Sports remain a massive industry within the United States. That said, demographics have undoubtedly changed. Younger generations are tuning into games less and less, and young fans who do would rather watch highlight reels or matches online with their favorite streamer.
The industry is at an age where audience outreach is being put in the spotlight, with longtime fans getting older. Strategies will have to evolve to cater to a new audience. While the NBA has the biggest success record with attracting younger viewers, last year saw a rise in support for the Denver football team from an unexpected source.
Social media sites like TikTok and X/Twitter saw an influx of attention towards the Broncos from fans of a Japanese anime racing mobile game named Umamusume: Pretty Derby. Umamusume centers on anthropomorphized racehorses who compete in races modeled after real-life Japanese derby events. Each playable character and backstory is inspired by actual Japanese race horses.
Umamusume’s popularity exploded globally following its English release in 2025, with the United States garnering some of its biggest fans due to its long-lasting Derby industry. That said, the explanation for why US fans of Umamusume flocked to the Denver Broncos is a simple one: the Broncos’ mascot is a horse.
TikTok was the central spot for this collision course, where it started as a bit of a light-hearted joke. Umamusume fans, who already had a rich history of making fan content, uploaded fan edits and fanart of Umamusume characters in Broncos jerseys or dancing to game highlight clips. Like with every other TikTok trend, TikTok’s algorithm began pushing this fan content into more viewers’ feeds, and it ballooned from there.
While strange, it was undeniable how successful this trend was in getting people interested in American football who were never interested in the sport previously. That said, this isn’t the first time sports and entertainment media have had unique crossovers. The LA Dodgers have had promotional collaborations with multiple anime series, in part due to how popular the sport is in Japan.
