American football is cruel and unforgiving, and yet it is also beautiful.

It’s the month of February, which means only one thing to fans of American football — it’s getting close to Super Bowl Sunday. I’m not ashamed to admit I know next to nothing about the world of touchdowns and quarterbacks, partially because I am British, and partially because I think sports are boring, but I am reliably informed that the Super Bowl is a Very Big Deal in the world of American football, as it is the championship match of the U.S.’s National Football League.

Until a few days ago I had absolutely no idea the Super Bowl was nearly upon us, but thanks to a recent tweet by American sports news website Bleacher Report, I know not only when the Super Bowl will take place, but also the teams that will compete. The tweet in question features some familiar imagery from the world of anime, namely Attack on Titan.

The image shows Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford facing off against Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, who’s portrayed as a Titan. Some tweets were questioning why the Cincinnati Bengals were portrayed as the Titans in this image, but as the match will be taking place in the Los Angeles Rams home stadium of SoFi Stadium, it’s almost like they’re defending their territory against the Bengals, just as Eren and the gang defended their home against the Titans — hence the ‘Attack on SoFi’ heading on the image.

The image isn’t just any old piece of fan art, either; it’s based off the promotional image for the final season of the anime.

Japanese netizens were all a-buzz with Bleacher Report’s imaginative post, which currently has over 57,000 likes.

“Does that mean Attack on Titan is more popular worldwide than Squid Game?”
“I had no idea it was so popular overseas!”
“The fact that over 10 million people follow this account and are seeing this is amazing!”
“Invite the show’s creator to the game and sit him in the VIP section!”
“I wonder if the live-action movie was popular overseas.”

Overseas fans had a lot to say about the image too, with many commenting on how great it was to see anime being referenced in mainstream media.

“It’s crazy how far anime has come.”
“Give a raise to whoever made this.”
“This is absolutely incredible.”

A sudden anime-inspired tweet from a major American sports website may seem a little left field, but this isn’t the first time Bleacher Report have dipped their toes into the world of anime — check out this NBA/Naruto crossover video they made last year.

The Super Bowl takes place on February 13, and while it’s been great to see AoT being referenced, we have to hope the references end there. I already admitted to not being too familiar with the ins and outs of American football, but I’m pretty sure it’s against the rules to eat your opponents.

Source: Twitter@Bleacher Report via Hachima Kiko
Image: Twitter@Bleacher Report
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!