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Fans diss U.S. anthem U.S.-born players hurt, confused by the slight
PAT HICKEY
The Gazette
Friday, March 21, 2003
Islanders goaltender Garth Snow said he was psyched as he prepared to face the Canadiens.
Then, he heard the boos.
"I couldn't believe what I was hearing," said Snow when asked about his reaction to the Bell Centre fans booing the U.S. national anthem.
"I was fired up before the game, but that really got me going," said the Boston-area native who stopped 32 of 35 shots last night.
The incident was a hot topic in the Islanders dressing room, with the U.S.-born players feeling confused and hurt by the slight shown to their anthem.
"I think it's disrespectful," backup goaltender Rick DiPietro said. "Maybe we have a different perspective being so close to 9/11. We've been down to Ground Zero and we've seen the damage. I don't think anyone wants a war, but this is something we feel we have to stop before it escalates."
Forward Mark Parrish said he was aggravated by the boos and said the crowd reaction fired him up. But he also made comments that indicate he missed a few history classes in high school. He said he didn't know the people in Quebec were so close to France and added: "If it weren't for Americans, God knows what language they'd be speaking."
Coach Peter Laviolette, another Massachusetts native, said he was disappointed with the fans.
"I didn't like it when it happened in our building and I didn't like it tonight," said Laviolette, referring to an incident during last year's playoffs when Toronto fans booed the U.S. anthem and Islander fans booed O Canada.
Those boos lacked the political overtones of last night's protest and were, rather, the result of bad blood between the teams after Darcy Tucker took out Michael Peca.
The controversy over the anthem was softened by the Islanders' win, which effectively sewed up a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Canadiens president apologizes for fans who booed U.S. anthem
March 21, 2003
MONTREAL (AP) -- The president of the Montreal Canadiens apologized Friday for fans who booed the U.S. national anthem before Thursday night's game against the New York Islanders.
``The Montreal Canadiens organization has always held a high respect for its neighbors and friends in the United States, and we look forward to maintaining this strong and positive relationship,'' Pierre Boivin said in a statement.
``We apologize to anyone who may have been offended by this incident, and would encourage all fans at the Bell Centre to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of our game and our two great nations.''
Before the game, the sellout crowd of 21,273 was asked to ``show your support and respect for two great nations'' before the singing of the American and Canadian national anthems. But many fans booed throughout ``The Star-Spangled Banner,'' apparently expressing displeasure with the U.S.-led war against Iraq.
``It is our firm belief that this kind of behavior has no place in the context of professional sports,'' Boivin said.
The Islanders won the game 6-3, and afterward New York's Mark Parrish -- who's from Minnesota -- expressed disappointment with the booing.
``I came to the game pretty pumped up, but once I heard that, it really got me going,'' he said. ``So I guess I can thank them a little bit for getting me more pumped up.''
Gary Meagher, a league spokesman in Toronto, said the fans' behavior was disappointing but did not reflect widespread resentment.
``We don't expect it's going to turn into a league-wide issue,'' Meagher said. ``We're working with the Canadians today, working through some things to try and deal with the situation. It certainly is an isolated one at this point.''
Meagher said the national anthem began being played at hockey games in 1946 to show respect for players returning from World War II. At that time, usually only the home anthem was played.
It wasn't until the 1960s that both anthems were played. It was 1987 before the NHL introduced a rule saying both anthems had to be performed before games involving American and Canadian teams.
Forward Mark Parrish said he was aggravated by the boos and said the crowd reaction fired him up. But he also made comments that indicate he missed a few history classes in high school. He said he didn't know the people in Quebec were so close to France and added: "If it weren't for Americans, God knows what language they'd be speaking."
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