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The Thumbs Down Is Officially the Yankees’ Rallying Cry for Their Playoff Run

The Yankees are keeping things loose. 

Dan Gartland

The Thumbs Down Is Officially the Yankees’ Rallying Cry for Their Playoff Run
The Thumbs Down Is Officially the Yankees’ Rallying Cry for Their Playoff Run /

It’s only taken a little more than a week for the Yankees to wholeheartedly adopt the universal symbol of disapproval as their unifying gesture of celebration. 

After one dismayed Mets fan flashed an emphatic thumbs down during the Yankees-Rays game in Queens last week, the Yanks have adopted the gesture as their go-to celebration. 

Todd Frazier, whose home run inspired the original thumbs down, has led the charge, but the whole team has gotten into it. 

Those shirts they’re wearing are for sale on Frazier’s official store. (There’s a different version from another site for a few bucks cheaper.)

A new generation of Yankees fans is going to watch Gladiator for the first time and be very confused. 

Published
Dan Gartland
DAN GARTLAND

Dan Gartland is the writer and editor of Sports Illustrated’s flagship daily newsletter, SI:AM, covering everything an educated sports fan needs to know. He joined the SI staff in 2014, having previously been published on Deadspin and Slate. Gartland, a graduate of Fordham University, is a former Sports Jeopardy! champion (Season 1, Episode 5).

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