“Guys, good morning, honored to be here, was fortunate to be a part of the first-ever playoff team, first-ever playoff win in Houston, but I mean, I have to believe that’s surpassed by being the first-ever guest on 95.7 The Fan,” Watt said after he was introduced on the station’s morning show Payne & Pendergast.
Watt’s appearance on local radio comes just two weeks after CBS announced the former Houston Texans star would move from its No. 2 team with Ian Eagle into the No. 1 spot with Nantz, another Houston legend.
Watt and Nantz spoke publicly for the first time about the change at CBS Sports’ annual NFL Media Day on Tuesday, but Watt was able to expand on his thoughts Thursday morning with Seth Payne and Sean Pendergast, who also had Roger Clemens and Rudy Tomjanovich as guests on their first day on FM.
“It’s not the circumstances you want it to happen under, but I am extremely, extremely excited about this opportunity,” Watt said in his 20-minute appearance. “I mean, Jim Nantz is a Hall of Famer, a legend, a Houston legend obviously and we’ve had that connection for a long time. It’s an honor to be a part of it and I can’t wait to get started.”
Watt said he, Nantz and sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson did a practice game together Monday and it “went great,” so they will be ready to go for Week 1 when they have the Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings matchup. CBS will have its new No. 2 team Ian Eagle and Ross Tucker on the Texans’ opener against the Buffalo Bills.
“We’ve been in constant contact, me, Jim, Tracy, the whole crew just to get everything ready because the No. 1 most important thing is just the chemistry, the camaraderie and the comfortability,” Watt said, “because we want that to come through for the fans as they’re watching the game, just to feel like it’s them sitting on the couch with two of their buddies, one who just happens to be Jim Nantz, one of the most legendary announcers of all time and the other one me who hopefully can bring some knowledge and also entertainment to the game for them.”
Watt rarely leaves any doubt about his entertainment factor, even proving it on his local radio hit when a listener messaged the show with a story about moving furniture at Watt’s house and having to convince the 6-foot-5 man, who was 288 pounds in his playing days, that he didn’t need to help. Watt laughed at the memory and said he was in the same situation just earlier this week when he hired some guys to move his weight room.
“I don’t now how to handle myself in those situations,” Watt said. “You hire somebody to move your stuff for you and what am I gonna do? No offense to the guys, I’m bigger than them. I’m standing here watching these guys move my stuff and I’m just like twiddling my thumbs while these guys are grinding and sweating and I’m like, OK, as a human being, I can’t just stand here and watch, so yeah, of course, I’m going to jump in.”