Bronx – Loud boos were heard at Yankee Stadium as O Canada was played prior to Game 3 of the American League Division Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Yankees.
The liberation began with the introduction of anthem singer Graham Rowata on Tuesday night. Bus stood up again as the Broadway actor finished his performance.
The crowd then cheered loudly as a large American flag unfurled in the outfield as Rosat began singing “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
“Sports fans are passionate people,” Rosat said by phone later in the evening. “So I can put it before that, and maybe not any larger event.”
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The Blue Jays won the first two games of a best-of-five series at Rogers Center last weekend. This is the first-ever postseason meeting between AL East Division rivals.
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The Boo-Birds came back in the first inning as Toronto slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a two-run homer to give the Blue Jays an early lead.
Last winter Anthem Bu Trend eventually lost steam.
Rowat is based in Peterborough, Ontario and is currently based in the New York City area. He works as an audiobook narrator and has performed in productions such as Guys and Dolls, Mama Mia! and “Beauty and the Beast”.
He said he had performed stadium anthem chants in a group setting, but this was his first solo experience.
Razat couldn't hear, he added, because his in-ear monitors essentially sealed out the outside sound during his performance.
He said a “polite” employee at an earlier sound check told him that Booing could be a possibility, given how common it was at sports fields earlier in the year.
“If I hadn't been warned, I probably would have been thrown out,” Rosat said.
Toronto led 6-3 after three innings in a must-win game for the Yankees.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 7, 2025.
& Copy 2025 Canadian Press
