Overview
- Fans at Yankee Stadium loudly booed the Canadian anthem before ALDS Game 3, with chants of “U-S-A” during Ontario-born singer Graham Rowat’s performance, according to Newsday and The Canadian Press.
- Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a first-inning home run for a 2-0 lead in Game 3, his third of the series, drawing added attention to the charged atmosphere.
- Reports indicated the booing recurred before Game 4, and a Yankees in-stadium attempt to dampen it by showing former captain Don Mattingly on the video board briefly shifted boos to applause before they resumed.
- Ticket buying for Yankee Stadium games was reportedly limited on Ticketmaster to billing addresses in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, with separate reports noting the Blue Jays maintained Canada-only sales at Rogers Centre to protect home-field advantage.
- Major outlets framed the series as a barometer of U.S.–Canada relations, linking this year’s anthem reactions to tariff disputes and political rhetoric, with historical precedents of anthem jeering at Yankee Stadium recalled.