A childhood dream of Houston Texans defensive J.J. Watt didn’t end up quite as he planned at training camp on Monday, Aug. 5.
The Texans and the Green Bay Packers are doing two joint training camp practices in Wisconsin ahead of their NFL preseason game on Thursday, the first time since 2005 that the Packers are hosting another NFL team for training camp.
“I literally dreamt about this as a kid.”
Hear from J.J. Watt. pic.twitter.com/uE2hEMuqcR
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) August 6, 2019
With the practice comes an age-old Green Bay tradition: riding young fans’ bikes to the practice field. Children line up with their bicycles to wait for the players, who each pick a bike to ride into practice—cartoon characters, colorful paint and all.
Wisconsin native Watt grew up as a Packers fan and said he has been dreaming of participating in this event since he was a kid.
J.J. Watt wanted to participate in the iconic Packers bike ride, but his bike was too small. So he got an upgrade ???? @JJWatt (via @ReinerOlivia/@LilySZhao) pic.twitter.com/cuTa1uP6NY
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) August 5, 2019
But as Watt—who stands 6 feet, 5 inches tall and weighs about 288 pounds—was riding his tiny bike to the field on Monday, the seat suddenly broke. He decided to improvise and carry it the rest of the way.
Jason Watson of CNN affiliate WISN captured the moment on camera.
But there’s a happy ending: Watt confirmed that he’d bought the boy a replacement bike. The child will also have an amazing story to tell.
