Our country's national anthem is not easy to sing. It has a wide range, and if you start out just a couple of notes off, you are totally screwed. I always feel bad for people who end up butchering it, because it's so easy to do. You are standing up in front of a huge group of hyped up people who know exactly how the song is supposed to sound. And if you mess it up, everyone is going to know.

The lady who sang the national anthem at the last Royals game I went to struggled. She was just nervous. In a nice show of compassionate patriotism, people joined in to help her make it to the finish line. Warm fuzzies all around.

Now, I have been told that I have a nice singing voice. However, I will not be trying out to sing the national anthem at any sporting events in the future. No. Too high of a risk. What I have decided to do, however, is try out to sing O Canada next year when the Royals play Toronto. The song is much, much easier. It is very pretty, and I already know most of the words. Plus, my mother was born in Canada, so it will be a nice little shout-out to her motherland.

I also figure it would be a great opportunity for me to implicitly support two things that I admire about Canada. Socialized medicine and the fact that Toronto is a magnificent soccer city. And, perhaps it will give me an opportunity to atone for all of the unneccesary cheap shots that I have taken at Canada over the years.

Reconciliation. That's the name of the game.

Fair Dinkum