. It’s MLS we’re talking about. And if this crap continues, I’ll be caring less and less.
It sooo European. All they need is a visit from Barak Obama. Wait… he hates them…
Oh please, it happens alot more the other way around when the Canadian national anthem is being played in the states during NHL games, even baseball games sometimes.
This act was definately class-less. Never the less
Americans might not boo but they do show a lack of respect in many other ways whenever the mexican national anthem is play in Houston. I have seen dads tell their children to put theirs hats back and to sit down while thMexican anthems is palyed. Of course I have seen the same form Mexicans towards the American Anthem.
“Aquel que este libre de pecado que tire la primera piedra”
Bill, you’ve single-handedly made me a hater of Canadian expansion. They should have their own league. Period. I’m so sick of hearing about expanding to Montreal or Vancouver (which is farther away from me here in Georgia or fans in St. Louis than Mexico City) when there are vast markets in the Star-Spangle-Banner-singing USA totally ignored by the league.
Yeah, yeah, investors and all that; Canada’s got some, so let them start their own league. The league should put that time and effort into developing the game HERE and wooing investors HERE. I was content with Toronto being the Monaco to our Ligue 1, but this is getting ridiculous. And, as you said, it goes back to the league and it’s “sustainability” through those “investors”. How noble.
You’re a nice guy, and I appreciate the sentiment but we’re just not going there. I hope you understand – BA
I dont think that canada gets what this is all aBOOT. Its aBOOT respect, its aBOOT comon curtesy, its aBOOT our league and they being part of it.
A great American once said, “…not like those free loading canadians, what? canada sucks!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8-Rl…eature=related
Well, I guess I owe you a big a$$ kissing apology from my last post to your anti-Canada blog.
Man, my drunk posts always come back to haunt me the next day (but seem so lucid and enlightening when written).
Now there is going to be a lot of talk of what to do with so much land i mean 90% of canada is not fit for human habitation. I say build a parking lot over it, I mean we can always use more parking.
Here is my plan from a website I found. http://invadecanada.us/
Bueno, yo te la tiro. Porque estoy libre de ESE pecado. Spare me the indignation, santeroatomico, over American behavior during the Mexican national anthem. I have been to many US-Mexico games and the US fans were always models of rectitude during the anthems.
you are such a dink and a horrible writer. if you had any clue you would know why we were booing. the game (mls allstar game) was being played in toronto. which country is toronto in? canada right? thought so. so why would the national anthems of england and the usa be played??? it should have been god save the queen and o’ canada. not the star spangled banner. if it were any other city, it would make perfect sense. but not in toronto.
So tell me: ever been to a Raptors game?
How about the Maple Leafs?
Heck, how about Toronto FC?
If so then you’d know that the US anthem is always played, and always played first. You need to get out more.
Conversely, when those teams play in an arena in the US, Oh Canada is played first and the Star Spangled Banner second.
Perhaps if you were to go buy a ticket and attend a sporting event you would know this. Pretty much everyone else does.
It is the international custom – as all the “great great fans” in Toronto should surely know, that the home team’s anthem is always played last.
Most tellingly, the players weren’t even on the pitch yet, which might have given the “great, great fans of Toronto” a clue that something else was coming.
Ya think?
by the way, did you notice that when the 3 canadian players selected to the team came on, we scored the winning goal and didn’t allow any more goals??? just in case you didn’t notice, i thought i would let you know.
Judging by the results Tuesday night, what they SHOULD have done was bring in some guys from the Impact.
US Revenge? How about selecting the next 8 MLS expansion teams from the US. That will show the beaver-hugging, two-faced Visigoths!!
I have a quote for those Toronto fan:
“I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it.” — Col. Nathan R. Jessep
Doesnt everyone BOO the National Anthem at this point?
This has more to do with misunderstanding than anything else. I was at the game last night and I can give you a firsthand account of the events. We were all visibly upset with MLS’s decision to skip the Canadian flag introduction and our national anthem but the anger was directed toward them. We didn’t know about their plan to introduce them afterward. In fact just about everyone from media sources to MLS officials themselves has said the same thing: MLS screwed up in a big way. Now you’re asking, “Why were they just booing the Star Spangled Banner?” Well they weren’t. In fact several people started during “God Save the Queen”. Most of the opposition however came in the form of “O Canada” being sung over “The Star Spangled Banner”. The booing was not directed at either nation but rather at MLS for apparently bypassing the Canadian national anthem altogether. Now, I would never insult anyone’s national anthem or their flag. In fact I’ve been a TFC supporter since its inception and we’ve always respected and even sung “The Star Spangled Banner”. So why out of the blue, after 30 or more games, would we just decide to attack US pride? That makes absolutely no sense at all. The focal point for that booing was neither the US nor England. It was entirely aimed at the huge MLS blunder. Of course we felt awful afterwards once “O Canada” was introduced; in fact I felt it was a classless move on the fans’ part to boo at all. It was embarrassing. But, like I said; it was a complete misunderstanding. The moment I heard the first chorus off boos towards the end of “God Save the Queen” and into “The Star Spangled Banner” I thought to myself: the media is going to have a field day with this one. Anyway; the booing was inexcusable and for that I apologize, but it was never intended to offend or attack our American brothers and sisters.
I think Joe Warmington’s explanation in the Toronto Sun is reasonable, though not an excuse.
“by the way, did you notice that when the 3 canadian players selected to the team came on, we scored the winning goal and didn’t allow any more goals??? just in case you didn’t notice, i thought i would let you know.”
—————
By the way, what do people think of Lucas Neill’s atrocious slide tackle in the penalty area: hey, Australia, Canada, aren’t they at least parts of the old Commonwealth itself? Put the Queen on their money at least in Canada and that is fine with me. Just in case you didn’t noitice, I thought I would let you know. Lucas Neill gifted the MLS a PK.
If one goes this rout, you know, I’ve wondered like when Chelsea came if they even with all that “preseason, exhibition, blah, blah, blah” if the visitors are bringing their A-game. West Ham played rather well last night, wasn’t it more shots on goal, less fouling by them?
But back to the anthem thing, something was stirred up I believe with the NHL’s Calgary Flames, mind you the rocky mountain west and one of the American teams. This is nothing new but it was loathesome to read about…. any Americans on TFC by the way?
Canada does have some little league by the way, not to be derisive but of course they do. I’ve seen the Montreal Impact play. I wouldn’t do that from here in the USA, boo an anthem.
To another point, the Mexicans will often have a homeside type backing at games here.
England? Why not throw Mexico and Argentina and all of the other countries’ anthems in there, too?
Well, there WAS a team from England there. Would have been kind of rude not to acknowledge that fact – BA
lerxst, Your post is excellent, your magnanimity is obvious and you make sense of the outrage, small and puerile though it was. However, the fact is that fans in Toronto booed through the Star-Spangled Banner.
Unfortunately, thats how it came off, but it wasn’t the case. The announcer said “please stand now for the playing of the English and American national anthems”. The US and England flags were on the field…but no Canadian flag. We thought maybe the league trumped us because the league is “American”, and why would you play 3 national anthems. That being said…we were not booing the American anthem, we were booing because they were not playing the Canadian anthem.
Quickly the boos turned into the singing of the Canadian anthem, while the American tune was still playing over the speakers. Then there was a 3-4 minute pause where nothing was really happening. The crowd then took it upon themselves to once again sing our national anthem. It wasn’t until a minute later that there was an announcement that we should remain standing because they were bringing out the Canadian flag and going to play our anthem.
We weren’t booing the American anthem as a disgrace to the United States. We were booing because we were not informed that our anthem would be played at all. It really appear (because of the way things were planned), that our anthem would not be played.
It looked really bad, but I hope you all understand now that you have the full story.
Thanks for your input. I don’t entirely agree with your premise, but I respect your point of view.
If you’ll allow me to respond, I’ll just say that if some people honestly thought they weren’t going to play Oh Canada at a match held in Canada, then they’re a bit dense, don’t you think?
One clue was that the players were not on the field yet.
Another might have been that as everyone knows the home anthem is always played last. Might not the “great great fans” we keep hearing about have at least given that proposition some thought before they started in booing?
Finally, being upset – unjustifiably – at MLS is not a valid reason for disrespecting another nations’ anthem. I keep hearing how wonderfully polite Canadians universally are, and that has certainly always been my experience.
But in this case they showed an ugly side that’s tough to reconcile with “they were disappointed but meant no disrespect“- BA
As mentioned…I had never been to an event where they played 3 national anthems. You play the away team (England), then the home (MLS). Under the circumstances, the American was played as the home anthem.
I was at midfield, and Im sure the booing came from all over, but to me it sounded like it was only in the South end. I kind of rolled my eyes, knowing that it was wrong to boo, and that it would definitely leave it’s mark.
As far as the players not being on the field, I did notice that, but thought maybe they would have some type of special entrance.
You presume that we should have known better because the players weren’t on the field, so we could have expected a Canadian anthem…why weren’t the players on the field for the other 2 anthems?????
Overall, the whole beginning was severely botched, both by the league, and then even more so by the fans. It’s unfortunate, however, I’m certain that there would not have been any booing of any anthem had the introduction/players on the field/anthems been done how they normally carried out. (All flags on field at once, all players come out, then anthems – normally just 2 – played).
Stop making excuses, Toronto. It was disgraceful.
Now explain away the booing of the MLS All-Star players. You were supposed to be supporting MLS.
You guys need to get over yourselves and look at the big picture.
You failed.
I’m not sure you’re aware of this or not but most of the world hates us.
a) That’s just not true, but that’s not an argument I’m going to allow here and I’ll delete it hereafter
b) Suppose, for the sake of argument, that it IS true, so what?
The Canadians are saying that they were booing MLS, not the US, and that they genuinely meant no disrespect to us.
What YOU are saying here is that they are lying; that they were NOT booing because of some misunderstanding about whose song was going to be played, but rather they were booing because they “hate us”
I’m not sure the Cana dians will appreciate you calling them liars on this topic; they’re frantically trying to convince people their motives were not personal, while you are saying “OH YES IT WAS _ YOU HATE US”
Interesting take, Thanks.
Booing MLS All Stars? Because I boo them all the time. This is basic tribalism my friend. It’s kind of hard for me to bury the hatchet because of one friendly. Anyway, we stopped giving them stick about 30 minutes into the game and gave them support soon after. What that has to do with this topic however is beyond me and irrelevant.
Hey Lerxst — Why couldn’t you guys get Rush to perform?
(Actually, they were performing outside D.C. just a few days ago.)
The weirdest anthem experience I’ve ever seen was when I went to a high school basketball game in Norfolk (yes, the town with a big Navy base). Roughly one-third of the people in the arena, including but not limited to the handful of white people in attendance, stood and listened like most people do. The other two-thirds did not. I heard an explanation from a handful of people who shouted during the anthem, “Don’t stand, they’re glorifying slavery!”
Thanks Beau, but with all due respect I’m not sure what some American citizen’s misguided sense of history has to dowith what happened in Toronto last night- BA
Bill — I explain it in the next graf. I accept the notion that what happened in Toronto was a misunderstanding, and I think cooler heads will prevail. When it comes to anthems and what they symbolize to people, we have bigger problems at home than we do north of the border. (I also could’ve used the example of Salvadoran fans booing throughout the anthem during the bad old post-Diaz Arce trade days in D.C.)
The muddled American history in Norfolk seems to me a problem with deeper roots than what happened in Toronto, which could be resolved with a simple explanation, apology and acceptance of the apology.
(And no, I don’t think this is why the USL-1 team in Virginia Beach failed. But I don’t think anyone can agree on music in Norfolk. The Navy guys at the Norfolk Tides game were NOT happy to hear a Village People song. Gee, a little threatened, are we?)
Hey Beau! I asked myself the same thing. Bring on Geddy, Neil and Alex.
Here’s what I propose: at the next TFC game I’m going to sing “The Star Spangled Banner” while holding up my MLS All Star scarf because I feel it’s the least I can do show my support for this league and the nation in which it was founded in. I mean that with all sincerity.
Like the Canadian anthem has never been booed in the U.S.
The fans, who have never booed the SSB before, were upset that the Canadian anthem wasn’t going to be played. So booing started. Then most stopped booing and started to sing Oh Canada.
Let’s put this in full perspective: At a game being played in Canada a color guard comes out holding a British and U.S. flag. The PA announcement says they are going to play God Save the Queen and the Star Spangled Banner. There is no mention of Oh Canada , nor is there Canadian flag. Seems a little disrespectful don’t you think?
It wasn’t right to boo. BUT IT HAS NEVER HAPPED BEFORE. EVER.
But you just go right ahead and sensationalize Bill. It’s what you do. One racist twit in Columbus does not reflect the entire fanbase there, but everything Bill Archer ever sees on TV or reads about TFC’s fans can is 100 per cent the way every single person at BMO Field is.
Bottom line: MLS dropped the ball and should have had the Canadian flag as part of the official opening ceremony rather than as a tag on after ESPN went to commercial break. Failing that maybe it could have at least told the crowd what was going on.
Reality check, the US anthem is getting booed all over the world these days.
It was a hit on the radio: “American woman, stay away from me-ee.”- The Guess Who and those guys were Canadiens.
Up there they quarrel enough with French Canada anyway. It’s just the way people are.
More than anything it shows the insecurity of the Toronto fans. This one incident exposed just how they as a people feel about their place in the league and in the world. “Listen now while we play the national anthems of countries who matter more in the world than yours!” is likely what was perceived to have been played over the loud speakers.
Regardless, it shows a large measure of disrespect and classlessness. Extremely embarassing for their country.
fans of both the Calgary Flames and San Jose Sharks were apparently involved in a kerfuffle, it always leads to a payback too when these things happen.
Apparently the San Jose fans did boo the Canadien anthem. http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourview/2007…calgary_f.html
If it weren’t for the U.S., Canada would be speaking French right now. oh wait.
Now we can look forward to the Quebecois getting pissed off because certain verses of the Canadian anthem weren’t sung in French. What was a nice little American soccer league is now an angst-filled babel. It was nice when you could sit down in the old leather chair, crack a beer, turn to a tame MLS match played before, oh, 14,000 fans in Chicago or Foxboro or San Jose and enjoy the evolution of “the league to call our own” without having to worry about labor laws in other countries, trade agreements, getting the passport out of the safe in preparation of following the local team to a league match, the protocol of ponderous pre-match ceremony and the sensibilities of self-lauding extranational squatters. Those were the days. Now, as I sit in my leather chair in Massachusetts each summer and fall, I’m supposed to be earnest with my concern for the development of the game in a place where the locals have never been shy about expressing contempt, antipathy and derision towards “the league to call our own.” I’m supposed to chuckle and let it go because a) as a soccer fan I’m “enlightened’ and b) everyone knows that it’s OK, that we deserve it, that those critics from the neighboring land are keener observers of the game, more sophisticated, more appreciative of the subtle poetry of the beautiful game. So, moving forward, fellow Americans, it’s no longer enough for you to wonder if Chris Rolfe can become something truly special or if Parkhurst can make the move to England of if Cooper might turn out to be a pleasant surprise of if Buddle is for real or if Red Bull will open its new place before the end of the 2009 season or if the national team can handle the trip to Guatemala. No, no. It has been decided that you must now care about the development of the game and its players in Canada. Because, well, we’re all in this together. Aren’t we? It wasn’t always the case but now we’re supposed to tell ourselves that it was. Look the other way. Ignore the sneering and hostility and manifest neighborly, humanitarian love. Look down on American cities that are located in areas that educated soccer fans deem “unglamorous” and luxuriate in the fantasy of crossing a frontier, showing off those stamps in the old passport, smoking a Cuban cigar, procuring hydroponics and making every effort to let the locals know that you’re not like most Americans. Snicker at the thought of the guy in Massachusetts in his leather chair. The guy who just wants to watch a little aggro-free American soccer. The guy who appreciates Razov and Cooper and who gets a kick out of Olsen and CJ Brown and Jesse Marsch. The guy who smiles when he watches Clyde Simms finish after a well-timed run. Laugh at him. Presume to educate him. Lecture him. Feel superior to him. Take comfort in knowing that you’re more compassionate. Know that your vision is greater than his. Mock him. Dismiss him. Because, after all, all HE wants to do is watch a game between a couple of decent American teams, made up of mostly American players in a league that he and the players can call “their own.”
Do you expect anyone to read that?
You’ve got points Studzup: but you could narrow it down some as to what your exact points are. I’ve got to think, you are the one “snickering” a little at us who read your essay… got to be some tongue in cheek sitting in your leather chair!
Archer will read it. And it was a rant. It was meant to be rambling. Marone.
Canada teakettle kerfuffle! If the Native Americans hadn’t Francis Scott Key the birdbath, Loverboy Rush Triumph! Cuban cigar Caribbean sugar cane Jack Warner in the boogly!! Mambo dogface in the banana patch!! Do you Clyde Simms the Mo Johnston, or give me Jim Brennan death? George Washington crossing the Delaware, or Queen Elizabeth curling the Moosehead? Never!
they play god save the queen?
Nice one, Beau. I’m sincere when I say that I do recognize something cogent and resonant in your prose.
The world is coming to end. The US National Anthem was booed. Bill go write for Faux news. You right wing hack.
Studz, that was hilarious! Thanks for that.
Down with Canadian expansion!
I thought a logical explanation would at least help to clear the air but it seems like there are some that are just looking for any opportunity to move their agenda forward. Regardless; I still stand by what I said with MLS All Star scarf in hand.
This would all be a lot easier if we reserved the national anthem only for international competitions.
I can’t believe a stadium of fans would be so collectively idiotic as to believe that the Canadian national anthem wouldn’t be played. So the US and UK flags and anthems came out first. So what? Any reasonable person would expect that the home country’s flag and anthem would follow. Only a group of blustering babies with a huge inferiority complex would assume a massive international dis from the league.
I hope they at least had the class to feel like idiots when the Canadian flag entered the field. Somehow I doubt it.
I would like to start by saying that booing any national anthem is classless. Now having said that, I cant help but feel that there is a lot of hypocrites in that the Americans boo national anthems all the time, especially the Canadian when it comes so to hockey. I’m not saying that what happened was justified, but before some get up on their soapbox, how about you clean up your own backyard…….
Our backyard is immaculate, my friend.
There is no country out there that can say they have a clean backyard. Unless one chooses to ignore them. That is convenient though
When it comes to soccer we do. That is a fact.
Was the Canadian national anthem played at last year’s All Star game?
How about when you face Mexico ?? Please, what facts are you talking about. Like I said. Easy to ignore. Again, Im not saying that it was correct. I showed a lot of ignorance by those that were there. I wish it had not happened.
FROM THE STANDS AT BMO FIELD:
“…you call this an anthem? It’s unsingable! The range, it’s all over the place! And the words…why, they are simply shoehorned into a drinking song! This is no anthem for a superpower! BOOO! BOOOOOOO!”
QFT
eurodad, are you suggesting that American fans start crap at games with Mexico? Or that Americans are the trouble-makers at those games? Are you serious?
No but if you fallow along, Im talking about disrespecting national anthems. On that topic, yes the USA fans have disrespected National anthems, especially that of Mexico.
Im not saying that the fans caused trouble in the stands. Im talking about booing, Im talking about refusing to stand…….
I’ll tell you all, truly, I saw the Minnesota Thunder play the Montreal Impact in Minnesota, here… and now I remember what happened, when the Canadian anthem came on, the geeks in the announcing booth were like talking over it and stuff: could appear incidental but I didn’t think it was… and at times, I’ve got high testerone, I felt like belting those guys and I’m not Canadian… but I consider myself rather open to cultures…I know two other languages so I’m not real tribal in that sense.
Wow. That’s a new one. Eurodad. I have every game between the US and Mexico from 1991 until now taped. I have every one from 1995 in English and Spanish. I’ve attended seven of them. I’ll have to get out those tapes and get the cobwebs out.
Okay, maybe our foreign friends can help me out here…didn’t “God Save the Queen” used to BE the Canadian national anthem, and that’s what led to the confusion?
Stop reading here if you don’t want an overdose of silly. My source for this was an ancient SCTV sketch where John Candy played Darryl Sittler and Joe Flaherty played Guy LaFleur doing a commercial. It devolved into a huge political shoving match, with Candy as Sittler saying “One country, one language, one anthem, God Save the ****ing Queen!”
If my sociological interpretation of classic sketch comedy is correct, maybe our northern friends thought that GSTQ was all the musical attention that Canada would get that evening. (Usually a responsible PA announcer will say something like “Please stand and remain standing for the national anthems of Great Britain, the United States, and Canada,” but it’s easy to believe that drunk goof-off TFC fan might have been cheering over the PA the way, say, drunk goof-off LA fans do.)
studzup, you go ahead and you do that.
Why should I bother, eurodad? I’ve just decided to trust my memory and be comforted in the confident recollection of well-behaved American fans.
I think our backyard is rather spotless too studzup. Let’s be buddies. We can look into each other’s backyards and be proud at what we’ve accomplished. Ain’t life grand.
You dont have to. You said you were going to. Im not telling you to do anything. Im not even saying that what the Canadian fans were doing was ok. It was by far not ok. I just wanted to remind all that USA was not exactly Angels in the Anthem issue. Personally, I dont even think they should play the Anthems at sporting events.
MLS screwed things up as usual. If they put a second of thought into the pre-game, they would have realized that sensitivities exist and things need to be smooth and clear to avoid something ugly. Like Canadian fans feeling like they are being ignored, them taking it out on a convenient target and then US citizens predictably going way off the deep end about such ungratefulness and threatening to take what they believe is their security and economic ball and go home (despite the USD falling so far that CDN is now equivalent or better and Canada having little to worry about when it comes to terrorism – not to mention being poised to make out quite well with their abundance of basic natural resources – H2O to name a real basic one – if global warming trends continue).
I used to live in a border town and spent virtually all leisure time in Canada and loved it. We have great friends there we could tell Canadian jokes and my friends would tell American jokes. I miss it and would live in Canada in a heartbeat. Well, there is one thing I really don’t like about Canada and that is the poor turf field at BMO!
Well, Canada was an English Colony so I guess God Save the Queen was played then. It is still a commonwealth.
But, I would think God Save the Queen was played at the ASG for West Ham due to the team’s nation of origin – not to mention that they were the guests.
I think Canadian beer had a bit to do with what happened.
you have to understand the world hates the USA right now!
It’s all bushs’ fault
Mexico boos the US Anthem all the freaking time and nobody complains. STFU people, it’s just a lousy song.
There have been more cases Americans booing the Canadian national anthem.
thread/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HGPh8Hjyg8
If this is what we need to get US fans “activated” then we might want to set up an exploratory committee to look into the possibilites of getting more Canadian beer sold at MLS games in the US.
…except that the only beer they sell at BMO Field is Carlsberg, imported from Denmark.
As a TFC fan, I apologize to our American friends for the actions of the crowd. This was not anti-Americanism, it was shock and outrage that the announcer did not mention the Canadian anthem, as others have posted. From posts on various boards, it seems the Americans in the crowd were positive about their experience — aside from that one incident.
Canada recently played a friendly against Brazil in Seattle — does anyone know how the anthems were done at that game?
Bill…I can only assume that you weren’t at the game because if you were you would know that the fans booed both the Amercian and British Anthems. It was classless and in poor taste but please don’t use quotes from obviously biased people to back up your “woe is me” argument. What a surprise…an American thinking it’s all about them.
When someone boos your national anthem, you have my permission to feel that it’s all about you.
ESPN is saying that the reason it was done the way it was is that they did not plan on broadcasting the other two anthems, just the Canadian one.
So in fact, they were just getting those out of the way of the one that they felt was most important for them to air.
It could have been a proud moment for you guys and instead you had to act like boors and fools.
And frankly there are a whole bunch of Canadians who are expressing PRIDE over what happened, saying that it was a defining moment for BEEMO field and that they’ve never been prouder of being Canadian.
If you’d like a sample, trip on over to the Red Patch Boys forum. Someone sent me some samples and it’s appalling.
soccer…put aside their political and cultural differences? ever watched the world cup?
and decency among Cdn. fans? ever been to Columbus?
get off it!
Asked earlier and I once researched it before:
http://www.pch.gc.ca/PROGS/CPSC-CCSP/sc-cs/anthem_e.cfm
Webpage just on the Canadian National Anthem, history and such.
As if this should cause an international crisis, fans, quite a few inebriated surely, might have booed the anthem.
I didn’t catch it but I know when the Turks booed the Swiss over their troubled world cup playoffs, one could not hear the national anthem of Switzerland.
English…ever use it before?
hahaha, many of you are forgetting that the Canadian anthem was booed in buffalo a few years ago and when the Blue Jays had the audacity to win back to back world series the Canadian flag was flown upside down. It was poor planning on the part of MLS not to have all flags out there at the same time or even announce that they were saving the best for last. The MLS organized this even not West Ham thats why God saved the queen was not booed, besides, everyone and their brother loves the queen….Bush? Not soo much! So get over it
geeko79 has given, by my count, 3 separate and almost mutually exclusive excuses:
1.
2.
3.
Which is it, Skipper?
(The new twist in #2 [that the TFC boo-ers were lucid enough to decide ahead of time to not boo GStQ "because West Ham didn't organize it"] is a new, doubly pathetic one)
For #1, a baseball game nearly 2 decades ago has exactly what to do with an MLS game held in Canada?
For #2, how about waiting until the SBB was over, THEN voicing your displeasure? Because then you wouldn’t have had the opportunity to toss your toys out of the pram before being given a shiny new bike in front of ESPN.
For #3, grow the ******** up. It’s a (very neutral) sporting event.
So Bill quotes the Sun article but fails to read as far as the columnist explaining what really happened.
I was there. The booing started as it appeared that the Canadian anthem would not be sung. The booing quickly turned into everyone singing the Canadian national anthem. Then we sang our anthem again over top of, God Save The Queen. Then we sang O Canada without any accompaniment, they announced the subs then announced the singing of O Canada so we sang it one more time. If you Americans want to feel slighted then so be it.
Anthems are not sacred to me so the issue seems to be a big nothing anyway. Have a good cry, perhaps you will feel better.
Oh and I should mention that I have not missed a home game yet and there has never been booing for the American anthem at a TFC game.
This somehow manages to say that GStQ was sung second.
This (and about a billion other reports and postings) disputes that notion.
Indeed, Joe. Indeed.
The same thing happens in the Stanley Cup playoffs all the time to be honest. Teams in both countries occasionally boo the anthem.
And honestly Bill, do you really think you have any say-so whatsoever on who gets the next expansion team, no one with the power to do anything gives a sh*t what you or anyone else on this forum thinks on the matter. So what are you really accomplishing outside of “urggggggggggg…I’m pissed off!”
Some posts are simply beyond parody.
Archer,
quit whining about lack of respect. You show lack of respect to Canada in pretty much every article you write.
“It’s just awful, indecent. We should impale the whole country on a stake and light it. That’s cause where America, where “morals” run high (except to dirty mexicans of course) and thinking things through run low”.
You honestly think MLS will pass up on expansions because of disrespect???
Well maybe screw off with all the Cnada hating and the stereotypes and we wont hate on your anthem. Which reminds me, you know what your anthem is about? Somebody watching the Canadians/British burn Fort McHenry in the War of 1812. You know why we did it? You guys burned Toronto down first. So Toronto hating has quite a history in America.
My favorite will be “well, of course, the US is really evil, as we all know, so it’s understandable”. SO true.
Archer– just because they showed you up in your home stadium and bring it every game let it go.
^TFC^ – The Star Spangled Banner was written when Fort Baltimore was under attack by the British. However, the Americans successfully defended the attack which resulted in the famous line by Francis Scott Key, “The flag was still there.”
Are you guys going to decide why you were complete assholes already?
We were complete assholes because we were led to believe that “Oh Canada” was not going to be played at all. It was a stupid move by MLS to bring out two flags and ask us to listen to them with our flag nowhere to be seen.
But I wonder why Americans are all of a sudden so high and mighty? “Oh Canada” has been booed hundreds of times in the US for no reason at all during sports events. But what the US be without jumping at every opportunity to get on their high horse?
Macksam –> Both are the same thing, Fort McHenry is in Baltimore.
Note: I do believe that its disrespectful to boo an anthem, but as explained it was more of a misundestanding that patriotic conservative american hacks took too seriously. (Boo me, why I never. Dirty Canadians shouldn’t get expansion). Not to mention the current state of the USA may deserve some booing, at least from a Canadians point of view. Oh by the way Bill, please don’t try to quote SUN articles, no one reads that right wing racist republican ass kissing bull shit paper anyways. Well, reading your articles, maybe that is where you get your news.
I’d settle for a citations of 50 separate incidents. ‘Til then…
What the hell does conservatism have to do with anything? Do you actually think ONLY conservatives think it was classless? Because last I checked, I thought many conservatives were complete clowns.
so tell me geniuses… is the mls an american league or a north american league? as soon as toronto joined the mls, everything changed. i know many of you don’t really study any canadian geography but (and this may come as a little bit of a surprise but canada is not a part of the usa) therefore, why would the american national anthem be played???
the home turf was canadian. end of story.
and there is a simple answer. someone screwed up. screwed up very badly. if it was announced that the canadian anthem was to be heard after the singing of god save the queen and the star spangled banner this would not have happened.
we felt snubbed just as we did when our flag was hung upside down in the mlb.
let me ask you this: when teh vancouver grizzlies played the toronto raptors, which anthems were heard???
i would like to hear your answer…
how about when the expos played the jays?
answer?
certainly not the star spangled banner.
so yes, i have been to jays games, leaf games and tfc games. the rule is, if we play canadian teams – only one anthem – o’ canada. if we are playing an american team, two anthems.
and just to let you know, contrary to what you wrote earlier, the usa anthem is not always played first or last.. it depends on whether they are home or not…
anyway, i know it must be hard being such a gifted writer and you always get your facts straight before you write something…
50 Citations? LOL ok lets see Raptors Vs Celtics in the playoffs, um about half the NHL playoff games. Let’s not forget the ever Classy upside down Canada flag at the World Series in the early 90′s. I’m very sure that was an honest mistake.
But you know what no matter the reason it was wrong for us to do it. I apologize and many others do as well as it was directed at MLS but of course even with as good a reason as any and an apology the US will gladly hold this over our heads as to push their agendas as they do with any reason big or small since being ignorant and offensive is something they can only do with a straight face and not something that should ever be directed towards them. Booing a national anthem is something that a great deal of your people have done to us for years. So I apologize for stooping to your level.
Timon —> I would generally believe that a larger amount of conservative americans would care about the anthem compared to liberals
So you came up with 2 instances and a wild-assed guess?
Close, but no cigar, mon frere.
What the hell are you on about? Nice sincerity, too. Why not generalize a bit more, especially while ironically calling out “the US” for doing similar.
MLS MAY hold this over your heads while they continue to fellate you.
Fans of MLS teams might continue to give you shit about it. And for good reason. In fact, the more your compatriots attempt to dissemble and explain it away (rather than your grudging acceptance of it), the more stick you’re going to take, because whatever attempts to
Still looks like you haven’t quite decided why, though. You’ve added a fourth excuse – revenge.
Leaving aside the silliness that leads you to only consider two political possibilities in this country (which gives you something quite in common with a lot of Americans), your stereotyping is quaint.
I’m not surprised. They say you learn a lot about people from playing golf. A number of years ago I played the Banff Springs Resort Golf Course. I played and made a life long friend with an Australian gentlemen, and two other Canadians. The two Canadians could not be more rude. They spent the round speaking to the Aussie and basically ignored me. It started when I said I was from the United States and New York.
Classless.
gee there’s a generalization… two canadians ignored you so they must be rude. how funny is that? maybe they were gay and they were trying to pick up the aussie. or maybe you didn’t provide adequate conversation. or maybe your golf game was horrible…
you guys all need to chilax. this was blown way out of proportion. i’m sorry but there are nice and not so nice people on both sides of the border. this was not a case of rudeness it was a case of ignorance. the canadian anthem seemed to be overlooked and left the fans assuming that it was not to be played because of the american broadcast. simple. end of story. peace be with you. sorry if it was offensive. there was no intent to do this before the game.
Read the editorial in the Toronto Globe and Mail today; they lambaste their own countrymen as harshly as anyone here.
They rightly point out that if there was some concern about Oh Canada not being played they should have waited for the SSB to end and then sung the thing, but booing the American anthem is booing the American anthem, and it’s rude. Period.
And as they point out, if they were just mad at MLS, well, the Star Spangled Banner is not “the MLS ditty”, it’s a national anthem and booing it is booing the US, NOT MLS. – BA
The best way to avoid those not so nice people is to not force them to share a soccer league.
The Canadians were just mad we haven’t granted them statehood yet.
I kid.
Bill…I can only assume that you weren’t at the game because if you were you would know that the fans booed both the Amercian and British Anthems. It was classless and in poor taste but please don’t use quotes from obviously biased people to back up your “woe is me” argument. What a surprise…an American thinking it’s all about them.
When someone boos your national anthem, you have my permission to feel that it’s all about you.
ESPN is saying that the reason it was done the way it was is that they did not plan on broadcasting the other two anthems, just the Canadian one.
So in fact, they were just getting those out of the way of the one that they felt was most important for them to air.
It could have been a proud moment for you guys and instead you had to act like boors and fools.
And frankly there are a whole bunch of Canadians who are expressing PRIDE over what happened, saying that it was a defining moment for BEEMO field and that they’ve never been prouder of being Canadian.
If you’d like a sample, trip on over to the Red Patch Boys forum. Someone sent me some samples and it’s appalling.
Bill, my point is that you chose to make it sound like the TFC fans who booed (which was a bonehead move) were only booing the American anthem which was not the case. They booed BOTH the American and British anthems. It wasn’t a case of booing any particular anthem but more a case of booing not getting the Canadian anthem. I know, it’s retarded logic but hey, is anyone ever rational when it comes to patriotism?
And by the way…how many times has this kinda garbage happened in an American sports venue? Not that it excuses the stupidity of the TFC fans that booed.
Again, your own newspaper accounts say either that there was no booing during GStQ or that there was very little, and that it reached “a crescendo” during the SSB.
I can only go by the accounts of people who were there, and most of them I’ve seen are from Canadians.
Look, details aside, we now have a pretty clear grasp of what happened and why. It always takes a few days.
I wish a few people would have waited for all the facts before tearing into Crew fans for conducting a “brawl” and a “riot” on Thursday night when the whole thing amounted to three or four drunks from WH going looking for a fight.
Or I could cite the level of fairness involved when I see TFC fans continually ranting about “racist Crew fans chanting racist chants” when anyone of god wil knows that wasn’t what happened at all.
People believe what they want to believe.
I have a great deal of respect for the TFC fans, and there have been many, who have come around and said, simply, “We’re sorry”
I’m good with that. Case closed.
“I’m sorry but….” is not the same thing. And that’s what I’m hearing.
As the Globe and Mail said, if you’re ticked at MLS, fine. But the Star Spangled Banner is not the “MLS ditty”. Rather, it’s a national anthem and trying to display anger with MLS by booing it is boorish and rude.
Nonetheless, I’d like to think that – unlike most TFC fans who will gripe about “racist KKKrew fans rioting” from now until the end of time, I think most American fans can simply say: “lots of blame to spread around, decent people feel bad about it, enough is enough. Case closed”
Which is where I’m at.- BA
I would never boo anyone’s national anthem.
Except Uzbekistan. AssH#les.
Signed,
Borat Sagdiyev
studzup, could you stop crying for a minute? “Those not so nice” people? Buddy, The Canadian anthem has been heckled in American alot more than the other way around. As for your pathetic rants about Canadian teams being in the league, by 2015 we will have 15 American teams and 1 Canadian team. Your American soccer isn’t getting shafted. Sit down, smile, be quiet, and have a rum and coke.
If I was a Canadian, and the All-Star game of what was in effect the top national league was being played in my country, and the Canadian national anthem wasn’t played, I’d be more than a little annoyed.
Perhaps the MLS should take a leaf out of the English FA’s book – when Cardiff City got to the English FA Cup final in May, the Welsh national anthem was played for Cardiff despite Cardiff City having played in the English system since before WWI!
Newsflash… We dont really give a rat’s ass..
Anyway,
Why you guys take responsibility and say “we screwed up?”
Is that so hard?
Whether:
A) You were booing the MLS (umm… you know the league that TFC is lucky to be a part of)
B) the US anthem (.. umm if we had a rivalry with you guys I could understand it, but you are so insignifgant, that quite simply, you dont matter…
Its wrong either way..
Time to fess’ up guys..
Even with the excuse of believing their anthem wasn’t going to be played.. there’s no reason to open your foolish mouth while the other anthems are going on.
Ummm…it WAS played. What the hell is this post supposed to be about?
I’m putting myself in the position of the Canadians in the BMO Field, something that I feel alot of the AMERICAN posters, media and observers have failed to do.
OK, so they assumed their asses off and threw a hissy, then were shown to be completely and utterly wrong. Putting myself in their shoes, I’d want to hide under a rock right about now.
“B) the US anthem (.. umm if we had a rivalry with you guys I could understand it, but you are so insignifgant, that quite simply, you dont matter…”
bostonsoccermdl – You ain’t going to get a positve response with that you f***tard.
I’m sure Toronto is mostly a nice town, some TFC fans, hey, revel in the fact that they are not Americans, I’ve come across them putting the US down on the net if they think they are so cool.
So, our American teams, maybe can have an incentive to defeat TFC from now on!
hard_to_beat – thank you. this is the very first post that i have seen where anyone has actually seen things from the pitch. it’s because of people like you that makes this world a better place. thanks.
Who cares about the boos. Telling Canadians what they can do in their own country doesn’t make us look any better. A more pertinent topic would be why more citizens don’t sing their own anthem.
I’m from Massachusetts. Canadian flags hang in all of our hockey rinks. We don’t boo the Canadian anthem in Massachusetts. That is a fact.
I think most American fans can simply say: “lots of blame to spread around, decent people feel bad about it, enough is enough. Case closed
Right. I think I said roughly the same thing 90 comments ago, but as this stage of the conversation, you’re going to get the people who feel really strongly about it and/or have some misreading of the facts to which they’re desperately clinging.
That said, the first paragraph of your post still references MLS expansion into Canada, a subject that may draw strong feelings for different reasons than the rest of the post. So some who fall into the “decent people” group but disagree with you over Canadian expansion may still feel a little defensive.
Not saying you’re wrong about either issue, just wondering if they should be brought up at the same time.