The Story of the Houston Texans

The Story of the Houston Texans — page 3

The Story of the Houston Texans — page 4 — Indianapolis Colts defensive ends J J Watt and Whitney Mercilus DREAM BIG WORK HARD Many professional athletes establish establish charitable foundations J J Watt wanted to start a foundation while he was still in college He had grown up in a town where most kids played after-school sports But in other areas schools could not afford equipment for sports teams The Justin J Watt Foundation would provide funding to those schools to support athletic programs Setting up the foundation was difficult Watt had to make sure he followed many rules But he believed in what he was doing As of 2019 the foundation had contributed more than 4 million to after-school sports programs 9

The Story of the Houston Texans — page 5 — Indianapolis Colts Watt had a great college football career The Houston Texans selected him in the first round of the 2011 National Football League NFL Draft He immediately became a starter He played defensive end At the end of the season Watt was named to the All-Rookie team He was even better in 2012 He was voted Defensive Player of the Year From 2012 through 2015 he was named first-team All-Pro and selected to play in the Pro Bowl He won Defensive Player of the Year again in 2014 and 2015 Watt even played some offense In 2014 he caught three touchdown passes Early in 2016 Watt suffered a back injury It ended his season He was ready to play when training camp began in 2017 But in Week 5 a broken leg again cut his season short Fans missed their hero on the field But Watt continued to make an impact Hurricane Harvey had slammed Houston in late August It was one of the most destructive storms in United States history Watt pledged 100,000 to help out He encouraged others to donate too At first he wanted to raise 200,000 That took just two hours So Watt kept increasing the goal He also urged people to volunteer their time Everything is bigger in Texas Watt said Please keep sharing Please keep donating Every little bit helps His relief fund J J Watt 10

The Story of the Houston Texans — page 6 — Indianapolis Colts Andre Johnson Wide Receiver Texans seasons 2003 14 Height 6-foot-3 Weight 219 pounds GRIDIRON GREATS BIG-PLAY GUY Andre Johnson was the kind of receiver teams dream about In 2008 and 2009 he had back-to-back seasons with more than 100 receptions He amassed a staggering 1,575 and 1,569 receiving yards He finished his career as the Texans all-time leading receiver Now he heads the Andre Johnson Foundation It benefits underprivileged kids and promotes a healthy well-rounded lifestyle My foundation is committed to working with kids in single-parent homes and helping them become responsible educated citizens Johnson said I grew up in a single-parent family and I just want to help people who grew up in the same situation that I did 11

5

PAGE 5 OF 43

›

The only kids' eBook subscription service that offers thousands of high-quality books from well known publishers like HarperCollins, National Geographic and others.

JavaScript Required

Whoops! We're sorry but Epic doesn't work properly without JavaScript enabled. Check your web browser's settings to make sure it's enabled.