What do anime horse girls and the NFL have in common? On the surface, not much. But a closer look reveals a dedicated fanbase that’s been bringing luck to sports teams both on and offline. But first, how did any of this start? Why are they horses? And what does any of this have to do with the Super Bowl?
Umamusume: Pretty Derby is a multimedia franchise created by Japanese video game developer Cygames. “Umamusume” directly translates as “horse girls,” and that’s exactly what they are: meticulously designed reincarnations of real Japanese racehorses that you can build up, or “train” to run in races that are also based on real competitions, such as the Arima Kinen or the Tenno Sho, in a free-to-play gacha (think loot boxes) system. The cast of Umamusume are equal parts top-tier athlete and singing and dancing idol: a concept that’s so outrageous that it manages to work perfectly. And on June 26, 2025, a global sever for the game was released, meaning that English-speaking audiences could finally experience the world of horse girls for themselves.
But fans of Umamusume don’t just obsess over their favorite characters in game: they carry an equal amount of love and respect for real life racehorses. Whether it was donating pounds of ryegrass, crowdfunding a new stable, or memorializing racehorses that were no longer with them, English-speaking fans began building their own community around their beloved horses. This effort would eventually grow into real-life cosplay meetups at racetracks, where fans would dress up as their favorite characters to experience a day at the races or even run themselves in elaborate and hilarious cosplay races.
All of these activities caused a huge uptick in younger people visiting racetracks and getting interested in horse racing — but they didn’t stop there. The Denver Broncos became a new symbol of fan culture after users on social media platforms like TikTok began posting edits with clips from the team. Why the Broncos? Simple: their mascot was a horse. And with the team being on a winning streak since the global server release date, many users online have joked that accepting Uma fans brought them extra luck, posting clips of their favorite characters doing victory dances alongside footage of winning matches.
However, nothing proved the horse girl good luck theory quite like the outcome of the most recent Super Bowl. The Seattle Seahawks would beat the New England Patriots 29-13 and had engaged in a fair bit of “umaposting” before their big win. The earliest example was when the Seahawks beat the Indianapolis Colts, another horse-themed team, and posted a slightly surreal piece of art by Shen Comix depicting their quarterback (name) outrunning several characters from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic with a cameo of fan-favorite Umamusume character Agnes Tachyon in the background on their Instagram. Months later, they would post another piece of art by the same artist featuring both Agnes Tachyon and the equally beloved Gold Ship, captioned “Seahawks exceed the limit.”
The influx of horse-girl content has caused a significant amount of confusion among sports fans and newscasters. In one clip from a Denver news station, a newscaster said, “I don’t want to judge anybody’s lifestyle, but I’m not sure I get that horse girls thing,” to which a forecaster clad in a full donkey suit and Broncos jersey replied “neither do I.” But while the two groups may not fully understand each other, they can cast their differences aside to celebrate the success of their shared favorite teams side — something we can all learn from.
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