NFL Star Mike Daniels Crashes SDCC In Naruto Cosplay

Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Mike Daniels put his fandom for anime on full display at San Diego Comic-Con this summer.

Daniels suited up in cosplay as Naruto character Raikage along with his brother, who dressed as Killer Bee, and strutted his massive athletic body — which helped fill out the character’s physique — at the convention.

“I’m dressing up! I got a cosplay team here, too!” Daniels explains in the video above. To clarify though, this is more than dressing up. “I’m not dressed up, I’m cosplaying. You dress up on Halloween. Cosplay is a way of life.”

Daniels knew he would dress as Raikage the moment he met the character and saw a reflection of himself and his brother in the Naruto scenes. “I said when I first got familiar with the characters in 2009, ‘Wow, this is me and my brother and I. One day we will cosplay as them!’ Almost a decade later, we’re doing it!”

As for what attracted Daniels to the character, it’s the obvious similarities.

“He just powers up with lightning and beats the crap out of people,” Daniels said. “I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s me.’ You get all these defensive tackles who do spin moves and all that. I just line up and beat the crap out of people. Him and I we’re very similar. Let’s get this thing over with! Let’s get the fight over with! The people he works with, he holds them accountable, and he’s all about the betterment of the village. That’s how I am as a player. I hold my teammates accountable…I’m all for the betterment of the team.”

Since sharing his fandom, Daniels has made plenty of new friends. “A lot of people who I didn’t even know might have been fans of comic books or whatever come up to me now,” Daniels said. “It’s like they wouldn’t know how to approach me because they see this raging beast…so they’re looking like, ‘There’s no way this guy can like Dragon Ball.’”