J.J. Watt is cutting out the middle man.
The Houston Texans injured star defensive end is finding a new way to interact with fans: giving his phone number away to directly chat with them.
On Tuesday night, Watt posted a one-minute long video to his Twitter, asking his fans, supporters, critics, whoever to text his phone number, 262-404-3664.
Text me.
262.404.3664 pic.twitter.com/AglhUZ1XQC— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) November 20, 2019
“I thought it was interesting, so I figure I’m going to try it,” said Watt. “I’ve never done it before, I have no experience with it. So you’re going to have to bear with me. I’m not sure if it’s going to be awesome. I’m not sure if I’m going to get to anybody. So I’m going to give it a shot.”
There were fans who were willing to send Watt a message, and many confirms the authenticity of Watt’s response via text.
I can confirm @JJWatt is responding to some of these. I just saw it with my own eyes — and heard an 'Oh my God!' scream — here in the newsroom. #khou11 https://t.co/oW6RnOJcQu
— Jason Bristol (@JBristolKHOU) November 20, 2019
Can confirm, JJ Watt will actually respond to texts if you’re lucky enough 🤯🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/Kvgad4Pz0n
— Tim Murphy (@tjmurph69) November 20, 2019
@JJWatt RESPONDED! @Brewers @WISN12News pic.twitter.com/1NP5F6vbxH
— Adrienne Pedersen (@AdriennePed) November 20, 2019
The mind can only imagine so many things. Those inclined to send the three-time Defensive Player of the Year a message can do so at 262-404-3664. A an auto-generated link from Community.com from Watt will be sent asking folks to submit their name, phone, date of birth, and email.
Given the volume of texts Watt received, don’t hold your breath on getting a response.
Responded to a couple hundred texts already, but the inbox is currently sitting at 25,000+ 😂😂😂
I’m gonna continue to try it out to see how it goes and see if you guys like it as a more direct way to interact.
One thing I can say is I truly appreciate all the kind words. 🙏🏼
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) November 20, 2019