The Buffalo Bills are making a clear statement about the sound of Highmark Stadium this season: every home game will feature both national anthems.
According to Front Office Sports, the team will play “O Canada” before each home date in 2025, marking the first time both the U.S. and Canadian anthems will be honored in the new building. The Bills announced the opening-night plan on Wednesday, with Toronto’s Barenaked Ladies set to perform the Canadian anthem on Sept. 17 against Detroit. Auliʻi Cravalho, the voice of Moana, will then sing the Star-Spangled Banner.
That Thursday night matchup will also serve as the first regular-season kickoff in the $2.1 billion stadium. OneRepublic is scheduled for halftime, and the pregame presentation will now begin with two flags instead of one.
The decision fits the team’s fan base. Canadian season-ticket holders are said to account for about 10 to 15 percent of the base, and Southern Ontario is only a two-hour drive from Orchard Park.
The Bills also have a long-standing connection to Canada, having staged Toronto home games from 2008 to 2013. Minority owners include former Raptors and Toronto FC names, while Terry Pegula owns both the Bills and the Sabres.
This isn’t a new concept for Pegula’s sports empire, either. The Sabres have played both anthems since 1970, and the Bills are now following suit.
The timing, though, is hard to miss. The anthem plan lands in the middle of a trade-war week, after Trump signed new import bans on Canadian goods Tuesday. Still, the club has framed the move as a tribute to fans rather than a political message.
There’s also a practical side to it. FOS reported that every home game this season will include “O Canada,” not just the opener. The official graphic only names the Lions game so far, but the broader plan is clear: Orchard Park is leaning into its cross-border crowd.
Josh Allen opens the season on the road at Houston before the Bills bring the building to life against Detroit. That first home game will be the initial test of the two-anthem setup, and Highmark Stadium will find out quickly whether both sides of the border are ready to sing.
In Other News...
Patriots Fans Just Got A Telling Sign About Mike Vrabels Marriage
Photos of Mike Vrabel with reporter Dianna Russini set off a wave of chatter around the Patriots this spring, and the reaction only grew after Vrabel first denied any affair before later apologizing publicly. He then stepped away during the NFL Draft to begin counseling, while the league chose not to hand down any punishment, keeping the matter in the personal realm rather than the football one.
For Patriots fans, the clearest sign has come from Jen Vrabel, who has continued wearing her wedding ring as a public indication she intends to keep the marriage intact. Vrabel has declined to say more since then, and the team has tried to keep the focus on football and the upcoming season, even as the off-field story has lingered in the background. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Opener Featured An Officiating Blunder Fans Wont Forget
The NFL season opener between the Seahawks and Patriots had plenty of the usual early-game tension, but one of the nights most memorable moments had nothing to do with a touchdown or a turnover. Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold exited with a hip injury and Drew Lock took over, shifting the feel of the game before an officiating miscue briefly stole the spotlight and had viewers talking for all the wrong reasons.
Referee Adrian Hill later publicly acknowledged the mistake, turning what might have been a routine correction into one of those odd opening-night footnotes that lingers. For Patriots fans, it was the kind of reminder that Week 1 can be messy in every possible way, with injuries, substitutions and a blunder from the officials all landing before the season has even had time to settle in. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Fans Had One Broadcast Villain In The Season Opener
The season opener in Foxborough was supposed to be about a fresh start for the Patriots, but a different storyline quickly took hold in living rooms and on social media. As New England faced Seattle, NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth drew plenty of attention from viewers who felt he kept drifting back to Patrick Mahomes while also reacting to Sam Darnolds injury in a way that left fans bristling.
For Patriots fans, it became one of those broadcast nights where the commentary felt almost as memorable as the game itself. The irritation spread beyond a few clipped posts, with the usual complaints about Collinsworths style surfacing again, and it came with the added context that NBC is locked in with him through the 2029-30 NFL season. [Read more 🡒]