JJ Watt is a fierce competitor who is not shy about ruffling his opponent’s feathers, which is why we were hardly surprised when we heard that he spit on the New England Patriots logo prior to Sunday’s playoff game. The Twitter world began buzzing roughly an hour before kickoff after several writers and reporters confirmed that Watt spit on the Patriots midfield logo during warmups and wiped his feet on it.
After the game, Watt confirmed he was guilty. However, he said it is something he does before every game.
“I do that every game, home or away,” he said according to Shalise Manza Young of the Boston Globe. “I go out to midfield, I jog out there, I spit a little bit, wipe my feet off and then I go through my stretch. No drama there. That’s 100 percent what I do every game, home or away.”
While I can’t confirm if Watt indeed spits on every opposing team’s logo and/or the Texans logo before games, I do know from experience that he loves riling up the opposing fans. I was at Gillette Stadium earlier this season when the Patriots threw a beating on Houston the first time around. Prior to that game, Watt went over toward the stands and motioned to the crowd several times, obviously begging to have boos rained down on him. This is the same Watt who mocked Aaron Rodgers for his touchdown dance earlier this year.
In the end, it didn’t matter. The Texans were outmatched as everyone expected, and I highly doubt any players on the New England side even heard about the spitting incident, let alone used it as motivation. That being said, I’d love to hear if Watt’s comments about it would have been the same if Houston pulled off the upset.
