Montreal fans boo Star-Spangled Banner

Posted: Friday March 21, 2003 12:50 AM
Updated: Friday March 21, 2003 12:57 AM

MONTREAL (AP) -- Fans booed during the playing of the U.S. national anthem before the New York Islanders' 6-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night.

The sellout crowd of 21,273 at Bell Centre was asked to "show your support and respect for two great nations" before the singing of the American and Canadian national anthems.

But a significant portion of the crowd booed throughout Star-Spangled Banner in an apparent display of their displeasure with the U.S.-led war against Iraq. More than 200,000 people turned out for an anti-war demonstration in Montreal last Saturday.

"I'm sure there are a lot of people against the war, but some things people can't control," said New York's Alexei Yashin, who is from Russia. "They were probably showing what they feel about it."

Teammate Mark Parrish, a native of Bloomington, Minn., was upset hearing the boos.

"I came to the game pretty pumped up, but once I heard that it really got me going," Parrish said. "So I guess I can thank them a little bit for getting me more pumped up."

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Jeremy Roenick 70GP - 24G - 26A - 50P - +/- 11
Wes Walz 71GP - 12G - 18A - 30P - +/- 13
Richard Park 71GP - 13G - 8A - 21P - +/- -6
Dennis Seidenberg 58GP - 4G - 9A - 13P - +/- 8

Minnesota Wild 72GP - 36W - 25L - 10T - 1OTL - 83P

In Antwort auf:

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Montreal fans boo Star-Spangled Banner

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Toni Smith

Jody Shelley Games: 63 ; Majors: 25 ; PIM: 235
P.J. Stock Games: 61 ; Majors: 16 ; PIM: 158

Respekt Habs!

Gegen einen Krieg im Irak!!! Es gibt eine neue Achse des Bösen, sie beginnt in Washington...

"Eishockey ist doch ganz einfach, man muss sich nur den Puck schnappen und ins Tor schießen." (Brian Sutter, Head-Coach und Ex-Spieler der Chicago Blackhawks)

Ich zitiere von http://www.nhl.com:

The President of the Montreal Canadiens, Pierre Boivin, today issued the following statement in regard to the incident that occurred last night during the playing of the American national anthem, at the Bell Centre.
"On behalf of the entire Montreal Canadiens organization, I would like to express my deep regret over the conduct displayed by certain fans prior to Thursday night's game against the New York Islanders.

"During the performance of The Star Spangled Banner, some of the fans in attendance at the Bell Centre chose to express their political beliefs by jeering the American national anthem. It is our firm belief that this kind of behaviour has no place in the context of professional sports.

"The Montreal Canadiens organization has always held a high respect for its neighbours and friends in the United States, and we look forward to maintaining this strong and positive relationship.

"We apologize to anyone who may have been offended by this incident, and would encourage all fans at the Bell Centre to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of our game and our two great nations."

Gegen einen Krieg im Irak!!! Es gibt eine neue Achse des Bösen, sie beginnt in Washington...

"Eishockey ist doch ganz einfach, man muss sich nur den Puck schnappen und ins Tor schießen." (Brian Sutter, Head-Coach und Ex-Spieler der Chicago Blackhawks)