Redblacks, Alouettes, CFL fans join to sing O Canada in honour of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent (VIDEO)

Football is the ultimate team sport. As such, the first major sports event in our nation's capital since Wednesday's fatal shooting of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo at the National War Memorial demanded a group effort.

In a pregame ceremony at TD Place, the host Ottawa Redblacks eschewed having a soloist perform O Canada prior to their CFL game vs. the Montreal Alouettes. Instead, the sellout crowd of 24,458 and the members of both teams sang as one, honouring the loss of Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent and Cpl. Cirillo in what a public-address announcement called "defiance of terrorism."

In a nice touch, the Als and Redblacks players took alternating positions and helped hold up the large Canadian flag, which was donated by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, the team based in Cirillo's hometown. Prime Minister Stephen Harper and General Thomas Lawson, chief of the defence staff, also took part in the ceremony and pregame coin toss.

"It was emotional — it's amazing to see just how well we rally together and rally around each other when tragedy strikes," said Redblacks rookie wide receiver Scott Macdonell, a Montrealer who scored the night's final touchdown as the Alouettes (7-9) pulled out a 23-17 win over Ottawa (2-14). "Especially not just in terms of as Ottawans, but as Canadians in general. Waving that flag. It was like something you would see in the NFL. I really felt that national pride that sometimes we lack because we're a little too polite and we don't want to show arrogance ... it felt like it was a greater cause than ourselves we were fighting for, fighting for justice. It's too bad we couldn't pull it out."

Heartfelt and understated, without being over the top. How perfectly Canadian.

A makeup of a CFL team is almost perfectly split down the middle between Americans and Canadians. Even though Ottawa coaches and players who have been in the capital for just a few months, they could appreciate how Wednesday's shooting shoke up the tranquil city that is often called a big small town.

"I knew I was going to get emotional," Redblacks coach Rick Campbell said. "I became a Canadian citizen two years ago. That was a big deal. My wife [Jeri Campbell] and I did that; that was a big day in our lives. Ottawa's an easy city to fall in love with. There's a bunch of great people here and the fans are spectacular. We had heavy hearts about what happened but we know the people here are resilient. I'm honoured to be part of the whole thing.

"It wasn't an ordinary night," Campbell added. "Once the ball gets kicked, you go out there."

Here's another view.

For the most part, truth be known, the atmosphere was as friendly and relaxed as it has been at any of the first-year Redblacks' previous seven home games. Any added police and security presence was barely palpable.

In the CFL, there is a less of a remove between players and fans than in the NFL. Redblacks quarterback Henry Burris, who threw his first touchdown pass on home turf in the first quarter, said the night might have made that gap even smaller.

"Guys in the locker room, we care," he said. "We care about the people in this city. To go through that experience of going out for practice one day and all of a sudden, people in this city, their lives are put in danger and there was a victim who lost their life. We wanted to go out there and put on a great show for our fans and help alleviate the pain from what happened. Guys wanted to go out and do a perfect job. Definitely there were a lot of emotions going crazy and at some point guys were shaking as far as all the pain that was going on this city. Definitely, we wanted to help alleviate it and let the growth process begin."

All CFL games this weekend will feature a moment of silence and all teams will wear a helmet decal that bears the logo of the Canadian Armed Forces.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.