Here's a link to that story; http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/hockey/news/2003/03/20/anthem_booed_ap/
The funny thing is that the Devils played in Montreal a couple of days ago and they boo'd the national anthem. You just didn't read about because besides myself and Michael K no one pays any attention to the Devils.
There've been many booing incidents over the years in the NHL, with Canadian fans booing the US anthem and US fans booing the Canadian anthem. The only instance I can remember right now is the US anthem being booed during the World Cup US v. Canada game in Ottawa, I believe. Soon after, Don Cherry basically scolded the fans on Hockey Night in Canada. Canadiens sont la!
Last night 'some' Atlanta Thrasher fans booed the Canadian national anthem before the Ottawa vs Atlanta game. However, near the end of the anthem they stopped booing and started to cheer. Islander fans booed the Canadian national anthem during the Toronto vs Islanders playoff game a few years ago. Detroit Piston fans booed the Canadian anthem before a Raports vs Pistons playoff game, also a few years ago. Booing the American or the Canadian anthem is all in poor taste.
BINGO! Wrong plus wrong does not equal right. But we can't overreact either. It's been a handful of people at both games this week.
Leaf fans just cheered the US anthem before the Buffalo-Toronto game. It's just the Quebecqois who are being pricks.
regardless of where they live, in France, Quebec, or anywhere else on earth, the French will always be French. Classless..... As a Canadian, blessed with the best life on earth here in the US, I apologize to Americans.
Some fans in Florida booed the Canadian national anthem last night and no fans in Montreal booed the US national anthem last night. At least the Montreal fans are slowly getting things right...
The guy who took over for Dick Shapp (I can never remember his name, even if I saw it 5 minutes ago) took his parting shot at those Quebec fans - keep in mind, he is Canadian, too. He made the comment that you can't take much seriously from them bcause they don't even know if they want to be part of Canada from year to year. It was great stuff.
Definitely. Canadians are great people. Notice I said "Canadiens fans", not "Canadian fans" Donovan9, no worries, you've already helped bring enough joy to Americans! Alex
John Saunders, who is a terrific host and did indeed have a good "parting shot." Still, the discussion on this has really lacked context. Hockey fans do all sorts of silly things during various anthems. Philly fans start chanting "Let's go Flyers" roughly around the "twilight's last gleaming" part. There's even a specific history between the Islanders and Canadiens. It was also amusing to see the Islanders' players trying to wax eloquent on the subject. DiPietro called it a "sacred song," which I suppose means we are indeed living in a theocracy now. And Mark Parrish said, "if it weren't for America, who knows what language they'd be speaking now." Perhaps my knowledge of history is spotty, but I can't remember U.S. troops digging in to protect the rights of Quebec to speak French. The most disturbing anthem protest I ever saw was at a high school basketball game in Norfolk. Roughly three-quarters of the crowd remained seated during the anthem and kept chatting as if nothing was going on. A couple of people yelled out: "Don't stand! They're glorifying slavery!" None of this, of course, means that I'd go out and boo someone's anthem tomorrow. It's just sad to see my media colleagues harping on the Manhattanville player or Canadiens fans without paying attention to the rest of the story. Besides, we have plenty of enemies already. I'm not going to get all bent out of shape about a couple of people in Quebec who couldn't find a more appropriate means of displaying their displeasure with the U.S. government. Yeah, it's bad, but I've seen worse.
Indeed, well said. Most of the "analysis" taking place goes along the lines of: "They're all French surrender-monkeys anyways, the ungrateful bastards". From some ignorant Americans, this is what I come to expect, but from fellow Canadians, I think THEY're showing a true lack of class because they actually know better.
What about holding the flag upside down during the execution of a national anthem? Is that classless too?
Not classless unless it was done intentionally, but certainly irresponsible. That was embarassing (well not really, I was 8 or 9 at the time and didn't really understand what was going on but now I would be embarassed by it) and there was no excuse for it. Alex
I am suprised no one has questioned why we even need to play the anthem(s) before non-international games (country v. country).
I remember The Simpsons' "Homer vs. Tatum" episode in which Michael Buffer announces that "by popular demand" they're skipping the national anthem. The crowd cheered. I'd say 90 percent of the typical sports crowd could easily do without it. They'll stand respectfully, but they don't really need it. But if you took it away, the other 10 percent might kill people. Seriously. At hockey venues, the anthem sometimes has its own traditions. The Washington Capitals often have a big guy who often performs at the Kennedy Center who comes out in a Caps jersey and does the anthem with the appropriate gusto. That's kind of fun. The worst, though, is when you're all hyped up for a game and a country act comes out and does it in awful four-part harmony. Is anyone else a little disturbed by military flyovers at football games? A co-worker who is by no means pacifist watched an NFL broadcast with a giant flag and a loud formation of fighter jets, then wondered how we'd react if we saw a sporting event elsewhere in the world with, say, the Republican Guard marching around.