Live from New York, J.J. Watt took center stage.
Roughly 1,300 hours away and just shy of 24 hours from the Super Bowl, the Texans All-Pro hosted Saturday Night Live.
After introducing himself and giving a little family history, Watt's opening monologue concluded with him admitting he'd gladly trade his hosting gig for a spot in the Super Bowl.
"I am so excited to be here hosting Saturday Night Live, my name is J.J. Watt and I play defensive end for the Houston Texans," Watt began. "You see the Texans are a football team; football is the sport with the helmets. I'm sorry guys, I didn't think I'd need to explain that, but the writers backstage seemed super confused, so there you go.
"Football is kind of the family business. I have two brothers who are also in the NFL; our names are J.J., T.J. and, for some reason, Derek. I don't know if that means my parents loved him more or loved him less, but it definitely means it's different.
"As well all know, tomorrow is of course the Super Bowl. Don't get too excited, I'm not in it. I didn't get to play. But I choose to look on the bright side of things, if I was in the Super Bowl, I probably couldn't be here hosting tonight. And would I really trade hosting SNL for the Super Bowl? Yes, I definitely would. Definitely would. Actually I still would, so if you guys want to call me, I'll leave right now. But since that's not gonna happen, I just want to say to all the players in the game, congratulations, you guys have truly earned it. And I mean this from the bottom of my heart, I hope it ends in a tie. But I'm in New York City tonight! So let's party!"
Continuing in the comedic cleat-steps taken on SNL starting with Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton back in 1977 and continuing along with the likes of Walter Payton, Deion Sanders, Tom Brady, Peyton and Eli Manning, and others, Watt cast aside his shoulder pads for an array of costume changes.
Watt, the first professional athlete since UFC Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey in 2016 to host the iconic sketch comedy and variety show, was able to show his versatility on Saturday night. The Texans pass rusher's range didn't come in terms of rushing the passer and stopping the run, but a cavalcade of comedic skits.
Watt's leadoff skit saw him playing a faux-Frozen II's Kristoff before his second act saw him in his familiar football pads.
In a parody of the movie Rudy called Robbie, Watt, donning a Notre Dame No. 99 jersey, didn't follow suit with his teammates who wanted the underdog Robbie to get in the game and objected with an expletive-bleeped rant.
Thereafter, Watt took on the task of a birds-and-the-bees talk with his son that went off the rails. He endorsed "Olay Eye Black" and was later a Bachelor-esque "The Pilot Hunk."
From there, Watt was himself once again, rattling off a host of sound bytes for an upcoming "Madden 21" in which his comments were hardly that of a successful multi-time Pro Bowler. And finally he wrapped it all up as a black-tie bigfoot and a very adult pizza-delivery guy.
As he signed off and thanked everyone, Watt -- donning a Kobe Bryant jersey -- crumpled up a piece of paper and took a trademark Bryant fadeway shot to sign off.
A five-time All-Pro, Watt might not have been as at home at 30 Rockefeller Plaza as he is on the gridiron, but he delivered some laughs live on Saturday night.
