'We put so much blood, sweat and literal tears into this place': Derek and T.J. Watt have Pewaukee jerseys retired
PEWAUKEE - It was a classic All-American scene.
On a beautiful Friday night there was a gaggle of young kids tossing around a football behind the stands at Feuerstein Field. This being at Pewaukee High School, most of the youngsters were clad in jerseys of the Watt brothers: a Derek fan in an old No. 34 San Diego Chargers jersey tried to wrestle the pigskin away from a ball-carrier sporting T.J.'s No. 90 in the Pittsburgh Steelers' black and yellow. There were several No. 99s looking on, representing J.J.'s time both at the University of Wisconsin and the Houston Texans.
It was almost too much to take in for Derek. He and T.J. once ran Hail Mary plays while a varsity game took place just yards away. Now on this Friday night, the youngest siblings were getting their No. 16 and No. 20 jerseys retired at Pewaukee, where the legend of the Watt brothers began. Those red-and-white numbers will hang forever next to J.J.'s No. 9, which was retired in 2013.
"You can never take that for granted," Derek said. "We were those kids that were back there, trying to emulate what the high-schoolers were doing on the varsity football team out there.
"Just having fun. Tossing the ball around with your friends. Imagining playing scenarios, fake scenarios. 'Oh, this is the most important play ever! There's only so much time left! Try to throw a touchdown!' Things like that.
"Obviously getting our jerseys retired here is extremely special. Having jerseys out there and whatnot, the support the community showed tonight, it's truly what makes this place special for us."
Pewaukee is a special place for the Watt brothers
The sense of community was strong over the several hours of the event at Pewaukee High School. Hundreds of people filled the home-side stands to hear Derek and T.J. touch on that theme during their speeches. The anecdotes ranged from the humorous, like their mom needing to cook five-egg omelettes in the mornings and then two dinners in the evenings, and also the emotional, like tearfully remembering their late grandfather who was in those same stands for every game and practice.
After the ceremony, all the kids sprinted for autographs. Old Pirates teammates hung out, kicking around old stories. Later at a small news conference there was a group of reporters from the local middle-school newspaper to pepper them with questions.
This is where it all started for the Watts. First, there was J.J., who graduated in 2007 and played at UW from 2008-2010 before becoming a three-time NFL defensive player of the year. He retired after last season.
Then came Derek, who was the 2010 Associated Press player of the year at Pewaukee and graduated in 2011. He also played for the Badgers before finding his niche as a fullback in the NFL. He's currently a free agent after playing for the Chargers and Steelers, were he was teammates with T.J.
T.J. was a tight end, defensive end, quarterback and punter for the Pirates before graduating in 2013. He became a linebacker at UW and has worked his way into being one of the best players in the NFL, being named defensive player of the year in 2021.
"The amount of time that we have spent on that practice field, it's insane," said T.J., nodding toward Pewaukee's practice space. "We really need to sit down and add it up.
"Playing youth sports. My dad was a youth football coach who coached J.J. and Derek, so I grew up taking water to guys. Hitting pass-rush dummies, trying to do anything I could to surround myself with the game of football in this place. Being a Junior Pirate, running out to 'Crazy Train' - I don't know if they still do that but we thought we were the coolest people in the world.
"Then you take it to the high-school level, too. Derek was talking about the 800 up-downs, just the amount of stories and memories that come back over this place. Because we put so much blood, sweat and literal tears into this place."
Pewaukee's retired jerseys also include Chris McIntosh
A football jersey retirement in early May might seem incongruous, but T.J. and Derek wanted to do it together and the busy schedules of NFL players don't leave many open windows.
"T.J. and I have lived our entire lives together," Derek said. "We literally shared a bedroom growing up. We've lived in the same neighborhood the last three years in Pittsburgh.
"We've always done everything together. We train together in the off-season. I wouldn't want it to be with anybody else. Obviously it would have been great if J.J. could have been here."
J.J. had a prior commitment, but he made sure to talk to his brothers before the ceremony.
"Lucky we were able to see him the last few days," T.J. said. "Instrumental in why we are here today. He showed us the blueprint of it all being possible."
Besides the Watts, the only other football jersey retired at Pewaukee is Chris McIntosh's, and the UW athletic director was on hand for the Watts' ceremony.
"We never could have dreamt it," Derek said. "This was a dream."
Watts have deep pride in Pewaukee athletics
The Watts hold those athletes who came before them in high esteem.
"The only thing for us was Pewaukee athletics," T.J. said. "My grandpa would yell at the TV for the Packers to stop running the ball on third down. Like that was pretty much how much NFL we watched.
"We didn't really watch college until J.J. got there. It was Pewaukee athletics. Youth baseball playing together. Youth football. Basketball. We did everything. Ball boys on Friday nights. We couldn't get enough of Pewaukee athletics. Like Derek said, it's not a cliche, we really just wanted to be those guys on Friday nights to wear our jerseys proudly throughout the hall."
The Watts are still invested in Pewaukee athletics, taking pride in the recent state championships by the football and basketball teams.
"One of the kids came up to us and showed his state title ring tonight," T.J. said. "That is so cool. To be able to say that you're a state champion in high school is so awesome and I'm so jealous of it.
"You look up here and you see the banners for basketball and football and Pewaukee just seems like they're always in the mix. Not even in the mix, the cream of the crop. They're just always so successful. It just makes us so proud to be from Pewaukee."
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: T.J. and Derek Watt have their numbers retired at Pewaukee High School
