The Buffalo Bills appear to have made a strong statement in the ongoing trade war between Canada and the United States with social-media announcement on Wednesday afternoon.
The NFL team announced that when it opens its brand-new, $2.2-billion stadium for regular-season football next week, there will be some added Canadian flavour.
The Barenaked Ladies will perform the Canadian national anthem prior to next Thursday’s game against the visiting Detroit Lions, marking the first time in franchise history that O Canada has been performed ahead of the opener.
“For the first time in Highmark Stadium history, we will celebrate the American and Canadian anthems during pregame,” the team posted on all of its social media feeds.
“We can’t wait to have Bills fan Auliʻi Cravalho and the Barenaked Ladies at our home opener!”
Cravalho is the lead voice actress from Disney’s animated Moana films and is a native of Hawaii.
The Barenaked Ladies are Canadian music legends, having won eight Juno Awards, earned two Grammy Award nominations and were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2018.
How are fans reacting online?
Reactions online to the announcement predictably were quite divided, with many fans wondering why the Bills would make a statement like this now and others pointing out how much Canadian support the team receives.
“Did the Bills move to Canada? Come on, the Canadian Bills fans are good people but, we don’t need to hear their song. Do better Buffalo,” one user wrote on X.
“Why a Canadian anthem? Is one of the teams from Canada?” another questioned.
Most Canadian fans were strongly supportive of the move, adding that it helps the fan base stay united.
“As a Canadian season ticket holder, I appreciate this. Might be unnecessary but given the stupidity happening between our respective national governments a sign of goodwill,” one user commented.
“I’ve been coming to Bills games for years, the nice thing about Bills mafia is it’s not about being Canadian or American. It’s about supporting the Buffalo Bills together no matter who you are or where you are from,” another wrote.
“Sorry, the Sabres have done this for years. Don’t try to care now!” a third user replied.
How did the Sabres go viral?
In fact, fans at Sabres playoff game earlier this year went viral when the singer’s microphone died as they were performing O Canada.
Instead of letting KeyBank Center fall silent, the crowd stepped up and belted out the remainder of the anthem to rapturous applause.
It also can’t be forgotten that the Bills staged games in Toronto at Rogers Centre for several years as part of the Bills Toronto Series. The team played a total of eight games in Toronto from 2008-13, including six regular-season contests.
In the past, the Bills have had themed games to help bring in more fans from across the border and performed the Canadian anthem on those occasions. However, such games have not occurred for several years.
Josh Allen and the Bills start their season on the road this Sunday, taking on the Texans in Houston, before heading home to face the Lions in Week 2.