March 22, 2003

To sing or not to sing. : Is it really an isolated incident, or is it going to degrade further? I personally rely on sports to be an escape from all the politics of the day, and I find these incidents to be quite sad.

read story | posted by mkn to Hockey at 3:13 PM CDT (11 comments total)

Tout est bien qui qui finit bien. (All is well that ends well.)

posted by qbert72 at 8:41 PM CDT on March 22

It is? Cheering during a national anthem isn't really done either is it? I thought the idea was to show respect for the other nation by standing in silence during their anthem. England soccer fans have been known to boo other nations anthems, though not for political reasons, just through the ignorance and arrogance of some sections of supporters. I always thought, as well as showing a lack of errr, "props", the only effect it could have would be counterproductive in that it would stir the opposition to try harder.

posted by squealy at 7:40 AM CDT on March 23

I had a conversation last night about this. I was pissed when the Canadians booed the Anthem, but not really becuase of the act itself. The thing that really got me is that hockey is a sport, a diversion. On the list of things to combine with hockey, politics is way down at the bottom, right after breakdancing and yodelling. Everyone has a right to an opinion, but find an appropriate forum, man. Let's keep our sports fun.

gbert, no more French. You've been warned.

posted by Samsonov14 at 1:03 PM CDT on March 23

I was once in Edinburgh, Scotland, one a trip that happened to coincide with the Wales-Scotland match in the (then) Five Nations rugby tournament. I watching the game in a pub, and there were people from both Scotland and Wales there. When they played the countries' national anthems, everyone stood up, and the people from one country that new the words to the other country's anthem sang along. It was one of the coolest things I've ever seen.

posted by kirkaracha at 4:19 PM CDT on March 23

From above link: "Only a handful of people booed as Charles Prevost-Linton sang "The Star-Spangled Banner'' in virtual silence before the crowd applauded during the final verse." I think this kind of "cheering" is not showing disrespect, more of a polite apology.

IMHO, this whole thing was blown way out of proportion. I don't particularly understand the "Let's not mix sports and politics" argument, unless you agree that national anthems have no business with professional sports.

Samsonov, is that a serious threat? I fail to see the humor, and I did translate it for you viewing pleasure. And it's Q*bert, thank you. :-)

posted by qbert72 at 1:00 AM CDT on March 24

Hey, I know a bong named Q*bert! Anyway, no, of course it's not a serious threat. I'm not really that big on handing out internet beatings.

That's an interesting question you raise, though. Why do we sing national anthems before games? And when did that start?

posted by Samsonov14 at 8:19 AM CDT on March 24

From MKN's main link:

"Meagher said the idea of playing the national anthem at hockey games began in 1946 to show respect for players returning from the Second World War. At that time, usually only the home anthem was played.

It wasn't until the 1960s that both anthems were played. It was 1987 before the NHL introduced a rule saying both anthems had to be performed before games involving American and Canadian teams."

Here in England we only play the National Anthem before international games, at least with regard to football. And we do have three Welsh teams in our league, so we could have a similar scenario.

posted by squealy at 8:54 AM CDT on March 24

I was in Toronto this weekend, and it was explained to me that because the incident happened where it did, we shouldn't consider it indicative of all Canadians ... but rather the ass-backward French in Montreal. This theory gained strength in my eyes when it was Atlanta that responded and booed the Canadian national anthem. Write it off to rednecks in both countries and move on.

posted by wfrazerjr at 3:46 PM CDT on March 24

Cheering during a national anthem is not considered disrespectful.

The fans in Chicago used to cheer insanely loud during the American national anthem before playoff hockey games. It used to rattle a lot of the opposing players because it got so loud in that tiny stadium that they had a hard time even hearing themselves talk.

posted by grum@work at 10:21 PM CDT on March 24

wfrazerjr: the ass-backward French in Montreal

Hey, thanks man, really appreciated.

posted by qbert72 at 10:53 PM CDT on March 24

Most welcome, Q! Remember, however: I was simply paraphrasing a sentiment expressed to me a couple times while I was in Toronto. Is this the reason you all want out?

Also, in your defense ... I pointed out that I thought you had a MUCH better hockey history. :)

posted by wfrazerjr at 8:21 AM CDT on March 25

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