Tottenham Hotspur beat Burnley F.C. 2-1.
Burnley F.C. part-owner J.J. Watt attempts to raise the spirits of fans as Tottenham Hotspur relegate the team out of the Premier League

JJ Watt (Via Imago)

An athlete understands how painful it is to lose a pivotal game and the frustration that arises from it. J.J. Watt, a former defensive end for the Houston Texans and the Arizona Cardinals, understands the hard work that goes into preparing for an entire NFL season.

At the end of the regular season, when the team fails to make a Super Bowl run, it is disappointing and infuriating.

Watt purchased an ownership stake in Premier League club Burnley F.C. following his retirement in 2022. His football club faced a disastrous defeat at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur and became the second team to be relegated to the EFL Championship.

Despite catching an early lead, the clarets could not hold Hotspur off as goals from Pedro Porro and Micky Van De Ven took them out of contention.

No need to hide disappointment or frustration, it should hurt. Boys made a valiant run of it the last few months, just wasn't enough in the end. Now, we go again in The Championship. Looking to relive these brilliant memories from one year ago. We go together. Up The Clarets!

J.J. Watt was quick to reassure the fans and attempted to lift their spirits

Watt was watching the game live, as it was a crucial game for the football club.

Burnley F.C. has now dropped to the 17th position on the table with one game left to play

The football club has lost 23 of its 37 games so far; it has racked up 25 points and is four points behind Nottingham Forest, who is ranked 17th overall with just one more game left in the season.

JJ Watt

JJ Watt (via IMAGO)
However, even if Burnley does win this game, it will not do much for the club. The team now joins Sheffield United as a franchise that is going to face relegation from their division.

The season went the opposite way than the Clarets had hoped it would. After a remarkable debut year for Vincent Kompany in which they won the championship and made their way to the Premier League, the hopes were high for this squad. The team will now go back and hope to make yet another remarkable run in the championship.

J.J. Watt urged fans to stick with the team and validated their feelings of anger and frustration. The minority stakeholder in the team has been actively involved in the management of the football club. Earlier this season, he took a jibe at the officiating in the league and called them out for being “pretty bad” at handing out decisions.

Watt was not the only NFL player whose football club suffered a setback; Tom Brady, the owner of Birmingham City F.C., faced similar results as well. While the legendary quarterback was getting roasted in Los Angeles, his team got roasted back at home and was relegated to the third tier of English football.

It has not been a pleasant ride for NFL players who have decided to invest in football clubs; they are learning that it is hard to manage teams and that their affiliation with the team does very little for the club apart from garnering social media followings and getting fans into the stadium.