HOUSTON – J.J. Watt has done a number of incredible things for Houston and its residents as his current season with the Houston Texans comes to an end.
From Hurricane Harvey to making national TV appearances, Watt has enlightened us with some of the greatest moments during his time as a Texans DE.
Here are 11 of the most memorable moments from JJ Watt.
1. His relationship with siblings TJ and Derek
JJ has a great relationship with brothers TJ and Derek Watt, who both play for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Earlier last year they teamed up to do a commercial for Subway and participated in several Gatorade commercials that included Peyton Manning.
The Watt Brothers also teamed up to host “Ultimate Tag,” a game show that takes the classic playground game to another level.
2. Dropping “uplifting” messages and into some ZOOM meetings
During the coronavirus pandemic, Watt took some of his free time to drop into random ZOOM meetings after requesting links from his followers on Twitter. After entering more than 20 ZOOM calls, he said in April that “there are a WIDE range of ZOOM meeting types.”
He also dropped an uplifting message to Pearland ISD’s Class of 2020 with words of wisdom, encouraging them to set goals for the future the same way he did when he made it to the NFL.
In 2019, he asked his fans to text him as a way to connect with them after his season-ending injury against the Oakland Raiders, receiving more than 13,000 messages in his inbox. You can read how KPRC attempted to text Watt by reading here.
3. Hurricane Harvey relief efforts
Watt and his team raised over $40.1 million dollars for victims of Hurricane Harvey in 2017. The Justin J. Watt Foundation built over 600 homes, distributed over 26 million meals and delivered medicine to 10,000 patients.
He, along with his team also met with families to assist with food, water and shelter.
Fans created a Change.org petition asking the City of Houston to have a “JJ Watt Day” on Aug. 27 for his efforts.
You can read more on Watt’s Harvey recovery efforts here.
4. Mimi, the 99-year-old JJ Watt superfan
Asalee Poole, also known as “Mimi” made a wish on her 99th birthday that she wanted to meet JJ Watt someday, as she was a huge fan of him. A week later, she attended the Texans AFC Wild Card game in 2016 to meet the No. 99. She told KPRC she “just liked the boy.”
KPRC captured the moment exclusively here.
More than a year later, she passed away at 100.
5. Surprising the cast of “Cheer”
Watt traveled to New York City earlier last year to make an appearance on Saturday Night Live and decided to make a stop at The Today Show, where the cast of “Cheer,” Netflix’s docuseries on the Navarro Junior College squad were being interviewed by hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager. They described him as “Texas royalty.”
Watt once said on his Twitter that he is a “superfan” of the show.
“THIS ENERGY! I feel like I just made mat,” Watt said in a tweet.
6. His relationship with soccer star Kealia Ohai
Houston was all over Watt’s new girlfriend and now wife, Kealia Ohai, who played forward for the Houston Dash before she was traded to Chicago Red Stars.
Ohai confirmed the relationship in a podcast in 2018 and announced their engagement in May 2019. They tied the knot last February.
Both Watt and Ohai have been involved in several charities, including the Houston Food Bank where they donated $350,000 which amounts to one million meals to those in need.
7. Literary awareness PSA with Barbara Bush
In 2018, Watt partnered with the Barbara Bush Literacy Foundation to film a PSA on reading, which was released during the Charity Classic at Minute Maid Park. The PSA featured Watt arriving at the Bush household with a “playbook for literacy.” He then said families should focus on reading for 15 minutes each day to their children.
See the PSA here.
8. Showing support for the Houston Astros
They may be different sports teams but both the Astros and the Texans have something in common: their love for Houston.
When the Astros won the 2017 World Series against the LA Dodgers, Watt gave second baseman and series MVP Jose Altuve a “fine whiskey gift” while calling him his “H-Town brother.” He gifted him boxes of wine and champagne ahead of Game 6 of the 2019 World Series against the Washington Nationals as a way of wishing him and his team luck.
When Watt got engaged to Kealia Ohai, he asked third baseman Alex Bregman if he could hit two home runs during one of the Astros home games during the 2019 season. Even though he was unable to make the runs, it still was motivation for Bregman.
9. SNL, “Tonight Show”
From stellar performances on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” to visiting Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon, Watt had his fair share of live appearances.
On “Kimmel” he talked about how he treated his house guests after guest host and comedian Sebastian Maniscalco and his wife spent a weekend at his Pearland home, saying it was too much work and “would never have guests over again.” However, he did made an exception for Maniscalco who said he went “all out” for him and his wife.
During Watt’s “SNL” performance in February, Watt performed a series of skits from “The Pilot Hunk” to voicing the new “Madden 21″ game. You can read and watch a summary of his skits full of “rauchy jokes” here.
10. Honored with a billboard on 59
For his love and dedication to Houston, Watt was honored with a giant billboard on Highway 59 near Bissonnet in 2018. The person who funded the billboard was Michael Berry, host of KTRH’s “The Michael Berry Show.”
The billboard read “JJ WATT, Houston salutes you!” which is a reference to Watt’s “epic” fundraising for Hurricane Harvey victims.
What is your favorite moment from JJ Watt? Tell us in the comments below!