Brian Isaac’s football journey takes him to Mexico
Published 11:00 am Saturday, May 7, 2022
- At center, Brian Isaac played arena football for the Amarillo Venom before COVID hit. He took a four year hiatus from football before stepping back onto the field for the USA Football International team in late April. (Submitted Photo)
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OAXACA, MEXICO — Natchez native and former Bulldog Brian Isaac has had a long winding football career. It has been a journey well documented in the paper, as he played at Co-Lin, UT Martin and an arena football team called Amarillo Venom.
The most recent chapter in his story is an international football experience. Isaac traveled with the USA Football International team to Oaxaca, Mexico, where he helped teach adults football and develop them before the two played each other. It was a fun experience, he said.
Four years had passed from his last time putting on shoulder pads, a helmet and lacing up his football cleats. Some players on the team had trouble with their passports and getting to Oaxaca so he had to play linebacker, he said. It was a moment where he overcame his ego.
“Playing my first game in four years was like a dream come true. I got the chance to play,” Isaac said. “We won an international championship. We won rings, we had fans who looked up to us. It was very exciting getting back into the groove of things.”
His trip to Oaxaca was a learning experience. On the journey he took time to learn Spanish. In the city, the “country boy from Mississippi,” took a taxi for the first time, he said. Aztec ruins were another experience for Isaac.
“”It was amazing,” he said.
Already, he is looking ahead to his next game with the team when they go play at the Tennessee Titans stadium. It is fitting that the man who once lined up against Rico Richardson in practice at Natchez High School back in 2009 will step onto a field he played on.
His hope is to keep playing football and continue to seek more knowledge of the game. In his spare time, Isaac trains his Olde English Bulldogge Camile for dog shows and he is a personal trainer. He is still looking for an opportunity to play football or coach again after stints at Trinity and Ferriday High School.
“I would like to share my knowledge of football. I love coaching and I need to share what I have learned,” he said. “It is all in my brain and I need to release it. I can be a trainer or a coach.”