J. J. Watt
I'm always trying to learn and grow, so my diet has, over the years, evolved.Collection: Diet
My dad's a firefighter, so I know what it's like for policemen and firefighters to be on their own on Christmas Day.Collection: Christmas
Everybody has a job to do, and you just know that every day you have to do what it takes to get there. Of course, everybody has those days where you don't feel like doing it. I'm just like anybody else in that respect. But there's a difference between not feeling like doing it and not doing it period.Collection: Respect
I'm sure I frustrate the trainers - in fact, I know I frustrate the trainers to no end. But I think there's a very fine line. I listen to their advice. I take their medical expertise very seriously. But then I also, the reason I am where I am, the reason I play the way I play, is because I push beyond normal.Collection: Medical
A reputation takes years and years and years to build, and it takes one press of a button to ruin it. Don't let that happen to you. You've done so much work; you've put in so much effort. Don't let one moment ruin your entire life because you wanted to be funny or you were mad or because you had a mood.Collection: Funny
There's no greater feeling in the world than when you can put a smile on somebody's face just by walking into a room. It's unbelievable. And if I have that power, who am I to waste it, you know?Collection: Smile
What I remember most about high school are the memories I created with my friends.
If you don't have that vision for the end goal, you have no clue where you're going, and you're going to work very hard to go nowhere.
I never want to let a day go by without having done something to get a little better.
I want to go out and chase greatness. That's all I want to do.
If you want to be remembered as great, if you want to be a legend, you have to go out there every single day and do stuff.
When it comes down to that moment, when it's me against you, you know in your head whether you worked hard enough. You can try to lie to yourself. You can try to tell yourself that you put in the time. But you know - and so do I.
My mom taught me from a young age to give back and volunteer any chance you get. It was something that I knew, if I made the NFL, I would financially have the ability to do.
My whole life, I've been trying to make people proud.
Since my sophomore year in high school, I knew I didn't want to do anything but be a professional athlete. I knew when I got to college there was no way anybody was going to stop me from being an NFL player.
You can find just about everything on my iPod from Eminem to Zac Brown to Justin Timberlake to One Direction. Everything is on there.
Hockey, honestly, was my first love. The excitement, the fast pace, the intensity of the game... I still love it to this day.
In the off-season, I train twice a day, five times a week with my trainer. Then, there's always massages and neuromuscular therapy worked in there as well on different days.
I'm going to continue to work to be the best player in the world, and whenever that doesn't sound fun to me anymore, that's when it's over.
My parents would definitely be my childhood heroes.
No doubt about it. For every player. Thursday nights are very tough for us because it is a short turnaround.
It's a very violent game, and bodies take a beating, so you want to make sure you do everything you can to get your body back. It's just something you have to do.
I want to coach high school football, and that's always what I've wanted to do.
I was impressionable at that age, and my high school coach did such an unbelievable job helping me, so I want to do that for other kids.
I'm a kid who grew up working hard.
Teams are always hitting me in the gut, trying to grab me when I jump and stuff like that. But I expect it.
You don't know who wants you for you, who wants you for the money, who wants you for the fame. You have no idea. And how would you know? There's no way.
If you're thinking like that - 'Does this person want me for me?' - then you're gonna have a hell of a hard time falling in love, 'cause you're constantly thinking about what they look like on paper.
It may not matter to anybody now, but when you go out there and perform on the field, that's what matters.
I think there are definitely some people that would say I'm crazy.
I feel like, growing up, I watched football, obviously, and you see great players, and as a fan, you want to watch the best you can possibly watch, and you want to see what's capable of being made.
It sounds weird when you complain about having to eat so much, but it's like a job.
I eat two breakfasts, two lunches, and two dinners throughout the day. It's always eating.
I'm not strict on my calorie count; I just pay attention to my body.
Over the years, I've learned a lot about nutrition and about myself, so it's a lot more based on feel. I stopped putting a number on it because people were analyzing it too much.
I have no idea when it's going to be, when I'll retire.
I know that I'm going out there, and I know that I am going to get hit in the head. I know that's part of football. That's like a firefighter knowing he is going to go into a fire at some point. You know you are going to be put in danger's way, and you accept that risk, and you do it.
There are games where I go a whole game without saying a word. There are games where I'm talking the whole game. It really depends on the mood and vibe that I'm in that day.
I'm honestly all over the board. I think if I had to pick one, I'd probably say it's country first, but I listen to literally everything: country, pop, rock, rap.
I have three Defensive Players of the Year. Only one other player has done that. But being a defensive lineman, it's hard to control the game.
I live with the fact that while I am playing, I am going to give everything I have, and I will live with those consequences.
Part of me wants nothing to do with any Hollywood. But another part of me wants to go there. I feel like I could be successful at it.
I know I'm going to be remembered for football. That's why I work so hard at it.
As long as I've known music, Bose has been the company to listen to. They're a lot of fun to work with, but also being able to associate yourself with such a high-quality product is great.
When budget cuts happen - which has been happening a lot in this country - after-school athletics and after-school music are some of the first things to go.
Trust me, I would love to have a wife and kids. I would very much enjoy that. But I also know that you have to be in the right place to do that.
You have to find the right situation, and you have to be in that right mindset where you can give everything you have to that. Because whatever I do, I want to be the best at. I want to be the best husband. I want to be the best father.
When I picture myself after football, it's down home, coaching high school football, just a relaxing, normal life.
A quarterback is always going to be the most valuable player on a football field because he touches the ball every single offensive play.
I get a lot of letters that say, 'I'm a normal, down-to-earth girl. I love to cook, and I love sports.' What I also get are letters from a whole bunch of moms saying, 'My daughter is awesome,' and, 'My daughter is a great daughter.'