The Buffalo Bills are set to make a little NFL history next Thursday night.
The team has confirmed that “O Canada” will be played before its home games this season, alongside the United States national anthem. That means the Bills will become the first NFL team to play the Canadian national anthem before the start of their home games.
The move comes as the United States and Canada are in the middle of heightened tensions over trade issues, with President Donald Trump having initiated a trade war with America’s neighbors to the north. Even so, the Bills are taking a different approach - one aimed at recognizing the fan base they’ve built across the border.
“The Bills have announced that both anthems will be played prior to the start of next Thursday’s showdown with the Lions. It comes at a time when tensions are high between the respective governments over trade issues, but when the citizens of the two countries have little or no real animosity between them,” wrote Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
“Canada has been our next-door neighbor for a very long time. And most Americans are wired to act neighborly. In this specific instance, the Bills are making a very neighborly gesture.”
That neighborly angle fits a franchise that plays on the shores of Lake Ontario and has a sizable Canadian following. For a team so close to the border, the anthem decision is a notable nod to the fans who regularly back Buffalo from the north.
We’ll have to see how the anthem is received.
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