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Americans put beef with Canada on ice, complete O Canada in Buffalo after mic malfunction

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The Buffalo Sabres' Rasmus Dahlin, left, and Jason Zucker, celebrate a goal against the Boston Bruins Tuesday night at the KeyBank Center. Before the game, when the anthem singer's microphone died, the largely-U.S. crowd jumped in to sing for her.

For about two and a half minutes inside the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y., on Tuesday night, the simmering Canada-U.S. tensions seemed to melt away just a bit, all thanks to the stirring voices of some 19,000 people in the stands.

As the team’s official anthem singer Cami Clune started singing O Canada ahead of a playoff game against the Boston Bruins, her microphone crackled and started to die.

The crowd of almost entirely Sabres faithful didn’t miss a beat and picked up immediately singing the song from the third line of “True patriot love.” Their voices grew louder still as Clune’s mic cut in and out as she tried to join in. Eventually, the mic goes silent and the crowd grows even louder as it sings the anthem to completion, ending with a chorus of applause.

Clune was then handed a fresh mic and delivered a rousing rendition of The Star Spangled Banner as the patriotic crowd accompanied.

“Well that was interesting,” Clune (pronounced like Clooney) posted to X after. “Thank you all for singing along with me. We have the best fans ever!”

The Sabres are the only NHL team that regularly performs the Canadian anthem at every home game, a tradition that began when the club was founded in 1970, according to Sabres Hall of Famer Danny Gare, a Canadian from B.C.

“A lot of the fans back in the lower Niagara region and St. Catharines — Niagara Falls, Hamilton, Fort Erie — were season ticket holders, and we probably had, back when I played, I would say, 35 per cent of the fans were season ticket holders from Canada,” he recently explained to Buffal radio statio WREN 930AM .

“I’ve always thought it’s very unique, and it’s great for both countries.”

It helps, too, that Key Bank is located less than 10 kilometres from the border.

Financial Post columnist and life-long Sabres fan Garry Marr, who made the 90-minute drive from Toronto for the game, said the Peace Bridge had only one booth open and was virtually devoid of traffic headed into downtown Buffalo when he arrived.

He said the same was true for the other dozen or so games he’s seen this season, which he attributed to the ongoing Canadian boycott of all things American, but pointed out that playoff ticket prices starting around US$300 were likely a factor in fewer cross-border fans on Tuesday.

“So this was Americans, really. They know the anthem,” he told National Post, noting that it’s normal to see people stand, remove their hats and hear people sing along.

“I don’t know about all of America, but in Buffalo they’re pretty welcoming to Canadians, because it’s pretty well tied to their economy.”

According to economic development agency Invest Buffalo Niagara , more than US$90 million (CAD$123M) in trade crosses the bridge annually, with roughly 15 per cent of all Canada-U.S. trade passing through.

The Peace Bridge and Canadian border is seen from Buffalo, New York.

Two things that stood out to Marr, who was seated in the upper bowl, were how the voices grew louder as they realized Clune was having technical difficulties and that so many people knew the words by heart.

“I was trying to determine which version of the anthem they were singing — the up-to-date version or the older version — I wasn’t quite sure of that, but they knew the words, they sang it quite lustily,” Marr said.

“I know Canadians who don’t know the words.”

Marr’s first memory of the game will regrettably be the Sabres’ 2-1 overtime loss, but the “nice moment” delivered by his fellow fans will also stay with him.

On social media, Canadians expressed gratitude for the neighbourly deed, many of whom were completely oblivious to the 56-year-old tradition.

“I’m a Leafs fan and I had no idea the Sabres sang the Canadian anthem before their games regardless of who they’re playing. Sooo cool,” Michelle Grant Hunt commented on Sportsnet’s video.

“Now go pulverize those Bruins and really make me smile! Go Sabres!!!”

(As any Toronto Maple Leafs will attest, the Boston Bruins have been the team’s post-season Achilles heel, eliminating them in four series since 2013.)

It seems some Americans were also unaware, including Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy.

“Why they playing Canadien (sic) national anthem in Buffalo? Buffalo been out of the playoffs so long they forgot what country they live in,” he wrote on X last week.

(The official Barstool X account shared the video from Tuesday’s game.)

While misinformed about the anthem, he was correct in the organization’s post-season assessment. Before this season, the Sabres had missed the playoffs for 14 straight seasons, an auspicious league record they claimed three seasons ago.

More to come.

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