Thank you Tom Butler for asking, "Why do we still have the national anthem before sporting events? Does it make us more patriotic? We don't sing the anthem before the opera, movies, theatre. Are arts patrons less patriotic?"

I recall having to stand for O Canada prior to the first showing in a movie theatre (up until early '80s). It was nonsensical. And a sporting match is no more a place for patriotic ditties than a movie theatre. Let's abandon this anachronism and move on.