For many people, it was a single moment that introduced them to the name Kanzi Matsuzawa. A viral kick brought him into the spotlight and, along with it, a nickname that matched what has been a genuinely unusual journey into American football.
That nickname is the Tokyo Toe, described as about the hardest nickname for a kicker anyone could imagine. It came together after what became known as the Stanford kick, and once the moment went viral, the Tokyo Toe simply stuck.
The story carries real weight beyond the catchy name. Matsuzawa is the first Japanese born player to be signed by an NFL team, a milestone that sets his path apart from those of the players around him.
The breakthrough came with a phone call from the Las Vegas Raiders, a team he has held close to his heart for years. For Matsuzawa, getting that call from the Raiders specifically made the achievement all the more meaningful.
It also closed a circle that began when he was much younger in the sport. He played soccer through high school, but at 19, while on a trip to America, he attended his first in-person NFL game, a Raiders matchup, and that experience inspired him to switch sports. The team that first drew him in is now the same team that has signed him.
Much of what followed he did on his own. Matsuzawa taught himself how to kick an American football by working through the many resources available on YouTube, and he improved his English along the way by watching American television shows such as Friends, piecing together a new sport and a new language at the same time.