When technical difficulties interrupted the U.S. national anthem ahead of Monday night’s game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres, the fans in Scotiabank Arena picked up the slack.
Just ahead of puck drop in Toronto, singer Natalie Morris sung the first few notes of the American national anthem before realizing her microphone wasn’t working. Morris tried another mic, but that one malfunctioned as well.
Instead of sitting in awkward silence, the Canadian fans decided to help Morris out and sing the rest of the U.S. anthem. The crowd then gave itself a well-deserved round of applause before Morris began singing “O Canada” with a working microphone.
In the game itself, the Maple Leafs jumped out to an early 2-0 lead before the Sabres mounted a comeback for a 4-3 win.
That was not the first time that Maple Leafs fans have sung the U.S. national anthem after a microphone went haywire. In November 2014, fans in Toronto completed “The Star-Spangled Banner” when the sound cut out ahead of a game against the Nashville Predators.
When the Maple Leafs visited the Predators a few months later, the Nashville fan base returned the favor.
