JJ Watt is kind of a big deal in American . A three-time Defensive Player of the Year and five-time All-Pro, the recently retired 34-year-old is a first-ballot Hall of Famer who helped raise almost £30million for victims of Hurricane Harvey when he played for the Houston Texans.
If that last sentence means little or nothing to you then you probably feel the same as the majority of the punters in Burnley’s Royal Dyche pub on Monday when Watt wandered in for a pint of Guinness ahead of the Clarets’ season-ending win over Cardiff. At 6ft 5in, he probably only caused a stir when he blocked the view of the telly.
Watt and his wife, Kealia, have bought a minority stake in the new boys and explained his trip to a boozer or three in an appearance on the sofa this week.
‘I did a pub crawl yesterday on my way to the stadium so I started at the Royal Dyche, worked my way down to Vintage Clarets and all my way up to Turf Moor,’ he said.
‘Just getting to know the supporters, I want to earn their trust by showing them how much we care and how passionate we are.
‘It’s research, I’m doing research and lots of pints of Guinness along the way. But it was a lot of fun and really good to get to know them on a personal level, and hopefully they get to know us as well.’
Still not impressed? Fair enough, well in terms of household name in one pond, completely anonymous in the other, this is a bit like Joe Root going for a few cold ones in downtown Winnipeg after investing in the local NHL ice hockey team, or Ronnie O’Sullivan joining the board of Sampdoria before popping out for an ice cream in Genoa.
Watt may not be a recognisable face in east Lancashire but he has still already made more of a splash than fellow American Alan Pace – chairman of the Clarets since a leveraged buy-out in 2020. Fame will do that for you.
Watt, like Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney at Wrexham, isn’t just a rich north American with a penchant for the less well-known British football teams, he is a rich north American with a huge profile who has spent his entire adult life in the public eye. In other words, good for business. His estimated worth of £42m probably helps too.
Watt and Kealia – herself a former professional footballer who won three caps for the USA – have acknowledged helped inspire their new venture and have been in touch with the club’s Hollywood owners for some advice.
Who knows, maybe a binge session in front of Ted Lasso helped too.
‘I’ve learned that the history, tradition and supporters, it’s all about respecting and honouring that,’ he told the BBC.
‘Promotion and relegation, the highs and lows, the consequences are incredible, so we have been looking for a club for a long time.’
After years of fearing American investment in the beautiful game would lead to an ‘Americanisation’ of the sport, with perhaps an end to promotion and relegation, it is ironic to hear Watt admit the very idea of the ups and downs and highs and lows are what made it so compelling.
So, British football has attracted another charismatic, famous American owner seemingly in it for the right reasons (memories, not money). Just don’t get stuck behind him at the bar.
