The legendary National Anthem at the United Center remains the most chilling pregame experience in sports

For many hockey fans, the anthem isn't exactly a must see experience. They might change the channel or get to their seats just in time for puck drop.

At the United Center though, it's a different story. Getting to the rink before the anthem is a must-do for the best possible game-watching experience. Here's what makes the anthem in Chicago that much more than just an anthem.

The experience

"If you haven't experienced the power of the movement, you can't explain it," Jim Cornelison said of the Blackhawks anthem in a 2009 interview with Blackhawk Up.

Cornelison, the Blackhawks anthem singer who leads the decades long tradition from the ice at the United Center, is just part of the anthem experience.

"It's the loudest stadium you're going to enter in the NHL," a Blackhawks fan told NHL.com, "You might as well not have anyone singing because you can't even hear the singer."

Unlike in many other buildings across the country, Chicago Blackhawks fans don't stay silent during the anthem. When Cornelison's tenor voice booms over the speakers and he points to the flag, fans stand up and cheer and clap for the entire anthem. The celebration rings out over Cornelison and the organ in a show of American patriotism unlike anywhere else in America.

If you can't get to the United Center, this video helps to show just how electric the experience is:

After experience the anthem like this, it's easy to wonder how this tradition could have started.

The background

There's some uncertainty about when this version of the anthem started. Former Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz said that it started in 1980 after Team USA beat the Soviet Union in the Miracle on Ice. When the Americans won the game, the fans cheered all throughout the anthem. In his story, at the Blackhawks game later that day, fans continued the cheering into the pre-game anthem.

"That was the first time people started cheering during the anthem," Wirtz told ESPN, "That's when it started."

The Blackhawks themselves say that it started in the playoffs in 1985 in Chicago Stadium. At the Campbell Conference Finals between Chicago and Edmonton, fans started cheering during the anthem and never stopped. Losing the series didn't deter Blackhawks fans and they've been keeping up the tradition every since.

Others say that the start of the tradition was at the 1991 NHL All-Star Game in Chicago. At the time, the anthem was sung by Wayne Messmer, and fans stood up and cheered, just like they would at a regular season Chicago Blackhawks game.

In 2007, the Blackhawks hired anthem singer Jim Cornelison permanently to sing the anthem. Cornelison, an opera singer and classically trained vocalist, was a part-time singer for the Blackhawks from 1996 until his full-time promotion. He was accompanied by organist Frank Pellico until Pellico's retirement in 2025, and now is accompanied by the new United Center organist, Carrie Marcotte.

Regardless of how it started, it continues to this day. The anthem still holds a piece of Chicago Blackhawks history and is a must-see for visiting and home fans alike.

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