South Fayette native Justin Watson going for third Super Bowl ring this Sunday
LAS VEGAS (KDKA) - This weekend, Terry and Doug Watson will head to Las Vegas to see their son Justin play in the Super Bowl, something they never would have imagined 10 years ago while watching him lead South Fayette High School to a WPIAL championship.
"I remember thinking 'Jeez, he scored a touchdown at Heinz Field so that was a cool thing," said Justin's father Doug. "We were going crazy in the stands. Just like we do now!"
"Nobody thought he would be an NFL kid," said Justin's high school coach Joe Rossi. "I remember calling his parents and telling him he got an offer to Bucknell and I know Terry and Doug were just thrilled whenever he got his first college offers."
Watson wasn't highly recruited out of high school but signed with the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League school known more for education than football, where he promptly won two league championships.
He was drafted by Tampa Bay in 2018 and won his first Super Bowl when Tom Brady came to town two years later.
He signed with Kansas City last year where he won another Super Bowl and has a chance to win a third ring on Sunday.
Not bad for the "unknown kid" from Bridgeville.
"You have to pinch yourself," Doug Watson said. "You're sitting there thinking about your son on the field with Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. It's just a surreal experience."
The Watson family will be in attendance on Sunday night, already their third trip to the world's biggest sporting event.
"Back when the Steelers were winning Super Bowls regularly, I never thought I would get to even one," said Watson. "To be on the field after the game is another thing – with the confetti flying, it's just not something I'd ever imagined."
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"You hear some people say 'I'm tired of the Kansas City Chiefs being there but not from South Fayette," said Rossi. "I want them there every year until he moves on somewhere else. To see Justin follow his career over these last 10 years, it couldn't have happened to a better kid."
Over the past 10 years, Justin Watson has won six rings: one WPIAL and one state championship in high school, two Ivy League titles, and two Super Bowls - all before his 28th birthday.
So you can see why people down in South Fayette feel good about his chances to win another one on Sunday.