Posted on June 6, 2017, by Travis Pulver
When it comes to the Houston Texans, the most famous name on the roster is easily that of defensive lineman J.J. Watt. With three Defensive Player of the Year awards to his resume, it is not hard to see why he is beloved by the Houston fan base. It certainly doesn’t hurt that he is active within the community and appears to be an all-around good guy.
This also happens to be why some hate him. For some reason, they seem to think his good-guy persona is a front; something he puts on just to get attention. Those folks can’t seem to grasp the concept that Watt is actually what he appears to be—a good guy.
Via @abc13houston
So—when they hear about his latest ‘attention grabbing stunt’ they are probably just going to hate him even more. But the rest of us can see it for what it is—J.J. being J.J.
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What did he do?
He called the NFL Network’s Top 100 Players list a joke after he landed at No. 35.
Yes, the great J.J. Watt was not happy that he landed at No. 35 on the list after being No. 3 on the list last year, but not for the reason you might think. He did not see it as a slight or anything negative against him. He didn’t believe it was right because he only played in three games last season (and didn’t do much in all three).
To put his spot on the list into perspective, last season’s sack leader, Vic Beasley, landed at No. 40.
The list is voted on by the players (they list their top 20) and is typically an indication of how well players did their job the year before. If that is the case, there is no way Watt should have even been on the list. But his peers voted him in, so he’s on it.
Complaints about placement on the list are nothing new, but typically because players feel slighted. They think they are better than whatever number they landed at even though their peers clearly don’t agree. Some have even thrown some well-documented tantrums over their spot—like New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. did last year.
After moving from No. 32 to No. 10, you would think he would be proud. But he either thought he should be higher or took offense to being the third receiver on the list (behind Julio Jones and Antonio Brown). The perceived disrespect made him so upset he decided he needed to put some work in at 3 AM.
We are accustomed to players doing like Beckham and complaining about their contributions being undervalued. But Watt’s comments are because he feels overvalued.
Via @NFLUK
In a world where people are more apt to take credit for things they didn’t do and revile in the accolades, it is refreshing to see someone admit they don’t deserve them.
Some will probably call this another well-orchestrated ‘look at how humble I am’ ploy by the attention-grabbing machine that is J.J. Watt. They will see it as another reason to hate him. But for those of us who do not live cynical lives, it’s another reason to be a fan of the Texans defensive lineman.