Original Summary

Watch: In a border city stadium, American NFL fans sing Canada’s anthem with gusto There are no Canadian teams in the NFL - but there are millions of fans. At the Buffalo Bills game in New York on Thursday night, plenty of Canadians wore the team's trademark red, white and blue while drinking beside their pick-up trucks, which were parked to tailgate - a very American pre-game tradition. The Bills' stadium is only 112 miles (180 km) from Toronto - about a two and a half hour drive for fans - and right across Lake Ontario, which President Donald Trump has sought to rename Lake America. So it was no surprise that many Canadians arrived long before kick-off to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the sights of the new Highmark Stadium for their team 's home opener against the Detroit Lions. What was unusual was that their national anthem rang out through the stadium. The field was decked out with both the stars and stripes of the US flag and the maple leaf of the Canadian one, and the 1990s Canadian band The Barenaked Ladies belted out Oh Canada! in front of a massive crowd. Getty Images / There was a fireworks display for the team's home opener at their new stadium Getty Images / The Barenaked Ladies belted out Oh Canada! in front of a massive crowd It was an emotional moment for many of the Canadian fans, who said they felt an extremely warm welcome even if their country's mood has recently grown more frosty towards the US. "I've always felt welcome here," said Ben Kerr, from Bradford, Ontario. "I think it's a nice acknowledgement," he added. "I appreciate that the Bills are doing that for Canada." The relationship between the two countries, which began to sour when US President Donald Trump returned to office and made repeated calls to annex Canada, has frayed further with an escalating tit-for-tat tariff showdown. Prime Minister Mark Carney has said Canada, which shares the world's longest undefended border with the US, is "at war" with its southern neighbour over trade. Trump has called Canada "nasty" and "entitled". Getty Images / The Bills' new home, Highmark Stadium, cost $2.2bn to build Both sides are feeling the economic impact, with Canadian industries reeling from tariffs and Canadians boycotting travel and spending in the US. The ongoing tensions made the decision to travel to Buffalo a little more complicated for Kerr. "I try to spend as little money as possible in the US," he told the BBC. "Buy our food in Canada, buy our beer in Canada, bring it across and drink it here. We're not big in supporting the American economy in this trade war." Many Americans at the game expressed their own frustrations with the escalating trade war, and the way it has divided the two neighbours. For Drew Grier, an American who lives eight minutes from the stadium, "the anthem playing tonight is a core part of who we are as a border city". At a Buffalo Sabres playoff ice hockey game in April, a microphone died while the Canadian anthem was being sung and the audience's voices filled in. "You sang the Canadian anthem because it needed to happen," Grier said. Canadian Blake Parnham recalled that moment: "I was sobbing watching the game at home because I felt so vindicated, that Buffalo is different." He couldn't make it to Buffalo for the Bills home opener, but he enjoyed it from his elaborately decorated backyard in Keswick, Ontario. Grier said that singing the Canadian anthem tonight is "not that polarising of a thing". "If anyone is polarising it, it's coming from those outside here, because those of us here, we love Canada," he said. But some thought it was a step too far. "The only acceptable reason to sing that anthem would be if they were playing a Canadian team, but they don't play any Canadian teams," posted one fan on social media. "I don't think it's really necessary," said David Waring, who attended Thursday's game. Blake Parnham / Blake Parnham's Bills-themed backyard in Keswick, Ontario In the end, it may all come down to simple economics. The Bills' new home, Highmark Stadium, cost $2.2bn to build. While the population of western New York is a little over 1.5 million, the nearby Toronto and Hamilton greater metro areas is home to more than 8 million. Simply put, the team needs Canadian fans. Gavin Kemp, who has run the NFL-Canada office for eight years, told the BBC that Canada's relationship to the NFL was "extremely important". Asked why the Bills chose this year to play the Canadian anthem, Kemp said the team was "leaning into one of their biggest parts of their market". Canada boasts nearly 15 million NFL fans – about one-third of the country's population, and roughly 10-15% of Bills season ticket holders are Canadian, according to the team. "Sports really transcends all of this," Kemp said. "All this politics is kind of secondary to the fact that your team is doing fantastic right now." Carol Breed / Carol Breed, a die-hard Lions fan, took her family to the first home game of the season last weekend Even American fans who traditionally cheer for other teams found themselves siding with the Bills. Carol Breed, who backs the Detroit Lions, considered travelling to Highmark Stadium from her home in Battle Creek, Michigan, after she heard they would play the Canadian national anthem. "I love our country's relationship with Canada," the 74-year-old told the BBC, adding that in Michigan the country is viewed more as a "relative". "I just hate what Trump has done to the partnership." She wasn't able to watch the game in person, but has found other ways to scratch her O'Canada itch. A couple of weeks ago, Breed embarked on the two-hour drive across the border, on the recently opened Gordie Howe International Bridge, which has also stoked divisions between the two nations of late. "We sang the US anthem until we reached halfway and then started singing the Canadian anthem," she said.

中文概览

中文标题： 为什么一场美式橄榄球赛奏响了加拿大国歌

布法罗比尔队在纽约州新主场迎战底特律雄狮，赛前奏响加拿大国歌，球场同时展示美加国旗，加拿大乐队Barenaked Ladies演唱《O Canada》。许多加拿大球迷感到被欢迎，也有人质疑没必要。文章将此置于美加贸易战、特朗普关税与吞并言论、加拿大人抵制赴美消费的背景下。

  • 情报分类：综合情报
  • 分类依据：体育、文化与美加关系新闻，难以归入其他类别，选综合情报
  • 信息来源：英语新闻 / BBC News Top Stories
  • 发布时间：2026/9/18 23:14:40