Why Pay a Singer for National Anthems? Canadians just use Fans

October 2, 2009 – Dr. Rush

It has become custom practice at professional sporting events for as many years as I care to remember to pay a singer (usually a professional) to sing both the Canadian and American national anthems before the start of every game. Maybe last night’s departure from this standard practice was due to their frugal nature as Canadians, or quite possibly just a nice thought for a game featuring two Canadian teams, the Habs and the Leafs, but instead of paying a singer for the Canadian National Anthem they encouraged the entire body of fans to sing the national anthem in unison.

Surprisingly, it doesn’t sound as awful as you might expect: