It’s happened in Ottawa, Calgary and now Vancouver, as fans at Rogers Arena voice their displeasure over U.S. tariffs on Canadian products
Politics and sports aren’t supposed to mix.
The same thing occurred Saturday in Ottawa before the Senators hosted the Minnesota Wild, and also in Calgary after the U.S. anthem preceded a game against the Red Wings.
On Sunday in Vancouver, the American anthem was booed loudly at the outset and then again at its conclusion. The Canadian anthem was cheered.
Singer Agasha Mutesasira, who works for Spinal Cord Injury B.C. and is originally from Uganda, was visibly shaking during the U.S. anthem but sported a big smile when the crowd cheered the Canadian one.
For what it’s worth, there are 11 Americans on the Red Wings roster and four Canadians, including centre Michael Rasmussen of Surrey, who was raised in a province that has a heavy trade relationship with the U.S.
Defenceman Ben Chiarot is from Hamilton, Ont., another province at major odds with the U.S. over automobile parts preparation and production.
And head coach Todd McLellan is from Melville, Sask., which is rich in uranium and potash that the U.S. covets.
Normally, this isn’t what you expect when the Red Wings visits any Canadian city.
Usually, some rabid Detroit fan somehow sneaks a dead octopus in to the arena under his clothing and tosses it on the ice. The tradition was started during 1952 playoff home games in the Motor City. The creature’s eight appendages symbolized the number of wins necessary to capture the Stanley Cup.
Back then, two seven-game series were played to determine an NHL champion and the Red Wings prevailed by first sweeping the Toronto Maple Leafs and then sweeping Montreal Canadiens.
In 2017, Red Wings superfan Nick Horvath retired from octopus throwing because he was heading to court.
He arrived in a Detroit courtroom wearing a Red Wings jacket and was fined UA$225 for disorderly conduct — the price for tossing the first octopus on the ice at new Little Caesars Arena.
“The judge said ‘Stay out of trouble, don’t do it again. This was a very expensive octopus,’” he said with a laugh.
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