I've never experienced the national anthem at a sporting event like I did at the Maple Leafs-Blackhawks game last night at the United Center. The stars and stripes stretched across the digital screen strip that winds around the facing of the second deck as the stirring bass belted it out. Fans, who usually snooze through the song, started cheering at the first line, and kept cheering throughout, boosting their volume at "the rocket's red glare." It took two periods to get that loud again. I'm still nervous about how patriotism can become a crutch for lazy thinking, but last night I liked standing in the back row, third deck, surveying that scene.

Game reports on the 2-1 Toronto win, the first Blackhawks loss in Chicago this season:
Chicago Tribune: http://chicagosports.com/blackhawks/content/story/0,1984,169010,00.html
Toronto Star: http://waymoresports.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?...