Oh, grow up

I love Montreal, where I'm spending the weekend, so much that I'd happily live here if my French was a little better and I wouldn't gain 800 pounds from eating every meal at Schwartz's or Ben's. And I love its little football stadium – along with the walk-up through the university campus – so much that even watching the Argos embarrass themselves there (more on Thursday night's unpleasantness here) isn't without its charms. But there's one thing about the city, or at least its sports fans, that continues to leave a bad taste in my mouth.

I'd heard previously about Quebecers protesting the national anthem, but having never seen it myself I kind of thought they'd outgrown it. Then I went to a Leafs/Habs game at the Bell Centre last year, and the guy beside me sat petulantly with his arms folded while everyone else stood up.

I assumed he was just an isolated jerk. But this time, at Molson Stadium, two Alouettes fans in our immediate vicinity did likewise.

These weren't exactly radicals; they were older guys, decked out in Als jerseys, who were perfectly friendly and good-natured toward us the rest of the game. But I found the level of disrespect hard to get past.

It's a free country, and happily it's their right to do whatever they want during the anthem. But even if they don't consider it their own, it's in staggeringly poor taste to openly show their contempt for it. If everyone at the Rogers Centre or the ACC can stand politely during the Star-Spangled Banner, it's not too much to ask people attending a Canadian Football League game to behave like adults during O Canada.