This Flag Day will go down in Canada’s Hall of Shame if hockey fans in Montreal boo America’s flag and national anthem tonight.
A On this 60th anniversary of our flag, Canada better hope it doesn’t happen. It may be billed as a war between Canada and the United States to be fought out on the ice surface in Montreal, but it’s also a test of class, respect and decency.
The top hockey players from both countries will sort out who wins and loses this Four Nations Face Off round robin game on the rink. But if Canadian fans boo the Star-Spangled Banner as it is sung in the Bell Centre just before puck drop at 8 p.m., it will be a moment our country will regret.
A country cannot demand respect if it does not show respect.
While there is a bitter trade war underway between Canada and the United States – led by President Donald Trump – and this is an easy place to express one’s opinion of the issue, it’s not the players, anthem singer or the American fans at the game who are making these decisions.
Booing the American national anthem, as fans have done previously in this latest best-on-best tournament and in other Canadian NHL arenas, is not just wrong, it’s detrimental to the future of Canada. It won’t be forgotten once the trade issue is sorted out and there will be consequences that will reach down to the average Canadian who had nothing to do with it.
It’s a big decision the fans there will have to make. And if they go down the path of deriding our neighbours’ anthem, there will be a price to pay.
Sometimes people have to be bigger than their emotions. And this is one of those times.
And in their own way, the American hockey players have already foreshadowed how upset they just may be if what happened Thursday night happens again tonight on our Flag Day.
“I didn’t like it, and that’s all I got,” American star Matthew Tkachuk said of the booing.
We wouldn’t like it either. He took the high road. We need to do the same.
I was surprised this second wave of booing happened. I was with Don Cherry at his 91st birthday on Feb. 5 and while he did say he understood why there were boos at NHL games, he didn’t think it would continue into this tournament.
“I think that was just showing disrespect towards the tariffs,” Grapes said.
But the booing has continued and not just directed at American NHL teams being in Canadian buildings but toward the team representing the USA – featuring the Toronto Maples Leafs own captain Auston Matthews and Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk, both of whom hail from Arizona.
It’s not fair for Number 34 or Number 7 to have to face boos from Canadian fans and, if it occurs, it would be a hurt they don’t deserve and will never forget at what is the biggest hockey game either have ever played. Booing their anthem is booing them, so why would either player want to continue playing in Canada after something like that?
You know Matthew Tkachuk’s comments about how he didn’t like the booing will get the attention of Trump who just had the Stanley Cup champions at the White House last week. Trump was particularly impressed with what Tkachuk said.
“Thank you, Mr. President, for having us today. We greatly appreciate it. Being one of the few Americans, who loves this country so much, it’s such an incredible day for myself. You wake up every day really grateful to be an American. So, thank you.”
Canadians are not pleased with Trump’s 25% blanket tariff threat or the ones imposed on steel and aluminum last week, but the place to work that out is at the negotiation table and not at a hockey game.
Who knows how Trump will react if they do? What else could he impose in retaliation or irritation?
But there is something Canadians at the game can do to drown out those who head down this dark road – cheer the American anthem, sing it loudly and give an ovation when it’s over. Show the Americans that while Canadians don’t want to become the 51st state, as Trump keeps saying, we have honour and respect for their anthem and flag.
Retired General Rick Hillier, Canada’s former chief of defence staff, agrees – saying in a post on X that the players should “be classy” and he would “love to see the Canadian team … stand shoulder to shoulder with the U.S. team as soon as the Star Spangled Banner starts.”
Disagreements can be worked out, but it’s harder to do after you step on a country’s flag, anthem or traditions.
Another thing Canadian hockey fans can do is to make sure they sing a spirited and boisterous version of O Canada tonight and wave those flags proudly so Trump and his team can see there is resolve and unity north of the border.
Respectful resolve and unity.
On Saturday, at a flea market in Parry Sound, my pal Jamie Wiley set up a special display of Canadian flags made from hockey sticks that show the Canadian spirit and patriotism in a way that marks Flag Day so well.
It’s positive, it celebrates the country, and it is creatively poignant with the old wooden hockey sticks being utilized.
Hopefully that positive energy is picked up by the fans attending the game in Montreal tonight and they do the country proud by not dishonouring our American friends or ourselves with detestable behaviour that is hard to take back once displayed.
Hopefully this Flag Day ends with a historic hockey game that includes fans in Montreal showing love and cheers for flags and anthems of both great countries.