Not too long ago, “The Star-Spangled Banner” faced criticism from fans across the border, yet here in the U.S., it’s not uncommon for folks to jump in with an enthusiastic “Oh, Canada” when the anthem singer’s microphone malfunctions.
After all, that’s the neighborly thing to do.
On Tuesday night, the Buffalo Sabers hosted the Boston Bruins for Game 5 of their first-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series.
The Sabers were aiming to close things out with a 3-1 series lead, but before the action began, they stuck to their tradition of performing both the U.S. and Canadian national anthems, even though neither team was from Canada.
This seems to be a Sabers thing, probably because, well, when the wind’s right, you can literally toss a football to Canada from Buffalo.
This time, however, the singer encountered issues: the microphone repeatedly cut out.
The Sabers are on the cusp of winning their first playoff series since 2007. I find myself a bit anxious about that.
Fortunately, the crowd stepped up in a rather cool way, joining in to support the national anthem singer, Kami Clune.
And then, oddly enough, the microphone managed to pick up the U.S. anthem perfectly.
Pure coincidence? Maybe.
But it turned out to be a nice moment, and perhaps the good energy in the arena helped the home team get off to a strong start.
Just under four minutes into the game, Sabers captain Rasmus Dahlin scored a power-play goal.
The Bruins held strong for the remainder of the first period, but the Sabers went into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead.
