The NFL season is finally on and the Buffalo Bills, and their fans, hope this year will be theirs.
Given the proximity of the city of Buffalo with Canada, a 20 minute drive across the Niagara, the Bills have long been deemed ''Canada's team'', as fans regularly cross the border to celebrate the blue and white. Amid a trade war and increasing tension between Canada and the United States, the team decided to lean into their fanbase and celebrate the friendship between the two countries by playing both national anthems at their opening home game against the Detroit Lions.
To perform 'O Canada', they enlisted Scarborough's own Barenaked Ladies. Their acapella rendition of the anthem, however, drew mixed reactions from the crowd and people watching at home.
Wayward, quavering voices and discordant harmonies make it an awkward listen for anyone familiar with the anthem or the band.
Almost immediately, users across the internet started to post comments and ask questions. Americans, mainly, were wondering exactly who the Barenaked Ladies are, and Canadian users were quick to explain and apologize.
''Yeah that was pretty bad. Sorry, love those guys and love they got that moment, but damn…'', said one Reddit user. ''The absolute worst rendition of the Canadian anthem I have ever heard. It was like they didn’t practice at all. One of them couldn’t decide which pitch they were going to sing in'' wrote another.
On X, the reactions were also mixed. ''shoutout to the bills for playing o canada but please god take the microphones away from the barenaked ladies'' said one person, while another added ''That was painful to listen to.''
Despite the performance of the anthem, the Bills had an overall good game, their first in their brand new stadium, taking a 41-31 win over the Lions.
