It's not just you, and probably not even just an American thing. I personally think of the The Times when I see "The Times", but I'm British, like the author of

It's not just you, and probably not even just an American thing. I personally think of the The Times when I see "The Times", but I'm British, like the author of this Medium article. I know why it happens, but it's somewhat ironic that The Times is given a made-up regional-sounding name (The London Times or Times of London) to differentiate it from shorthand versions of region-specific titles that are, directly or indirectly, inspired by The Times.