Anime is bigger and more popular than ever nowadays, and a large part of its increased visibility has been thanks to anime fans popping up in the most unexpected of places. Big stars in the NFL have come out with their love of anime, and one of the most outspoken has been Cleveland Browns defensive end, Myles Garrett. He’s been a big hit with anime fans for his outspoken love of franchises like Hunter x Hunter and Dragon Ball, and often coolly incorporates it into his time on the field.
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One photo is quickly going viral on Reddit for showing off one of Garrett’s many custom visors that sees him shouting out Naruto’s Sasuke Uchiha with by sporting a Mangekyou Sharingan and Rinnegan eyes.
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett sporting a Mangekyou Sharingan eye and a Rinnegan eye from r/Naruto
Much like a custom visor calling out one of the most memorable moments of Dragon Ball Z in which Gohan finally defeats Cell with the help of his father’s spirit, this visor sees Garrett tapping into the power of the Sharingan in order to get him into the right mindset to take the Cleveland Browns to victory. Seeing this has naturally sparked a ton of hilarious references as fans wonder if his opponents will be put under a constant genjutsu.
There’s also a worry as to how much Garrett has struggled to “obtain” these eyes as Sasuke’s journey to reach these two powerful eye abilities was littered with strife. But regardless of the jokes, fans are in love seeing another person “of culture” openly show their love of anime in the NFL.
Anime is definitely a big deal with many professional athletes, and as it becomes more publicly recognized there’s a greater comfort in letting your fandom show in cool ways! Garrett’s definitely got a lot more “eyes” on him wishing him luck in the coming season, for sure.
Originally created by Masashi Kishimoto for Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump in 1999, Naruto follows a young ninja, with a sealed demon within him, that wishes to become the leader of his home village. The series ran for 700 chapters overall, and was adapted into an anime series by Studio Pierrot and Aniplex that ran from 2002 to 2017. The series was popular enough to warrant a sequel, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations which is set several years after the events of the original Naruto story and features the children of many of its key characters such as Naruto and Hinata.
