MLS Player Does Second Gear Celebration After Scoring Last Minute Goal

Being one of the most popular anime series on the planet, One Piece attracts people from all walks of life. The love for the series of one particular fan was on full display this matchday weekend at MLS.

Despite all the stereotypes that are associated with anime fans, most of the famous ones somehow end up being sports personalities. In a sport like soccer where there is an inbuilt precedent for celebration poses, why wouldn’t you wanna imitate your favorite character?

Major League Soccer player Nicolas Benezet celebrated his first goal for Seattle Sounders by imitating Luffy’s Second Gear pose. He scored the goal in the final minute of the match in a 6-2 win against Portland Timbers.

Benezet is a long-time anime and manga fan. He has previously stated that he has a huge manga library with Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, Hunter x Hunter, and One Piece being his favorites. Even his Twitter profile’s name is “Nico D Benezet”, with the profile picture of Luffy wearing the Seattle Sounders jersey.

Athletes paying homage to the One Piece has been commonplace lately, especially in the recent Tokyo Olympics 2021. Long jump gold medalist Miltiadis Tentoglou pulled off the same Second Gear pose before the event. USA Shot Putter Payton Otterdahl also did Franky’s Superpose during the event. 

Naturally, fans all around the world are delighted to see the representation at big stages. They were even acknowledged by the staff for the series.

For what it’s worth, each one of us would probably do something similar if we were on those big stages, it’s not like anyone can imitate Third Gear.

About One Piece

One Piece is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine since July 22, 1997.

The man who had acquired everything in this world, the Pirate King, is Gol D. Roger. The final words he said at the execution tower were “My treasures? If you want it, I’ll let you have it. Look for it; I left all of it at that place.” These words sent many to the seas, chasing their dreams, headed toward the Grand Line, in search of One Piece. Thus began a new age!

Seeking to be the greatest pirate in the world, young Monkey D. Luffy also heads toward the Grand Line in search of One Piece. His diverse crew is joining him along the way, consisting of a swordsman, marksman, navigator, cook, doctor, archaeologist, and cyborg-shipwright, this will be one memorable adventure.

Source: Seattle Sounders Official Twitter

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