NFL and Canada
Aug 20, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; The NFL shield logo on the field at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Over the past several weeks, tensions have been high between the United States and Canada as President Donald Trump has initiated a trade war with America’s neighbors to the north, even going as far as to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America. Despite this, one NFL team will be honoring Canada before games.
Ahead of the start of the NFL season, the Buffalo Bills have confirmed that they will play the Canadian national anthem before their NFL games this season.
Bill to Play Canadian National Anthem
Despite the tensions between the United States and Canada, the Buffalo Bills have decided to acknowledge their Canadian fans in a unique way by playing the Canadian National Anthem, “O Canada,” before the start of their home games.
According to Pro Football Talk, the Buffalo Bills have confirmed that the song will be played along with the United States national anthem before the start of their home games.
“The Bills have announced that both anthems will be played prior to the start of next Thursday night’s showdown with the Lions. It comes at a time when tensions are high between the respective governments over trade issues, but when the citizens of the two countries have little or no real animosity between them,” wrote Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
“Canada has been our next-door neighbor for a very long time. And most Americans are wired to act neighborly. In this specific instance, the Bills are making a very neighborly gesture.”
A Historic Gesture
The Bills, which play their games on the shores of Lake Ontario, have a rather significant Canadian fanbase as one of the most northernmost teams in the United States, so this is a unique way to honor those fans.
This also makes history, as the Bills now become the first team in the NFL to play the Canadian national anthem before the start of their home games.
We’ll have to see how the anthem is received.
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