New York entered Yankee Stadium on the verge of an October disappointment seemingly taking shape in real time in Tuesday’s Game 3. Fortunately, or not, they had the passionate home fans cheering on them. While they won the game to keep the ALDS series alive on Aaron Judge’s shoulders, the storyline became the crowd itself. Particularly, their “Boo-O-Canada” as Graham Rowat sang his rendition of the Canadian National anthem. However, the do-or-die Game 4 proved that it wasn’t an isolated incident.

As the Canadian National anthem began, so did booing from part of the Bronx crowd. But the Yankees’ game ops had a plan this time. “Yankees game ops attempted to dissuade from the heavy booing during O Canada by showing Don Mattingly on the screen. Changed to claps for a few seconds, then right back to the boos,” MLB insider Mitch Bannon reported.

Although he is the Blue Jays’ bench coach under John Schneider, Don Mattingly is a Yankees legend.

Back in Game 2 of the 1995 ALDS, he crushed a game-winning homer off Andy Benes. That was a huge moment that marked the Yankees’ first playoff run in 14 years and his only postseason as a player. But funny enough, Mattingly’s now on the other side.

Interestingly, the booing is not a one-off MLB case either. It became a trend earlier this year with Canadian NHL fans jeering the American teams after US President Donald Trump’s jabs at the country. In fact, the Rogers Centre booed the opponents during the pregame ceremony when they opened the 2025 season back in March.

It is certainly not to say that the Yankees haven’t done it too. It was back in August 1993 when the Yankees began their biggest August series in a decade. Then, an entire Yankee Stadium drowned out Robert Merrill as he sang “O Canada.” Conclusively, it looks like the teams no longer cheer for their teams but, in fact, even forget they are in an MLB game and not in an international series between two countries.

Much like the intense on-field battles between these two teams this season, this new anthem drama seems to be the latest twist in their growing rivalry. And with both squads locked in since the start of the postseason, we probably haven’t seen the last of it.

The Yankees and Blue Jays are in an extreme battle

The Yankees-Blue Jays rivalry is no longer getting battled within the foul line. Rather, it is getting hotter off-field, too. Last month, reports surfaced that Canadian residents were blocked from buying tickets to the Blue Jays’ ALDS games at Yankee Stadium. And now, the stands are almost entirely dominated by fans in pinstripes, creating a loud, one-sided home atmosphere.

According to multiple reports, anyone trying to grab tickets for Game 3 or a potential Game 4 on Ticketmaster was met with a notice. It said sales were “restricted to residents of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania.” And guess what, the Blue Jays also have their own version of that policy. They started restricting Rogers Centre ticket sales to buyers with Canadian billing addresses, and kept that rule in place throughout the playoffs. The goal is the same: To protect their home-field advantage and keep visiting fans from taking over the stands.

These ticket restrictions have become another symbol of how fierce the Yankees–Blue Jays rivalry has grown. Add in the recent anthem-booing incidents, and it’s starting to feel like this rivalry extends far beyond the field.