Predators plan anthem twist to quiet Chicago fans

Music City's hockey team won't be changing its tune for the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Predators will play the national anthem — not "God Bless America" — prior to home playoff games against Chicago.

The issue came into question because Chicago fans, in a tradition that dates back three decades, clap and cheer loudly during the national anthem, believing it adds to the patriotic spirit of the song.

Many Predators fans, however, consider Chicago's tradition to be disrespectful, and don't appreciate the frequently large number of Blackhawks fans making so much noise during the anthem in an opposing city.

In one of Chicago's two visits here during the regular season, the Predators chose to play "God Bless America" instead of the national anthem before the game, hoping it would quiet Blackhawks fans.

But Predators president Sean Henry said the anthem will be played — with a slight twist — prior to the games against Chicago.

Instead of the customary practice of having an artist sing the anthem, the Predators will have an artist ask the entire Bridgestone Arena crowd to sing it. The Preds chose that strategy in their last two regular-season home games, with Vince Gill and Charlie Daniels, respectively, asking Nashville fans to carry the song.

"All the eyes were on them, and they both said, `Hey, we're in Music City and we all love America, so I'm not singing the anthem for you. Let's sing it together,'" Henry said. "When you have 17,000 people singing the anthem, I don't think there's anything more powerful. It's really been pretty special the last two games, so hopefully we'll build on that tradition through the playoffs."

Will it stop Blackhawks fans from clapping and cheering during the anthem here?

"It would almost be against God, country and apple pie to shout and cheer through the person next to you singing the anthem of the United States of America, wouldn't it?" Henry said.

The Predators had previously announced a number of measures designed to fill Bridgestone with as many Preds fans — and as few Blackhawks fans — as possible.

Among those moves:

• The team allowed season ticket-holders to buy extra playoff tickets before they went on sale to the general public.

• Playoff tickets to the general public at first went on sale only at local Kroger stores and at Bridgestone, meaning buyers had to purchase them in person.

• When the Preds eventually put playoff tickets online, they were available only to purchasers within the team's television viewing area.

Those ideas began to form following a Predators regular-season home loss to Chicago in December, when large quantities of Blackhawks fans lessened Nashville's home-ice advantage.

"We heard from too many fans that said, 'I don't want to see this again. I'm not coming again if it's like that,'" Henry said. "It wasn't so much the team we were playing. It was, 'I want to come to games where we dominate our own crowd,' because that's how it should be, and that's how it it's been for almost every game."

Henry said Friday that Games 1 and 2 of the playoff series were near sellouts, and that was before Nashville's opponent was even known.

But the test of how well the Preds' ticket measures have worked will be determined Wednesday, when the team plays Game 1 of the series at Bridgestone Arena.

"We want to make sure our fans have the first and last chance at those tickets, so they're sitting in a sea of gold, and so that our players go back to having one of the best home records in hockey," Henry said. "Our players really respond to that."

Reach John Glennon at 615-259-8262 and on Twitter @glennonsports.

PREDATORS vs. BLACKHAWKS

FIRST ROUND

Best-of-seven series

Game 1: Wednesday, 7:30 p.m., Nashville (Fox TN)

Game 2: Friday, 8:30 p.m., Nashville (Fox TN)

Game 3: Sunday, 2 p.m., Chicago (WSMV-4)

Game 4: Tuesday, April 21, 8:30 p.m., Chicago (Fox TN)

*Game 5: Thursday, April 23, TBD, Nashville (Fox TN)

*Game 6: Saturday, April 25, TBD, Chicago (Fox TN)

*Game 7: Monday, April 27,TBD, Nashville (Fox TN)

*if necessary