Best national anthem: NHL’s Chicago Stadium

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Wav­ing the flag at sport­ing events are a tra­di­tion. Alli­son Baver shows her alle­giance after an event last year. ~ Pho­to by John Ley­ba, The Den­ver Post

Best nation­al anthem I’ve ever wit­nessed was at a Wash­ing­ton Cap­i­tals vs. Chica­go Black­hawks game in Chica­go in the ear­ly 1990s. It was the first time that I had been at the are­na and I did­n’t know about the tra­di­tion of cheering/screaming dur­ing “The Star Span­gled Ban­ner.” It gave me goose­bumps.

Here’s a YouTube clip of the nation­al anthem before 1991 NHL All-Star Game in Chica­go.

If you’re won­der­ing about the tra­di­tion, here’s an NHL.com sto­ry that gives all the details with play­ers’ quotes on how stir­ring it is to hear the anthem before a Black­hawks game.