Last night's hockey game in Edmonton was a roller coaster of emotion for this Oilers fan and writer. It was the first ever Oiler playoff game I've been to (not my first NHL playoff game though). I got to experience some fantastic seats and the atmosphere of the building was incredible. After the 3rd Oiler goal that tied the game the place was completely wild (people were celebrating so much that some missed the 4th goal against).
But the thing I'll remember, even more than the McDavid goal or the score in general, was when Brett Kissel's mic didn't work at the start of the American national anthem. He tried twice. Fidgeted with the microphone and then did the only natural thing left to do in Edmonton: Direct the fans to start singing. And the fans didn't skip a beat because it just felt right.
The transition to fans singing the anthem happened so quickly that I missed the first few seconds with my own video but this is what it sounded like from the stands:
I only recorded part of the US National anthem last night, but this was what it sounded like in the stands. pic.twitter.com/W8j15z9okW
— Matt Henderson (@Archaeologuy) May 1, 2017
And here is a full version:
Chills. The entire crowd in Edmonton sings the American Anthem when the mic stops working. pic.twitter.com/M2TZDG00Xe
— Hockey Central (@HockeyCentraI) May 1, 2017
There are lots of people who have already made the joke/comment that if the roles were revered US fans couldn't do the same with the Canadian national anthem. I don't know. Probably not. Whatever. Does anyone in Canada expect an American audience to be able to do that? I do not.
Statement from @AnaheimDucks owners Henry & Susan Samueli regarding last night's national anthems. #OrangeCrush #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/8QizaK1wmR
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) May 1, 2017
For me the spontaneous singing of the anthem was really incredible to experience and it was a pleasure to be one of the 18,000 Canadians to sing a foreign anthem just because we knew that's what needed to happen. There were no prompts on the big screen for the words. There was barely more than the waving arms of a man at center ice to let us know there was an issue at all.
It was really something I'll remember forever.
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