The two murders that forged Isiah Pacheco's star: "I never thought I would have this success"

• Chronicle Mahomes and Rihanna give the 'lame' Super Bowl to the Kansas City Chiefs

Among the heroes of Kansas City's victory over Philadelphia (38-35) in the Super Bowl, there was one who did not paint anything among so many

.

There was, of course,

, a 27-year-old legend who, if he decided to retire today, would already enter any debate about the greatest

ever, just as his partner

only argues with

for the throne of the game.

.

They were accompanied by

, the walrus-like genius who for years was told he would never win a ring as head coach and already has two.

Even

, whose terrific (and long) performance gave the Chiefs time to turn everything around at halftime, played his part.

And next to the luminaries, a boy whom hardly anyone knew a few months ago:

, 23, the rookie who runs angry.

So angry.

In 2016, 29-year-old

was stabbed to death in the housing estate where he lived.

A few months later, an ex-boyfriend killed

, 23, with a shot to the head.

Their little brother, Isiah, was then a teenager of Hispanic origin (Puerto Rican and Dominican) who stood out at his New Jersey institute.

The double drama marked his style of play, as he himself explained in the hours before the Super Bowl of his consecration (76 yards and a touchdown in 15 runs): "I think of my brothers every day, it took me a lot to overcome what happened to them. However, the tragedy helped me understand that I shouldn't run away from my problems, but run towards them and face them. I don't give a yard for lost for them."

His game is exactly that.

In an era where pure running backs have lost importance due to the dictatorship of passing, Pacheco looks like he stepped out of 1980. He is not a great receiver, although he defends himself, nor does he dance around the line waiting for a hole to be opened or to be able to go out through the abroad.

No. He charges, he does not stop moving his legs even if they grab him between four and, more times than not, he ends up advancing where he did not fit.

no one believed in him

It's curious that the style that has made the Chiefs a much more dangerous team, striking you through the air and exhausting you on the ground, is the same one that almost knocked him out of the NFL.

In the last draft, Pacheco was chosen in the seventh round, the last one, after a lackluster career at Rutgers University.

In a system where college coaches are selling all their players as if they were the reincarnation of

or

to raise the status of their program based on high picks, yours,

, doesn't even He pretends, "Honestly, I never thought I'd have this success."

But he adds: "However, he invited everyone to come and see him: he is the toughest player I have ever coached."

Andy Reid

had fewer doubts and already in the preseason, when he was not even expected to enter the final squad, he placed him on a par with his starter until then, Edwards-Helaire, a first round of 2020: he devoured him in a matter of weeks and the rest is history.

"He is the Duracell bunny, he has infinite energy, he gives his life in every workout. That's Isiah."

"I love you, brother," Mahomes yelled at him as soon as the game was over, while Pacheco laughed and danced.

"The joy that he transmits with everything that has happened is incredible," he added later.

That's Isiah Pacheco: the unexpected star who runs angry, but already lives happily.

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