Justin James Watt

A monster on the football field, yet a kind, charitable man, Justin James Watt is a man of focus. A modern hero in terms of his skill on the football field, his self-improvement efforts, and his charitable efforts are what makes J. J. Watt is a true modern hero who strives to better himself every day.

J. J. Watt Erb, Kelly Phillips. “J.J. Watt Raises Millions For Flood Relief, Making Charitable Crowdfunding History.”  

Watt is a ferocious, relentless beast on the defensive side of the field and leads his football team (The Houston Texans) into being a powerhouse team that destroys offenses. He received Defensive Player of the Year award for the second time in three consecutive seasons. “In 2014 he got two 20+ sack seasons, four forced fumbles and twenty-nine tackles for loss in a season, making him the league leader in that category” (Rosenthal). The reason Watt is so effective is due to his strength obviously, but also dedication and confidence. I really admire his dedication to football: how it comes first before anything else in his life, how his life revolves around football, and how he will accomplish anything he sets his mind out to do. The most admirable heroic part about this is that Watt has got his priorities straight and doesn’t let distractions get in the way of his goals, but instead he accomplishes those goals with honor. His high school coach said, “From a mental standpoint, people ask, 'What gives him the edge?' It's that there's nothing he doesn't believe he can do” (Silver). His mental attitude makes him a great leader for his football team because heroes need to have this bravery and courage to lead a team to victory.

J. J. Watt leader“Home.” JJWatt Foundation 

Aside from just being a physical phenomenon on the field, he always tries to improve not only himself but also his team and how he can be a better leader. His methods of making his team (The Houston Texans) exceptional weren’t really working at first because his methods were only great for himself, but not for other, less intense players. As a devoted man, Watt’s number one priority is football and nothing else comes before that, but he realized his teammates had families and lives outside of the great game so he had to take a step back, and realize the best method for being the leader of his team. The crucial question Watt always asks himself, “How can I be a better leader for this team?" (Silver) is what he thinks of before going to sleep every night. Justin James Watt had an important realization, “'Because people have things going on in their lives, I can't expect people to have this stupid, crazy affection for the game -- and obsession with the game -- that I do” (Silver). Great modern heroes need to be able to lead a team/group/organization and a major part of that is realizing how to lead that team effectively then improve the team to the best of capability, all of which J. J. Watt has done quite successfully so far in his career.

As far as playing football and carrying his team, J. J. Watt has accomplished those two tasks with extreme success. However, one of Watt’s other passions is charity work, so he started the JJ Watt Foundation to help the less fortunate people. Watt literally became a model hero for American football players and just Americans in general when Hurricane Harvey came. Hurricane Harvey struck and devastated Texas, causing two billion dollars in damage and displacing tens of thousands of people (Erb). Watt then reacted quickly in response to that horrible event by tweeting out to his fans to donate to his online fundraiser on his website to help cover the detrimental costs of the disaster. "Watt raised over thirty-seven million dollars for Texas in the online fundraiser” (https://jjwfoundation.org/). Of course, J. J. Watt does charity work (Helping out kids and donating money to schools’ athletic programs in Texas) outside of just this nasty event, but this is the most famous one. It takes a very popular, charismatic leader to raise that massive amount of money in an online fundraiser, proving that Watt is a clutch and selfless leader in perilous, desperate times.

Justin James Watt is a charismatic leader, both on and off the field, who is a brave and strong competitor, always striving to improve himself for his team and leadership skills, and a selfless, great man who devotes much of his personal time to helping others in need. He is a well-respected man that can destroy football offenses and yet save the state of Texas. In the modern era, we need heroes like him to lead society because he unites people by leading his football team and does massive amounts of charity work.

Works Cited

Erb, Kelly Phillips. “J.J. Watt Raises Millions For Flood Relief, Making Charitable Crowdfunding History.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 31 Aug. 2017, www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2017/08/31/j-j-watt-raises-millions-for-flood-relief-making-charitable-crowdfunding-history/#34d3793c5cbb.

“Home.” JJWatt Foundation, jjwfoundation.org/.

“J.J. Watt Wins Defensive Player of the Year Award.” NFL.com, www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000466459/article/jj-watt-wins-defensive-player-of-the-year-award.

“The Unbelievable Life of J.J. Watt.” NFL.com, www.nfl.com/lifeofwatt.