Blackhawks fans travel in huge groups to support their team and they love to cheer during the national anthem. Those are two things the Nashville Predators are trying to combat heading into their first round playoff series. When it comes to tickets, the Predators placed geographical restrictions on who can buy tickets online (must be within the team’s television viewing area) and they initially started selling tickets at physical locations prior to selling them online. The secondary ticket market will likely render those moves mostly useless, but it’s a battle over the national anthem the Preds are fighting.
Previously, the Preds played “God Bless America” during one of Chicago’s visits to Nashville to avoid the cheering which normally occurs during the national anthem from Blackhawks fans. For the playoffs, Nashville will play the anthem but they’ll be calling on the fans to help prevent all of the cheering.
Via The Tennessean:
Many Predators fans, however, consider Chicago’s tradition to be disrespectful, and don’t appreciate the frequently large number of Blackhawks fans making so much noise during the anthem in an opposing city.
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Instead of the customary practice of having an artist sing the anthem, the Predators will have an artist ask the entire Bridgestone Arena crowd to sing it. The Preds chose that strategy in their last two regular-season home games, with Vince Gill and Charlie Daniels, respectively, asking Nashville fans to carry the song.
Will the fans’ rendition of the anthem prevent Blackhawks fans from cheering? That’s yet to be determined, but Predators president Sean Henry believes it will silence the cheers and applause.
“It would almost be against God, country and apple pie to shout and cheer through the person next to you singing the anthem of the United States of America, wouldn’t it?”
