PHOENIX — Kansas City rookie running back Isiah Pacheco had come down a little from the high of reaching the Super Bowl and started to reflect on the tragic events he experienced in his life.
It was late last week, a few days before the team was flying here that Pacheco started feeling overwhelmed.
When Pacheco was in high school in Vineland, New Jersey, his brother and sister were killed within 20 months of each other. Pacheco will have 13 family members in attendance for Super Bowl LVII on Sunday against the Eagles, but he couldn’t help but think about who wouldn’t be there.
“It all hit me at once,” Pacheco said. “I had to soak it all in because I’ve been running from it and running from it. I had to soak it in. I called my parents. I’m proud of myself. I tend to stay so hard on myself and not soak it all in. During times like that you have to relieve the distress.”
Pacheco was 15 when his older brother Travoise Cannon was stabbed to death. He was 17 when his sister Celeste Cannon was murdered by a gunshot. Pacheco described his sister as his “best friend” and his brother as the person who “encouraged” him to play football.
Those tragedies taught Pacheco how to be resilient. Three days after his sister’s death, Pacheco ran for 222 yards to lead Vineland to a win. He termed his mental toughness “off the charts.” It has carried him through four years at Rutgers and into the NFL.
On Sunday, the seventh-round pick will be Kansas City’s lead back in the biggest game of his life.
“Those times helped me become the man I am today,” Pacheco said. “There’s guys nowadays they choose the easy route. I didn’t want to take the easy route. I wanted to go and build a name for myself and my family. I wanted to stay home in New Jersey and represent New Jersey. I didn’t want to transfer. I knew I didn’t want to be a number. I wanted to be a name that would always be remembered.”
Pacheco could really make a name for…
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