Talk to the folks in Vineland, N.J., and they’ll tell you that the best way to understand Isiah Pacheco is to understand that he could have left.
Maybe it wouldn’t have changed anything. Maybe they’d still be watching from afar. Maybe they’d still be swooning over a Super Bowl, falling in love with the kid they call Pop. Maybe they’d still be thinking about that day eight months ago when this crazy journey began, when an entire town’s worth of teachers and coaches and neighbors cycled through the Double Eagle Saloon with hugs and well wishes and assurances that he’d get his chance soon. Maybe he’d have still gotten a parade and a key to the city.
It doesn’t really matter now. After all, he stayed.
