It’s amazing how the worst brings out the best in most people.

Hurricane Harvey may go down as the biggest storm in U.S. history and, just as with Katrina almost 12 years ago to the day in New Orleans, the city of Houston is seemingly getting America’s best shot from grass roots heroism.

J.J. Watt, the Houston Texans star defensive end, wanted to do something and thought he could maybe spur people into giving $200,000 through an amateur video he sent out over social media. As of Tuesday night, people washed away Watts’ goal and had donated five million dollars.

While the President used his trip to Texas as a phony photo op, people from Watt and other NFL players to teams and athletes from all pro sports have pledged from one million to ten million dollars with sincere efforts to help a city overcome the worst rainfall and flooding our nation’s history.

The Houston Astros’ three-game series against Tampa Bay was moved to the Rays’ home field, where every dollar from ticket sales, concessions, merchandise and parking went to the relief effort. Astros players, who hold a commanding lead in the American League West, said they played more for the people back home than they did the pennant race. The Cardinals’ Matt Carpenter pledged $10,000 for every homer he hit and was matched by teammates and his team.

Watt’s campaign was an incredible one-person effort and could have spiraled from his part in a popular Gatorade commercial where the theme was success can be a by-product of failure and hard-earned victory from devastating defeat. Watt’s example was starting out as a college football walk-on. Michael Jordan got cut from his high school team as a sophomore. Anthony Rizzo joined the lovable losers as a Cub. Serena Williams lost in the most famous upset in the history of woman’s tennis and the Falcons’ Matt Ryan walked off the field after blowing the biggest Super Bowl lead ever.

Maybe that commercial resonated so with people who saw it that they took Watt’s plea seriously and got the ball rolling from $200,000 to more than $5 million from those who never saw it. Once again, the human spirit is prevailing in Houston.

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