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Habs fans lacking in class with anthem booing

 04.21.09 at 8:58 am ET
By Joe Haggerty

MONTREAL, Quebec — As can happen whenever the Bruins and Canadiens meet in a heated Stanley Cup playoffs matchup, the crowd got a little overzealous in the rivalry during Monday night’s Game 3 at the Bell Centre — and actually booed the Star Spangled Banner with lust when Charles Prevost-Linton belted out to the nationalist tune prior to the hockey action.

It didn’t end up helping the Habs as the Bruins methodically pounded down the Canadiens to the tune of a 4-2 final score that puts the Black and Gold up by a commanding 3-0 lead in the series. It’s Boston’s first 3-to-zip lead in a playoff series dating back to the old days of divisional series play back in 1992.

The move was a sure sign of frustration by Habs fans that have seen it all come crashing down for their hockey organization this hockey season during a 100-year celebration. It was supposed to be a watershed year for Les Canadiennes while hosting the NHL All-Star Game and the NHL Draft in June, but instead it’s been disaster and disarray. 

Instead, the fandom has been relegated to ignorant, classless displays of disrespect toward the United States’ national anthem. There’s past precedent with the Canadiens fans — and it’s gotten to the point in year’s past that Habs legend Jean Beliveau had to tape a message for the jumbotron in 2005-06 urging the teeming masses in CHC jerseys to refrain from booing during the anthems.

The cascade of boos didn’t exactly shock the American-born players or the Canadien skaters on the Bruins — many of whom can be seen mouthing the words and singing along to Rene Rancourt while he belts out the Star Spangled Banner during pregame ceremonies at the Garden — to see it go down. But it’s always something that causes the perpetual shaking of the head and wonderment as to what exactly Canadiens fans are thinking while taking the vitriol for a hated opponent and instead extending it to the anthem sung before the game.

“I thought when Obama got elected (president) they were going to stop doing that?” joked B’s goalie Tim Thomas in the line of the night.

Hopefully cooler, more thoughtful heads will prevail in Wednesday night’s Game 4 at the Bell Centre, but nobody is banking on it.

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  • True Habs fan from Montreal

    I am a die hard Habs fan, and Montrealer my whole life. I was at the game last night and I was disgusted and embarassed by the reaction of the upper bowl a-holes who booed during the US national anthem. For some reason, these losers think that by booing the anthem it will have some sort of an effect on the game. All it does is show how classless some people are in this city, and how STUPID they are also. Don’t they realize that on the ice during the anthem are Mike Komisarek and Chris Higgins…..two AMERICANS!!!! I saw an interview with Chris Higgins after the game, a guy who grew up a Habs fan, and he was just shaking his head. He was to classy to say what I know he wanted to say.

    I apologize to all our american neighbors who watch in disgust what happened last night. The Bruins vs Canadiens rivalry is a great one and shouldn’t be tarnished by some un-educated losers.

    Please understand that they do not represent the majority of the people in Montreal but the very small minority.

    embarassed and shocked
    Habs fan

  • Chuck Hanf

    check out my post “Go back to your mama’s basement” on my blog “Two Cents from Beantown” on another non-classy situation when the fan in Boston stole Kovalev’s stick.. and I’m a huge Bruins fan, from Boston. We both have our sets of losers, don’t worry!
    http://www.orble.com/go-back-to-mamas-basement/

    Chuck

  • notthefuturemrshaggsnope!

    I agree with Chuck -its two sided- I think it just plagues all of hockey nation, unfortunately. I guess you could say that booing the national anthem does go beyond any “so and so sucks’ chants though.

    I paid $150 for loge seats in game one. Georges Laroque was hovering over Tim Thomas (as usual) and I was particularly shocked and humilited to hear a guy behind me yell out “If I wanted to watch black people play, I would have bought tickets to the Celtics game”.

    sigh…

  • True Habs fan from Montreal

    Thanks for you comments and understanding guys. Hope most people in Boston are like you guys and don’t put everyone in Montreal in the same basket.

    Hope the Habs win the next one, just to extend the series so we can enjoy some more Bruins/Habs rivalry!!! Don’t look good though.

    Hopefully the fans will show A LOT more respect the next game. Unfortunately here in Montreal on the English media (radio and TV) the booing is make big news and people are really talking about how bad it was. In the French media though, which represents 75% or more of the population here in Quebec, not a god damn word of it. Not on radio, TV or internet. Trust me I looked!!!! It will probably take a classy man like Jean Beliveau to come on the overhead jumbo-tron to ask the fans to show some class before the anthems. Embarrassing that it takes that to control the savages!!

    Habs Fan

  • Me

    The difference between the fan who took the stick or the fan who yelled the racist line and what happened last night is that you can say “Well it was just one fan” in those cases, but last night it was practically the entire arena.

    One jerk taking a stick or saying something obnoxious doesn’t reflect on all fans, but the majority of fans present for a hockey game booing the visiting team’s National Anthem does.

  • Miranda

    True Habs fan from Montreal,

    I really don’t think anyone here in the US feels that this bunch of bad apples is representative of Montrealers in general.

    Thanks for your apologies.

  • MattiG

    Boston fans will loudly applaud the Canadian Anthem the next time it is played.
    Me is right – Booing “En Masse” should not be tolerated…I’d have a hard time not clocking anyone who booed my Anthem. I can’t imagine how the American players feel when they hear that. Those fans are worse than NY Yankees fans.

  • numbah four forevah

    Canadien fans have always been and will continue to be complete dinks

  • Curt

    I didn’t see this game but the Canadian anthem was booed in St. Louis too. It wasn’t a crazy drowning boo but you could hear it on TV. I think this is just the case of another team getting their bass handed to them in the playoffs and the fans not approving.

  • Miranda

    Also, I don’t think people outside of Boston would consider us to be an overly classy bunch.

    Although I’d like to think we are.

  • OhCanadiens

    It’s completely shameful and a total disgrace to any and all who choose to boo a national anthem. The worst part is they aren’t even thinking of the players on the team who are American and how they feel about it. But in our defense…it was only the drunken fools in the cheap seats, those damn fools that arrive to the game already toasted and high, that felt the need to boo. A pox upon them for disgracing the good name of The Best Hockey Franchise Ever !!!

  • Chuck Hanf

    I agree with you “Me”.. It definitely is much worse for a good portion of the arena to be booing the anthem than it is for the one tool who took Kovalev’s stick, but we sure as hell have our share of tools too.. You’re right though, the stick incident or when I saw a Red Sox fan take off the hat of a Yankee fan in the bathroom at Fenway Park and throw it in the urinal and take care of business all over his hat, are more isolated incidents. Still embarassing though.

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