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An expert says playing the national anthem at sporting events is “out of date” amidst the growing trend of booing national anthems at professional sporting games, sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump’s economic threats.
Canadian fans in Ottawa, Calgary, and Vancouver booed the U.S. national anthem this past weekend. And on Monday, American fans responded by booing O Canada in Nashville at an NHL game between the Ottawa Senators and Nashville Predators. The booing came to Toronto Tuesday at an NBA game hosted by the Toronto Raptors against the New York Knicks at Scotiabank Arena.
The idea that professional sports teams are representing Canada or the United States is trivial, says John Valentine, a professor in the faculty of Health and Community Studies at MacEwan University.
“We’ve got players from all over the world playing in the NHL. So the idea that they’re really representing Canada or the United States and that we need to play these anthems is silly,” said Valentine.
However, he says an increase in booing anthems may get more people thinking critically about the relevance of playing anthems today.
The NHL will not stop the performance of the U.S. national anthem, TSN reporter Rick Westhead posted on Monday to X, formerly Twitter, but will instead “pause, for the time being, the use of young singers who might be rattled by negative fan reactions.”
This controversy has even extended down into the PeeWee leagues where Quebec City asked that people not boo when their young players are competing next week.
National anthems are historically linked to sports and war, Valentine says, and are the two best ways to create nationalism.
A poll conducted from Feb. 2 – 3 by the Angus Reid Institute and released on Feb. 4 found the percentage of people saying they are “very proud” to be Canadian jumped from 34 to 44 per cent since December.
Valentine said this poll, “Illustrates how a war, even if it’s a trade war, can build patriotism and nationalism.”
Ian Viau, a Canadian who attended the Toronto Raptors’ game on Wednesday night, says booing the U.S. national anthem is more a reflection of Canadians’ dislike of Trump’s policies towards our country than it is about discontent towards American people.
“I don’t applaud it in terms of saying boo America, but I do applaud it in saying boo President Trump, and I think it’s a great time for Canadians to really look at what it feels like to be Canadian,” said Viau.
It is causing division between Canadians and Americans, says Valentine, which is not a good thing in our society.
Glenn Read, a fan of the Toronto Raptors, says he is disappointed by booing national anthems and believes they are important.
“I think we live in a country and we should have some pride in it. I mean, it’s a beautiful country. We’re very lucky compared to most of the world,” Read said.
Those feelings of nationalism may be why we still play the national anthem, according to Valentine.
“There are fans who are going to be more emotionally attached to the game through hearing the anthem and that emotional attachment might sell more tickets,” he said.
