The Yankees Cap Goes Viral in Brazil: ‘Is It Basketball?’

This week, the Yankees start playing meaningful baseball once again, and Yankees fans in New York will pull on the caps to show their allegiance. But to many others in places like Brazil, China and Africa, the interlocked NY insignia will remain simply a classic piece of Americana, a status symbol, or a generic — perhaps chic — emblem of the West.

“The logo is super stylish and, I think, sophisticated,” said Natalia Monsores, 40, while checking out a wall of Yankees hats in a luxury-mall shop owned by New Era, the Buffalo, N.Y., company that makes the official Yankees caps. “It’s the symbol of the brand, right? New Era,” she replied when asked what the logo meant. “You’re sending a sign: ‘I’m wearing something quality.’”

Isabel Cunha, 26, an ad professional in a Yankees cap eating breakfast in Rio, admitted that she, too, was not quite sure what she was wearing. “I think it’s pretty,” she said. When told it was a sports team, she replied, “basketball?”

Artur Regen oversees Brazil for New Era, Brazil’s largest — and, he said, only — licensed Major League Baseball hat seller. “Ninety-eight percent of Brazilians don’t know it’s a baseball team,” he said. “New York is cool and they want to be associated with it.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/29/world/americas/yankees-caps-brazil.html