Madison Salem

Professor Walther
AGCJ 489 Media Programming
06 April, 2017
 Justin James Watt

Justin James Watt is an incredible athlete who made it to the big leagues through hard

work and perseverance. At an early age Watt dreamt big and worked hard, allowing his passion

for sports, especially football, climb the ladder toward his success in the National Football

League. Not only is Watt Number 99, the heart and soul of Texans football, he is a genuine

individual that remains honorable to his reputation and philanthropic values. Like many

celebrities, Watt has his spotlight encounters, and he has learned throughout the fame to not let

social media dictate his character and how he views himself.

Little did Connie and John Watt know that a three time consecutive NFL Defensive

Player of the Year award winner world enter the world on March 22, 1989. Justin James Watt

was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and athletics were introduced beginning with a passion for

hockey from the age of four to age 13. Throughout his high school career at Pewaukee High

School he lettered all four years in football as well as basketball, baseball and track and field.

Surprisingly during the high school recruit process Watt was not ranked among the top tight end

or the top defensive end prospects, despite his many awards and statistics. He was offered a

scholarship from Central Michigan University under the impression that he would play tight end,

yet he decided to walk on at the University of Wisconsin to play as a defensive end position.

Immediately redshirted for the 2008 season, by 2009 he played in 13 games as a defensive end.

He finished the season with 32 solo tackles, 12 assisted tackles and 4.5 sacks. By the end of

2010, he earned more titles and awards including the team’s MVP. In 2011 Watt skipped over

his season to enter the NFL draft. He performed extremely well at the combine and on April 28,
2011 J.J. Watt was selected by the Houston Texans with the first round 11th overall pick, leading

to a four-year $11.24 million contract by July 31, 2011. For the next four seasons, Watt

continued to progress breaking the Texans’ record for sacks in a season previously held by Mario

Williams with 14.5 sacks in 2012. That season and consecutively 2014 and 2015, Watt was

named AP NFL Defensive player of the year and four-time Pro Bowl selected player from 2012-

2015.

Watt has garnered the hearts of his fellow Texans fans, but who is the man underneath

the helmet, and what is his motivation to continue living the life only every athlete can dream?

As it turns out, Watt doesn’t short himself even in his downtime according to Michael Sllver.

Sllver writes “From his high-volume calorie-intensive admittedly bland diet, to his retirement-

home sleeping schedule, to his romantic life (or lack thereof), Watt is a man who puts football

first, and is essentially putting off everything else until his playing days are done (Sllver).” With

his minimalistic 4,500-square-foot log cabin in the Wisconsin countryside, it is safe to say that

Watt takes his offseason training seriously. Watt said that the value in getting away from

everything is beneficial in a variety of ways. “It’s a chance for me to reconnect with my family

and friends, ‘cause my life is so crazy the rest of the year. It’s a chance to go back with my

trainer, who I’ve been training with for nine years, since my sophomore year. And then it’s a

chance to kind of reboot. I’m away from that craziness of the fame and the spotlight and

everything, so that when I do come back, I’m ready for it… I’m excited for it again,” Watt said.

In addition to an endowed football career Watt is a philanthropist. The Justin J. Watt

Foundation is an organization whose goals is to seek out middle schools predominately but not

limited to Wisconsin and Texas and provides funding for after-school athletic programs. The

intent of his foundation is to give opportunities to kids from lower income school districts the
chance to participate in athletic programs. According to the jjwfoundation.org, Watt states his

mission. “The ultimate goal for this foundation is to provide an opportunity for kids to be kids.

We want them to be able to have fun and enjoy playing sports with their peers, but at the same

time, we want to help lay a solid foundation of characteristics on which they may build the rest

of their life,” Watt displays the true hero archetype, as Brian T. Smith from the Houston

Chronicle writes “There was always so much about Watt that was too good to be true. Then he

touched millions of hearts-those of cops, firefighters, moms, kids with cancer- and you realized it

was useless to deny his strength. He only grew more powerful with each passing year,” Smith

said. To date, the foundation has donated $2, 877,748.25 of their three-million-dollar goal so far.

Striking fame and fortune as a celebrity, Watt is not exempt from criticism by those who

are not a fan of Number 99. Watt’s views on social media are used against him on the occasion,

as his posts are criticized for being too personal or a too try-hard on his public profile. Watt

expresses that “Every single thing you do becomes a story, whether it’s a tweet, whether it’s an

Instagram post, whether it’s a Snapchat, every single thing becomes a story so I think if people

don’t want to see what I’m doing they should probably stop following me,” he said. Watt has

learned to accept the criticism and convert the negative into positive by remaining silent and

allowing his success to make the noise. Watt is aware of the risk voicing his opinions on social

media. He said, “Why would I worry about what somebody says when all they do is go on the

internet and try to rip other people down… I’m going to keep trying to inspire people… I’m

going to try to have more success.” Watt is equally tough physically and intellectually and he

will not let the haters of social media tear down or try to defame his reputation as a successful

athlete. With this mindset Watt continues to dominate the National Football League despite some

physical setbacks. He continues to inspire football fans of all ages throughout his home state and
Texas. Watt’s humbling spirit and driven commitment to dominate the league shines beyond his

fame and fortune. J.J Watt is a man of character and dedication on and off the field.
 References

Florio, M. (2016, April 21). Making sense of J.J. Watt’s nonsensical view of social media.

Retrieved April 02, 2017, from http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/04/21/making-

sense-of-j-j-watts-nonsensical-view-of-social-media/

Sllver , M. (2015, September). The Unbelievable Life of J.J. Watt. Retrieved April 02, 2017,

from http://www.nfl.com/lifeofwatt

Smith , B. T. (2016, September 28). As hard as it is to fathom, J.J. Watt is human. Retrieved

April 02, 2017, from

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/columnists/smith/article/As-hard-as-it-is-to-

fathom-J-J-Watt-is-human-9323946.php

The Foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved April 02, 2017, from http://jjwfoundation.org/the-foundation/

Wilson, R. (2016 April 21).J.J. Watt has some advice for all the social media haters. Retrieved

April 02, 2017, from http://www.cbbssports.com/nfl/news/jj-watt-has-some-advice-for-

all-the-social-media-haters/