Pat McAfee hit back at Canadian wrestling fans in a furious on-air outburst ahead of WWE Chamber in Toronto Saturday night.
A chorus of boos once again rained down on the ‘Star-Spangled Banner’ as angry Canadian sports fans continued to protest President Donald Trump’s threat of tariffs.
The Rogers Centre in Toronto became the latest stage for the furious feud as Canadian wrestling fans heckled the US national anthem ahead of WWE Chamber Saturday night.
As Canadian singer Elizabeth Irving began to perform the ‘Star-Spangled Banner’ ahead of a night of action inside the ring, the chorus of boos from the spectators drowned out her rendition.
And American commentator McAfee didn’t take too kindly to the home crowd’s reaction inside Rogers Centre.
‘These are the most stacked Elimination Chambers that the WWE has ever had,’ the former NFL punter began on the WWE’s broadcast. ‘Kinda sucks that it’s in the terrible country of Canada that booed our national anthem to start this entire thing!’
Donald Trump is planning to impose 25 percent tariffs on Canadian imports this Tuesday
American and Canadian sports fans have been caught in a bitter back-and-forth with their national anthems being targeted by one another ahead of sporting events over the past couple of months.
The heckling comes after Trump’s repeated bullying and taunting of the United States’ neighbor to the north.
Trump’s plans to introduce 25 percent tariffs on Canadian imports has sparked a tense anthem war between the two countries at various sporting events, beginning when Canadians booed The Star-Spangled Banner at an Ottawa Senators NHL game following his announcement at the beginning of February.
Trump then paused those plans when Canada introduced a 1.3billion Canadian dollar package to increase security at the border between the two countries. But this week, Trump said he was committed to imposing them on Canada next Tuesday – as well as underlining his desire to the see country become America’s 51st state.
In a Truth Social post Thursday, Trump said illicit drugs such as fentanyl are being smuggled into the United States at ‘unacceptable levels’ and that import taxes would force other countries to crack down on the trafficking.
‘We cannot allow this scourge to continue to harm the USA, and therefore, until it stops, or is seriously limited, the proposed TARIFFS scheduled to go into effect on MARCH FOURTH will, indeed, go into effect, as scheduled,’ the Republican president wrote. ‘China will likewise be charged an additional 10% Tariff on that date.’
The rising political tensions between the longtime allies was at the center of the heated rivalry that played out at last month’s 4 Nations Face-Off international hockey tournament.
‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ was booed by Canadian fans when it was performed in Montreal where the USA and Canada faced off during the round robin phase of the tournament, which saw three fights break out within nine seconds.
The anthem war between American and Canadian fans was also at the center of the 4 Nations
And the Americans didn’t hesitate to respond in kind, drowning out ‘O Canada’ when the two teams locked horns once again in Boston for the highly-anticipated final between the US and Canada.
It was the Canadians who had the last laugh, emerging from TD Garden with a 3-2 overtime win and the inaugural. Following the triumph, outgoing Canadian PM Trudeau posted on X: ‘You can’t take our country – and you can’t take our game.’
As if the billing of one of the biggest international rivalries in hockey needed inflating further, political tensions between the United States and Canada have been at their highest since the 1800s.
Trump inflamed animosity between the two countries during the NHL’s midseason best-on-best tournament after threatening to impose tariffs and teetering on the verge of a trade war.
He also bullied Canada with repeated suggestions of annexation, prompting backlash from the longtime ally.
The Commander-in-Chief has repeatedly referred to Canada as the ’51st state’ and the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as ‘Governor.’
And the animosity has continued to spill over from the tournament into the NHL’s regular season this week.
New York Rangers fans booed the Canadian national at Madison Square Garden on Friday night before their team faced the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The moves by Trump appear to have sparked a surge in patriotism in both countries and on Friday night in New York, typically Democrat heartland, hockey fans in Manhattan made their feelings clear.
The Rangers went on to lose the game 3-2 on the night against a Canadian side that has the Team USA captain playing for them in Auston Matthews.
