The Star-Spangled Banner was booed by Canadian fans during the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off. (MATT VAUTOUR)Matt Vautour
MONTREAL — As had been anticipated, the Star-Spangled Banner was booed before Team USA’s game against Finland at the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
It’s just the latest demonstration during the song following similar reactions at NHL games in Canadian cities.
Before the two anthems, the Bell Centre’s public address announcer asked the crowd in English and French to show respect for the anthems. But almost immediately after the singer began his “Oh say can you see” a large percentage of the crowd, especially in the upper sections began booing loudly. The Finnish anthem began and ended without demonstration.
The outbursts began shortly after Donald Trump’s inauguration last month following threats he made about tariffs on Canadian goods and a suggestion that Canada should become the 51st state in the USA.
He repeated that assertion on Thursday and called Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, “Governor Trudeau” when referring to communication between them regarding tariffs.
The heavily Canadian crowd was cheering for Finland throughout, but that would have likely been the case even in the friendliest of political times. On paper, Team USA represents a much greater threat to Canada’s hopes of winning the tournament.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman was asked about the possibility of booing before the event started.
“Our goal is to make sure that we create an environment and that hockey represents an opportunity to bring people together, and I think people understand that,” he said Wednesday. “In this building, initially there was some booing a couple of games ago and the club made an announcement asking people to stop and show respect for two great countries, and it stopped. And that’s what we expect.”
Bruins forward Brad Marchand, who is from Nova Scotia and plays for Canada said he hoped there would be no anthem booing when he appeared on an episode of the "What Chaos Podcast" that was recorded last week.
“I don’t respect that at all. The anthems are there as a sign of respect because of our veterans and all they’ve sacrificed. They’re the reason we’re able to play this game and have freedom. I don’t agree with that at all," Marchand said. “We’re playing hockey. We don’t have any decision with what’s going on with politics.”
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/1/2025).
© 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us).
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.
Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site.
YouTube's privacy policy is available here and YouTube's terms of service is available here.
Ad Choices
