It's Not Funny

Canadians are a proud people in terms of our heritage. We're proud to be Canadian. We can handle jokes about poutine, Tim Hortons, beavers, and saying the word "aboot". It's one thing to poke fun at things we hold dear - heck, we do it too - but it's an entirely different matter if one is looking to gain fame off something we hold sacred. The Canadian national anthem is, in my view, one of the best on the planet, so when people seem to intentionally screw it up, something's gotta give. We're proud people. Don't mess with our anthem.

Dirk Edwards might be a comedian. If he's not, he might want to check out his options because like fellow comedian Roseanne Barr, he absolutely crapped on both the Canadian and Russian anthems on Thursday night before the Subway Super Series featuring Russia and the WHL All-Stars. I spoke about Jill Shackner yesterday on the blog, and it's easier to give her a pass because she at least got the music right, only flubbing one line and changing the final few bars of the song. But she's young, she's American, and this Canadian song might be new to her.

Here is the video of Mr. Edwards singing the anthems. We'll discuss below.

The Russian anthem wasn't that bad. It's still bad, but at least it's just his tone and pitch that are off. The Canadian anthem was terrible. Edwards had no clue how that song was to be sung until the crowd took over and pushed him across the finish line. Again, like Miss Shackner, I might be willing to give him a pass. However, it was this tweet which makes me think this was more about publicity than it was about singing a pair of anthems properly.

If someone says they are going to make a fool of one's self earlier in the day, it appears that there may be intent. After all, if one states one is going to commit murder and then one does, the crime is no longer in the manslaughter category because of the crime's premeditated nature. So committing premeditated foolery would call Mr. Edwards' actions into question immediately.

One of the things that irks me a lot is that the Canadian anthem can be found on the internet fairly easily if one is unsure how to sing it. It doesn't take long to learn. We teach preschoolers how to sing it, so I'm fairly certain a man of Mr. Edwards' age would have little trouble learning it. At least Miss Shackner has the majority of the song down as she sung it. Mr. Edwards wasn't even close until the crowd tossed him a life preserver.

Secondly, who the heck wears a Russian jersey as the anthem singer when invited to a very pro-Canadian arena? This also lends credence to the idea that this was done on purpose since one doesn't wear the opposition's colours when standing in the home team's arena. It's disrespectful to the home team who gave the singer the opportunity to perform, and it's completely in bad taste to show up your hosts. Again, this points back to the tweet above in that this was premeditated from the start.

The anthem is a solemn song. It's not to be trifled with at any level. Get your act together, Mr. Edwards because you're an embarrassment on a number of levels. You made an ass out of yourself, you told everyone you were going to do it, and then you spit in the face of Canadians with your garbage. Get your crap together, Mr. Edwards. And don't mess with O Canada again.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!