At the beginning of Game 5 between San Jose and Edmonton, which was played in California, the Sharks' fans loudly booed the Canadian national anthem. Sure, before it ended, they toned it down a bit, and some even sang along, but come on. It may not be the first time such a thing has happened, and it won't be the last, but where are these people's heads? I'm not sure there's such a huge difference between booing an anthem and burning a flag, and while flag-burning may be seen by many as a perfectly legitimate form of free speech, it's still completely disrespectful, unsportsmanlike, and generally in extremely poor taste...not to mention stupid, if half of your team (and particularly its best players) are from the country that you're booing.

So if you're a San Jose fan who either booed "O Canada" tonight or cheered the fact that it happened, just think: do Joe Thornton and Jonathan Cheechoo really think they're playing a "home" game if they hear their country being disrespected by the people who are supposed to support them? Did Scott Hannan and Patrick Marleau smile inside and think, "I'm so proud of our fans"?

Congratulations! You're idiots.



Oh, and if Oiler fans decide to reciprocate on Wednesday night, or if any team's fans ever do it again at any point, just read this message again. The parts that apply, anyway. For a sport that's lauded for it's encouragement of sportsmanship - see, for example, the handshakes that follow a hard-fought playoff series - this kind of crap is just an embarrassment.