Former NFL star JJ Watt showed he has not forgotten how to tackle as he laid a friendly hit on Jamie Carragher on live TV.
The retired NFL star showed that he still has some moves ahead of Burnley vs. Manchester City game on Friday, 11th August 2023.
Watt and his wife, former US women’s soccer forward Kealia, previously invested in the Premier League side ahead of their return to the top flight.
The couple was in attendance at the Turf Moor on Friday, with the NFL legend Watt tackling Carragher in a friendly manner.
JJ Watt however unsuccessfully lobbed a ball to his Sky Sports colleague Gary Neville after they playfully tackle on Carragher.
Speaking to NBC Sports ahead of the game, Watt said: “I’m excited for our supporters, I’m excited for our club, I’m excited for the guys.”
“For [chairman] Alan [Pace], for all the hard work that everybody’s done. And I’m most excited for the atmosphere. I think this place is electric, I think our fans are ready to just go crazy. We were at a pub on our way in, and I can promise you they’re about to go crazy.”
JJ Watt, who is on the Hall of Fame of surefire future Pro Football, was also asked about watching his team compared to playing in the field himself.
He went on to say: “It’s a lot more nerve-wracking I can tell you that. I have no control.”
“I’m sitting up there holding K’s hand and Alan’s next to me and we’re knocking into each other, because I can’t do anything about it.”
“As a player you can go out there and you can make something happen, you can be the reason. Here we just sit back and watch.”
“But the best part about that for us is our manager’s Vincent Kompany, we’ve brought in some incredible players, and the style that he’s playing, the tactics he’s implementing and the way that he gets these guys to play together with this flowing football, it really is beautiful and we love it.”
JJ Watt
Justin James Watt is an American former football defensive end who was born on March 22, 1989, and played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons mostly with the Houston Texans.
Watt is also considered one of the greatest defensive linemen of all time, and he received the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award three times in his first five seasons.
JJ Watt retired from football last year and has since put himself in soccer way embarking on an investing journey as Burnley celebrated being promoted.
And he and his partner Kealia even admitted that they were inspired by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s (so far) successful ownership of Wrexham.
Burnley Fans Boo Players Ahead Of Premier League Opener
Burnley’s welcome to the Premier League did not go as anticipated as the reigning Champions beat them 3-0 in their home.
Erling Haaland opened the scoring for City in the third minute, and in the 36th minute, he made it a brace. Rodri who assisted the first goal, rounded it up to three in the 75 minute.
However, before the match kicked off, a collection of Burnley fans were seen to be booing players taking the knee.
The gesture designed to signal opposition to racism has been a familiar sight to Premier League viewers since 2020.
This has, however, unfortunately, suffered some backlash from a minority of fans with the Turf Moor being the latest.
Boos were heard from a section of the home fans as Burnley and City players took the knee before the opening game of the Premier League season.
