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A United States flag is projected on the ice during the performance of the Star Spangled Banner before the 4 Nations Face-Off game at the Bell Centre on Feb. 15, 2025 in Montreal.Photo by Minas Panagiotakis /Getty Images
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If you are tired of the American anthem getting booed during sporting events, blame U.S. President Donald Trump, according to results from a new survey.
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The survey of 2,000 Canadian sports fans was conducted by Casino.org to better understand the motivations behind those booing and how different fan bases feel about the action in response to Trump’s tariff threats.
Sports fans are divided, with 53% of respondents strongly support booing, 24% strongly oppose it and 23% are indifferent.
That said, 75% believe the form of protest is warranted.
However, while half of respondents said they see booing the American anthem as a valid political statement, 26% called it disrespectful, and 13% think it’s harmless in sports culture.
Three-quarters (76%) of Canadians admitted they feel more proud to be Canadian because of the booing, and nearly one-third (31%) of respondents revealed they would boo U.S. teams at every opportunity possible.
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More than half (57%) said they will continue booing as long as Trump’s tariffs remain in place.
In fact, 54% of those surveyed said they are more interested in attending Canada vs U.S. games due to the booing.
A whopping 91% of respondents said the top reason they are booing is in protest of U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods, while 77% are bringing on boos because they don’t like Canada being referred to as the 51st state.
Another 66% confessed that they are booing U.S. teams simply due to disliking Trump.
The survey found that Calgary Flames and Ottawa Senators fans are most in favour of booing the Star Spangled Banner, while Toronto Raptors fans are the least likely to boo.
As for the impact on Canada-U.S. relations, 67% admitted that the booing is only a temporary reaction, while 15% believe anthem-booing will worsen tensions between the two countries.
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Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.