{"id":899948,"date":"2026-09-18T03:20:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T03:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/899948\/"},"modified":"2026-09-18T03:20:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T03:20:10","slug":"buffalo-bills-lean-into-their-canadian-audience-with-barenaked-ladies-performance-of-o-canada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/899948\/","title":{"rendered":"Buffalo Bills lean into their Canadian audience with Barenaked Ladies\u2019 performance of \u2018O Canada\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Barenaked Ladies perform the Canadian national anthem before an NFL football game between the Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park, N.Y., Sept. 17.Jeffrey T. Barnes\/The Associated Press<\/p>\n

The Scarborough-born Canadian rock band Barenaked Ladies took to the field at the newly constructed Highmark Stadium near Buffalo, New York, tonight during the NFL team\u2019s home opener to perform O Canada \u2013 despite the game featuring no Canadian team.<\/p>\n

Before the first whistle \u2013 a match-up between the Bills and the Detroit Lions \u2013 singer Ed Robertson and his bandmates launched into an acapella rendition of the Canadian national anthem amid a time of tense geopolitical relations and an escalating trade war<\/a> between Canada and the United States. The receptive crowd offered whoops and claps of support at the song\u2019s conclusion.<\/p>\n

O Canada! \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6<\/p>\n

@barenakedladies | #DETvsBUF https:\/\/t.co\/eBxgaGjLmK<\/p>\n

\u2014 Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) September 18, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

The event was part of a home opener celebration for the Bills\u2019 first home game of the season in their new arena<\/a>. Crews broke ground on the upgraded US $2.2-billion facility in Orchard Park, N.Y., in 2023 and the project was completed in June. <\/p>\n

The national anthem initiative<\/a> was announced on September 9 via the football team\u2019s Instagram. \u201cFor the first time in Highmark Stadium history, we will celebrate the American and Canadian anthems during the pregame,\u201d said the post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Commenters on both sides of the border largely supported the gesture. \u201cThe Bills may mend U.S.-Canada relations with this move,\u201d one poster said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThank you for recognizing our wonderful neighbours, our Canadian players and our fabulous Canadian fan base!\u201d said another.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not the first time O Canada was sung on U.S. soil during a sports game in the absence of a Canadian team. At Buffalo\u2019s KeyBank Centre, it\u2019s standard practice for both national anthems to be sung during National Hockey League games, given the city\u2019s proximity to the border and the considerable share of Canadian ticketholders. <\/p>\n

Earlier this year, singer Cami Clune made headlines when, during a playoff game between the Sabres and the Boston Bruins, her microphone malfunctioned during the Canadian anthem. Fans stepped in to help her finish the performance<\/a>, making for a heartwarming display of cross-border support. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear if the dual-anthem performances will continue at Highmark Stadium throughout the NFL season, but tonight\u2019s gesture appears to be part of a larger strategy to unite Canadian and American Bills fans.<\/p>\n

Earlier today, the football team premiered a video segment on social media<\/a> where retired Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick lobbed a football to fellow retired teammate, Stevie Johnson on the Niagara River. The ex-footballers were on separate ferries, with Fitzpatrick appearing on the U.S. side of the river and Johnson on the Canadian side. The \u201ccross-border completion\u201d was met with cheers and applause from onlookers in attendance.<\/p>\n

Online, fans voiced messages of appreciation for the staging. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs a Bills fan in Canada, I can\u2019t overstate how appreciative everyone is that our team keeps going out of its way to recognize how much we love you guys,\u201d wrote one commenter on X. <\/p>\n