Before the Buffalo Sabres play their residence hockey games, two national anthems are sung.
First it is the Canadian tune, ‘O Canada,’ before the United States’ anthem, ‘The Star Spangled Banner,’ is sung.
It’s one thing that is regular to these in Buffalo, however with the Sabres again in the playoffs for the primary time in 15 years, it is one thing that has caught the eye of a national viewers.
It’s not frequent in the NHL’s U.S. cities to sing each anthems. Only Detroit does it except for Buffalo.
But it is the way it has labored in Buffalo for a very long time, and there isn’t any signal of it altering.
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Why Sabres sing Canadian national anthem ‘O Canada’?
In essence, it comes all the way down to their proximity to Canada.
You can go from Buffalo to the Canadian border in lower than 5 miles.
That proximity additionally implies that the Sabres’ even have a powerful Canadian fanbase, together with many season-ticket holders.
Consider the identify Sabres itself — the Americanized spelling of that phrase could be “sabers,” however Toronto filmmaker Harry Cole had submitted the suggestion in a name-the-team contest in the late-Nineteen Sixties, and the Canadian ‘-re’ ending caught.
The Sabres have additionally had a ton of distinguished Canadian gamers, most notably the French Connection from Quebec.
In the KeyBank Center, you may hear chunk of followers sing together with ‘O Canada,’ as nicely. It’s simply a part of the motion in Buffalo.
