The thoughts of most Torontonians could not be further removed from the NBA right now. The 6ix is now, for the first time in nearly a decade, a bona fide baseball city. World Series Mania has consumed
Canadians, and with good reason. The Blue Jays really are Canada’s team, just like the Raptors, and when a national representative goes up against an American juggernaut, some interesting sentiments are revealed.
Let’s take it back to early 2025, when the imposition of American tariffs resulted in a wave of booing across Canadian basketball and hockey teams when American teams came to town. When asked about the fan behaviour, Canadian player, then Raptor, now Boston Celtic Chris Boucher delivered the rhetorical question, “have you ever seen us getting taxed like that?” The NHL’s 4 Nations Face Off saw much the same in the stands, coupled with a number of hockey fights in the Canada-US matchup. This was reminiscent of the Canadians booing American teams after the Iraq War was started in the early 2000s. In short, it was clear that North America was experiencing some meaningful division across the 49th Parallel.
In the ensuing months, the animosity largely died down. Crowds at Scotiabank Arena have gone back to cheering for the singers of the Star Spangled Banner, but the return to normalcy hasn’t necessarily happened on both sides of the border. During the American League Division Series, the roles were reversed, and the Bronx faithful started booing the Canadian national anthem at the beginning of Game 3. This did not happen back in Toronto, however, and even during the World Series, where tensions are at their highest, there was no anthem booing by Canadian fans.
What irks me the about New Yorkers booing the specifically the anthem (not even heckling the Blue Jays, to be clear!) is that the original sentiment of the booing was meant to reflect the pain of Canadians being threatened with economic attacks and annexation by the United States. While sports are always in some way political, Canadian booing was an overt expression of frustration and anxiety about international trade and sovereignty, rather than a means of attacking a nation’s culture over your baseball team being down 2-0 in a series. Rivalries are a big part of what keeps sports interesting, but the oppressor mimicking the oppressed over a baseball matchup is in poor taste. In ideal circumstances, there would not be any booing of anthems at all! That energy would be better focused on cheering for your team and putting down opponents, but rather, because of extraneous political factors, sports fans are dragged into an economic disaster, and react to the discomfort by standing up for themselves, pretty much the only way you can in an arena.
I am all for the adoption of aggressive, European-style fan behaviour. What Victor Wembanyama is spearheading in San Antonio with a football-style supporter section is exactly what the league needs more of. The creation of The Wall in Los Angeles, with this hyper-focused group of fans meant to psych out whoever is on the road against the Clippers, is a great idea as well. This force being focused on an opposing team is a fantastic thing, and is something I hope will bring even more excitement into the NBA, especially as a spectator in the stands. In an ideal world, mutual respect from one country to another would be reflected in the conduct of a team’s supporters, but we do not live in an ideal world. In modern society, political vitriol spills into the world of athletics and, in a multinational league, causes regrettable divisions between countries that have been allied for as long as they have.
Every time I go to a Raptors game, I must admit, I am a little disheartened when I see everyone rise and cheer for the singer of the American national anthem. The matters of trade and economic bullying that sparked the initial wave of protests are nowhere near resolved. The President is still throwing his country’s economic weight around, with no sign of an end to this behaviour and no regard for how it will affect lives on both sides of the border. While it may not be happening in the NBA, American sports fans are booing the Canadian anthem, while we play to our stereotypes and remain polite in the face of disrespect. I want Raptors fans to think about what they are standing for the next time they attend an NBA game in person, and remember that while you may be part of a crowd in a stadium, you don’t need to show support for something harming you.
