Canadians cheering on the Buffalo Bills heard a familiar tune before the game on Thursday evening.
For the first time in the team’s history and amid trade tensions between the two countries, “O Canada” was sung ahead of the Bills’ home opener against the Detroit Lions at the newly constructed Highmark Stadium.
Canadian rock band The Barenaked Ladies performed the bilingual version of the Canadian national anthem. Cheers were heard in the stadium after.
Bills wide receiver Joshua Palmer, who is from Brampton, Ont., was seen getting emotional during the anthem, wiping away tears.
A giant Canadian flag was also on the field side by side with the American flag.
Auli’i Cravalho, the voice actress of “Moana,” performed “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
“We have so many Canadian fans that join us every single game day north of the border,” said Kate Husman, chief strategy officer for the Buffalo Bills, in an interview with CTV News on Thursday morning.
“The Bills are Canada’s team, and we felt like this was a meaningful gesture as a border town, as a neighbour town, to honour those Canadian fans who have supported the Bills for so long.”
Husman told CTV News that 12 per cent of Bills season ticket holders are Canadian, and the organization estimates between 15 and 20 per cent of fans at home Bills games are Canadian.
“We have had fans travelling across the border for generations,” said Husman.
The move comes in the midst of an escalating trade war between Canada and the U.S.
On Sept. 8, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders that effectively banned the import of a number of Canadian products, including alcoholic beverages, dairy products, and motorcycles.
The move came hours after Ottawa placed counter-tariffs on roughly 700 American products.
Against that backdrop, the gesture carries particular significance for some Canadians, including Brian Beaulieu of Montreal.
“It’s very special for us. This is a beautiful gesture,” Beaulieu said in an interview with CTV News.
He said he has been a Bills fan for 35 years.
“The Bills is a family. And to sing the national anthem for us, for Canada, it’s going to be very emotional tonight. Maybe my daughter is gonna cry. Maybe me too,” said Beaulieu.
At the Keybank Centre, home of the Buffalo Sabres, the Canadian anthem is nothing new. In May, fans sung “O Canada” during a playoff game between the Sabres and Boston Bruins.
Thursday’s game is set to kick off at 8:15 p.m. EST.
With files from CTV News Toronto’s Sean Leathong
