Why an American football game played the Canadian national anthem
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Why an American football game played the Canadian national anthem
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Figure caption: Watch: In a border city stadium, American NFL fans sing Canada’s anthem with gusto
By
Robin Levinson-King
in Buffalo, New York
and
Brandon Drenon and Johanna Chisholm
Published 1 hour ago
There are no Canadian teams in the NFL - but there are millions of fans. At the Buffalo Bills game in New York on Thursday night, plenty of Canadians wore the team's trademark red, white and blue while drinking beside their pick-up trucks, which were parked to tailgate - a very American pre-game tradition.
The Bills' stadium is only 112 miles (180 km) from Toronto - about a two and a half hour drive for fans - and right across Lake Ontario, which President Donald Trump has sought to rename Lake America. So it was no surprise that many Canadians arrived long before kick-off to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the sights of the new Highmark Stadium for their team's home opener against the Detroit Lions.
What was unusual was that their national anthem rang out through the stadium. The field was decked out with both the stars and stripes of the US flag and the maple leaf of the Canadian one, and the 1990s Canadian band The Barenaked Ladies belted out Oh Canada! in front of a massive crowd.
Image source: Getty Images
Image caption: There was a fireworks display for the team's home opener at their new stadium
Image source: Getty Images
Image caption: The Barenaked Ladies belted out Oh Canada! in front of a massive crowd
It was an emotional moment for many of the Canadian fans, who said they felt an extremely warm welcome even if their country's mood has recently grown more frosty towards the US.
"I've always felt welcome here," said Ben Kerr, from Bradford, Ontario. "I think it's a nice acknowledgement. I appreciate that the Bills are doing that for Canada."
The relationship between the two countries, which began to sour when US President Donald Trump returned to office and made repeated calls to annex Canada, has frayed further with an escalating tit-for-tat tariff showdown. Prime Minister Mark Carney has said Canada, which shares the world's longest undefended border with the US, is "at war" with its southern neighbour over trade. Trump has called Canada "nasty" and "entitled."
Image source: Getty Images
Image caption: The Bills' new home, Highmark Stadium, cost $2.2bn to build
Both sides are feeling the economic impact, with Canadian industries reeling from tariffs and Canadians boycotting travel and spending in the US. The ongoing tensions made the decision to travel to Buffalo a little more complicated for Kerr.
*"I try to spend as little money as possible in the US]," he told the BBC. *"Buy our food in Canada, buy our beer in Canada, bring it across and drink it here. We're not big in supporting the American economy in this trade war."
Many Americans at the game expressed their own frustrations with the escalating trade war, and the way it has divided the two neighbours. For Drew Grier, an American who lives eight minutes from the stadium, "the anthem playing tonight was a really powerful statement."