In his rookie year, Isiah Pacheco is champion of the Super Bowl.
And Puerto Rico is right to celebrate that conquest, since Pacheco, 22, is of Puerto Rican descent and is very aware of his roots. In fact, Pacheco played yesterday with a Puerto Rican flag -along with the United States- on his helmet for the Kansas City Chiefs.
As if that were not enough, the running back contributed to the Chiefs’ victory with 15 carries, 76 yards and a touchdown. Kansas City beat the Philadelphia Eagles in a thrilling game played in Arizona, 38-35.
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Pacheco was born and raised in New Jersey. His parents are Julio Pacheco and Felicia Cannon. In the activities prior to the Super Bowl, Pacheco – before questions from the press – spoke about his relationship with Puerto Rico and specified that he has family on the island.
“My grandmother is from Puerto Rico, her house is in Puerto Rico. So they’ll be watching the Super Bowl in Puerto Rico. We have family and friends in Puerto Rico,” Pacheco said last week.
Inspiration in family tragedy
Pacheco rose to stardom with the Chiefs after going through personal tragedies, losing two of his brothers.
His older brother, Travoise, was murdered at age 29 on January 10, 2016 in Bridgeton, New Jersey. Then in September 2017, his sister Celeste was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head in September 2017.
“(My sister) was like a best friend… My brother, if he saw me here, he would be surprised. He encouraged me to play football when I was a kid and never got a chance to see me play here. Having the opportunity to play helps me a lot to not worry about the tragedies that happened. It makes me want to go stronger,” Pacheco said in an interview published by NJ True Jersey in 2019.
After the Super Bowl, Pacheco celebrated with his family on the field.
Did not make it to the NFL as a star
Pacheco played football at the high school level in New Jersey, at Vineland. There were several universities that tried to scholarship him, but he finally chose to play at Rutgers. There he played for four seasons, earning the attention of NFL scouts.
But in the rookie draft, he wasn’t a high pick. He was ultimately taken by the Chiefs in the seventh round, picking 251st overall. In the regular season, he took advantage of opportunities provided by head coach Andy Reid, appearing in 17, 11 of them starts. He had 830 yards with five touchdowns.
Pacheco wasn’t the only player of Puerto Rican descent active in the Super Bowl. The Eagles play defensive back Robert Quinn, the brother of Olympic gold medalist Jasmine Camacho-Quinn. Quinn did not record stats for the Eagles.
