When Sports Sing Politics

I am a traditionalist. I like traditions that have earned their place rather than traditions that exist simply because nobody has had the nerve to question them. Give me a Quebec rigodon, a sugar shack in spring, a Remembrance Day poppy, a Saturday night hockey game, a Canada Day celebration and a Canadian flag waving in the breeze, and I am perfectly happy.

I even admire the Original Six NHL teams because the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks have largely remained true to their colours, logos and identities. They understand that tradition is built over time, not by changing your appearance every few years because the marketing department has decided the fans need another jersey hanging in the closet. There is something comforting about seeing a familiar logo and knowing it has been there longer than some of the players wearing it.

Which is why it pains me to admit that there is one sporting tradition I would happily send into retirement, and that is the national anthem before professional sporting events. I know, I know. Blasphemy. Someone will probably report me to the RCMP, although I suspect they have more important things to do than investigate an old guy who thinks we have sung O Canada one too many times.

I am not suggesting we get rid of our anthems. Quite the opposite. I love O Canada. I just don’t think every professional sporting event needs to begin with a miniature United Nations summit.

At international events, it makes perfect sense. The Olympics are the obvious example. Canada competes against Sweden, Japan, Finland, the United States or whoever else has sent an army of exceptionally talented athletes to make the rest of us feel inadequate about our own fitness. There are countries competing against countries, so celebrating those countries before the competition is entirely appropriate. The anthem actually has a relationship with what is about to happen.

But when the Toronto Blue Jays play the New York Yankees, the Montreal Canadiens play the Boston Bruins, the Raptors play an American NBA team or two NFL teams from different American cities meet on a Sunday afternoon, I am not entirely sure why we need to establish international relations before someone throws a ball.

Professional sports in North America are international workplaces. The players come from everywhere. Canadians play for American teams, Americans play for Canadian teams, Europeans play everywhere, and coaches, officials and executives are drawn from all over the world.

Then, just before the game, we line everybody up and remind them which countries they were born in. It is a little like having a family reunion and asking everyone to announce their ancestry before passing the mashed potatoes. “Welcome, Uncle Bob. Before you touch the gravy, please confirm your nationality.” At some point you have to wonder whether we are watching a sporting event or conducting passport control with better lighting.

And then there is the political problem, which is where this supposedly unifying tradition gets rather awkward. Canadians have booed the American anthem at sporting events, particularly during the recent disputes involving tariffs and threats concerning Canada’s relationship with the United States. Some Americans have understandably taken offence, but there is a distinction worth making between booing an anthem as a protest against the policies of a government and booing the people or country represented by that anthem. A Canadian booing The Star-Spangled Banner because they are angry about American government policy is not necessarily saying, “I hate Americans.” That would be like booing a referee and deciding the Zamboni driver must also be personally responsible.

Maybe we have simply asked the anthem to carry too much baggage. We want it to represent national pride, unity, history and patriotism, while somehow remaining completely detached from politics when the political climate becomes uncomfortable. That is a pretty big job for a song that is usually squeezed in between warmups and the announcement of tonight’s starting lineup.

And when emotions are already running high, expecting thousands of people to stand silently while a national symbol associated with current events plays over the loudspeakers is perhaps a little like putting a lit match beside a gasoline can and reminding everyone that the match is supposed to symbolize peace.

So keep the anthems where nations actually compete against nations. Keep them at the Olympics, international championships, Remembrance Day ceremonies, Canada Day celebrations and other occasions where national identity is genuinely part of the event.

But before a regular-season professional game, perhaps we could try something wonderfully radical: introduce the players, acknowledge the fans, drop the puck, throw the first pitch, kick the ball or blow the whistle, and get on with it.

Because maybe the best way to leave politics out of professional sports is to stop giving politics a microphone before the game even begins. We can still love our countries, respect other countries and sing our anthems with pride without requiring every professional athlete to become an accidental participant in a diplomatic ceremony.

Besides, if we really want to unite everybody in the building, there is already a proven method that requires no orchestra, no flags and no political interpretation whatsoever: make the beer reasonably priced.

And perhaps that is the tradition we should be protecting.

Not the one that reminds us which side of the border we were born on, but the one that reminds us why we came through the gate together in the first place.

We came to watch the game.