

He wants to be team manager, but he winds up competing under the name Eyeshield 21 to keep other teams from knowing his name and stealing him away. As a result, he's developed outstanding running speed. At 5'1", Sena has always been smaller than his classmates, so he's been used as their gofer and errand boy.

Since football isn't a popular sport in Japan, Sena Kobayakawa's school's team only has two players: Ryokan Kurita, a large, friendly boy who dreams of someday competing in the Christmas bowl game, and Youichi Hiruma, the quarterback better known for frightening the underclassmen.

The underdog-with-exceptional-ability-makes-good plot is typical of boys' manga, but seeing another country's view of a great American competitive sport-in this case, football-provides added entertainment.
