Skip to main content
Join Now

JJ Watt reveals he's attending Steelers-Titans game to support brother TJ Watt

profilephotocropby:Suzanne Halliburton•11/01/23•

suzhalliburton

JJ Watt texans
Thomas Shea | USA TODAY Sports

In the Watt family, part of the fun of being retired is getting to see your kid brother play football. That’s why JJ Watt and his parents are headed to Pittsburgh to see the Steelers and TJ Watt play the Titans.

It will be a special Thursday Night game with more Watts in the house. And the game came up in conversation when JJ Watt joined the Pat McAfee Show for a Wednesday interview.

First, Watt did some consulting on what he should wear to the game at Acrisure Stadium. You’ll have to forgive JJ. He played for the Texans and Cardinals from 2011 until this past January. He’s not sure about NFL fashion these days.

JJ said “I’m looking forward (to the game). I was having a conversation my brother, what do you guys think? Do you think I should wear Steelers gear to this game?”

JJ Watt knew to call Steeler accessory a ‘Terrible Towel’

Yes, of course. Pat McAfee tells JJ he needs to go decked out in boots and a special TJ Watt shirt. And then the two switched topics. JJ dropped his voice and took a reverential tone, wondering about another accessory specific to Steelers games.

Should he bring “a terrible towel, not a little yellow towel” JJ asks? Now, there’s a backstory to the comment. Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence triggered a ton of Steelers fans when he was talking about Pittsburgh football history last week. He called the Terrible Towels, a cherished Steelers tradition since the mid-1970s, a “little yellow towel.” Lawrence didn’t mean it in an insulting way.

JJ Watt said that he had a chat with former Steelers coach Bill Cowher about Lawrence’s comments.

“He was fired up about it,” JJ Watt said. “And I kept trying to talk him down and I kept trying to be like, ‘Hey, watch the video. He didn’t say it in a disrespectful way.” Then Watt deepens his voice to a growl as he mimicked Cowher. ‘I don’t care. I don’t care. He said the words ‘little yellow towel.’ ‘

But Lawrence and the Jaguars beat the Steelers. “He went in there and backed it up.” Watt said.

The two brothers saw each other last month in Houston. The Texans inducted JJ Watt into their Ring of Honor at halftime of their game against the Steelers. TJ Watt is seen here rushing Houston QB CJ Stroud. (Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports)

McAfee, who grew up in Pittsburgh, seemed crushed by what Lawrence was able to do to the Steelers. “He went in there and played Pittsburgh football … against Pittsburgh … in Pittsburgh … in front of Pittsburghers, then left. That was tough.”

But McAfee changed the subject again, although keeping it with the Steelers. He asked JJ Watt if he was going to speak to the team. That would be no, JJ Watt said. This visit is all about his brother. TJ is dealing with a heel injury, so maybe JJ will bring him better luck.