Many consider NFL players “heroes.” Too many.
That’s part of the reason why Houston Texans star and three-time Defensive Player of the Year award winner J.J. Watt recently jumped at the opportunity to give some perspective.
Watt, a monster of an athlete whose off season training videos usually go viral, traded his pads for firefighter equipment. With the standard 50-75 pounds of equipment on, he went through the workout and drills that firefighters see on a regular basis.
“Unlike an athlete, we don’t know when the “game” is, and we don’t know how long it’s going to be,” one firefighter said.
In part, he wanted to do it because his father, John, was a firefighter for 28 years before he retired.
After completing the heavy duty workout, Watt, who struggled big time, offered this:
“I work my ass of at my job every day because I love it, but at the end of the day, if I screw up, I have a bad play. Their [job] is life and death. To me, there’s no comparison. We get headlines, and we’re playing a game. These guys don’t get the headlines, but they’re the ones that save lives. Between them, the police, and the military, those are the people that are doing something that matters because they’re the true heroes. I’m just a guy that chases the ball around. That’s all.”
