Sydney Brown was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles with great expectations, not from just the fans and the organization, but from himself. That attitude is a part of his DNA and has allowed him to persevere in situations many others would have struggled or folded.
But Sydney and his family aren’t built like that. They have been fighting for as long as they can remember, and the NFL is just another hurdle.
Early Life in Canada
Sydney and his identical twin, Chase, were born to Raechel Brown when she was 18 and still in high school. Their mother, Raechel, described the transition from being someone who couldn’t keep their room clean to becoming a single mom of two. And while it was difficult, she also enjoyed it.
“We did not have a lot, but we did have a lot of fun.”
They resided in London Ontario, Canada where most boys interested in sports played hockey. But hockey is expensive and requires pricey equipment, etc., so once again she transitioned. She heard about a football league nearby and enrolled both of her sons. It wasn’t hockey, but Raechel was a figure skater and understood the athletic desire to play sports, giving her boys somewhere to release their athleticism. And while football was foreign to Raechel, “It’s just not something kids from our part of the world get to experience.”
The boy’s father, Darren Isaac, had played in the Canadian Football League for 3 seasons. Not surprisingly, the twins were both good, right from the start. They were also extremely competitive. Not only on the field but with one another. Eagles safety Sydney Brown described being a twin as having everything they do become a competition. Their immediate success was unprecedented for kids who had never played the sport. The early football coaches of the twins described their desire and will as something they had never seen before.
Both were workout warriors and very determined. The twin brothers did not lose a game during their 8 years of playing football together. The Browns were riding high as they entered their teens and high school years.
Then everything changed.
Illness
Their mom gave birth to a healthy baby girl, Mya, but after she was born, Raechel started to get sick. She was discovered to have ITP and had to undergo blood transfusions while fighting the disease.
Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is a type of platelet disorder. In ITP, your blood does not clot as it should because you have a low platelet count. Platelets are tiny blood cells that are made in the bone marrow. When you are injured, platelets stick together to form a plug that seals your wound.
Tired and unable to work, Raechel was physically not the same woman the kids had grown up with. Adding more stress and sadness to the situation, her father passed away during this time as well. While Raechel was fighting and recovering, the twins did their best to become caretakers for their sister, but the loss of income took its toll. The family lost all of their possessions and their home.
“I don’t know if it’s lower you can go than homeless with 3 kids.”
The family moved into a shelter. If outsiders thought the twins or their mother had a drive and desire to succeed before, these events only added gasoline to the fire. Raechel was determined to give her sons the best chances in life that she could, even if it meant that her boys would be over a thousand miles away.
They knew that to continue playing and learning at a high level, they needed to be in an area that would take them far from home. So, with the assistance of Canadian football talent scout Justin Dillon, they applied to a private school in America.
St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in Bradenton, Florida.
The United States
The twins were accepted, and shortly after, the family drove 1,300 miles so that the boys could continue their education while playing football and gain more recognition. Sydney and Chase stayed in the U.S., but the rest of the family had to return to Canada. Raechel mentioned the feelings she had as she was driving away.
“I’m going to shove these kids back in the car” (and go back home with them).
But she fought through the pain and did what she thought would be best for her boys.
“It was the most difficult thing I’ve ever done. It was totally unnatural, leaving your kids in another country with people you don’t know. I cried the whole way back.”
Sydney and Chase were about to embark on a life in another country and live with a family they had never met. Saint Stephen’s football coach, Tod Creneti, had called his friend Phil Yates and explained he had two very talented football players from Canada joining the team and that they needed a host family.
Phil and his wife Karen agreed to welcome the boys into their home. Karen stated that “There really wasn’t any question in our minds, but I remember lying in bed that Friday night thinking, ‘Is this really going to happen?’” The boys moved in and enrolled in classes at the school, and while they were becoming acclimated in Florida, Raechel and their sister struggled financially back in Canada.
“Tuition or paying the rent was the choice. So we paid tuition.”
Subsequently, she lost her home and moved back into the shelter. Protecting her boys, as always, she hid this from her sons.
“It was not something I really told them. I just said they couldn’t come home.”
Sydney and Chase were struggling a bit as well. Upon their acceptance, it was identified that they needed help to advance their education. They attacked learning the way they did their passion on the football field. Their host, Karen, was amazed at their dedication and strength. It was obvious the boys would take advantage of the gift they had been given.
In addition to focusing on their studies, it was evident that they also needed work regarding football. Despite being so good on the field, they had been succeeding without having been taught many play structures or schemes. The possibilities of how much greater they could become were endless.
And a lot of that potential was realized right away!
Once Sydney and Chase joined the team, Saint Stephens didn’t lose a football game. They won 22 straight games and also won two Florida I-A championships. The brothers were succeeding in their studies and football, while their mother was doing the same with her health.
She had gotten a job at a local factory and a new home for her and their sister. Things were going well for the entire family. The boys finished high school and headed back to Canada. Sydney and Chase’s high school accolades did not go unnoticed and their stay in Canada would be short-lived.
College Football
Sydney went to Illinois where he started all 10 games as a true freshman in 2018. A role he kept for the rest of his college career. While Chase went to Western Michigan in 2018, then transferred to Illinois in 2019, joining Sydney. The twins were riding high until adversity reared its head.
A year after his brother joined him at college, the pandemic started. The family could no longer see one another due to the closed borders. Throughout the 2020 COVID shutdown, the brothers worked out together. They each played in the 7-game-shortened season as well.
Both brothers excelled on the field but felt the emptiness of not seeing their family. When the vaccine was released, the travel restrictions were lifted. Their mother, Raechel, was able to come to see them for one of their last games in 2022.
Their Florida “host family” also came to watch them play. Everyone saw how much progress the boys had developed in their game. NFL Scouts around the league noticed as well.
Draft Day Weekend
Both brothers were both selected in the 2023 NFL draft. Sydney in the 3rd round to the Philadelphia Eagles and Chase to the Cincinnati Bengals in the 5th. Sydney believes how he and Chase were raised led to their ascent to the NFL.
“I think the relationship that my brother and I shared really propelled us into the position I’m in now”, Brown said. “And definitely coming from the background we did, it definitely gave us a reason to push harder, especially with a family that I’m coming from and what they did to sacrifice to put me in the position that I am now. I guess you kind of look at it and you look at the story and where we came from and you can say, yeah, it wasn’t probable that they’d be successful or make a mark at the NFL, especially being from Canada”
Eagles vs Bengals
Two years into their career, both brothers have made an impact with their respective teams. Chase has rushed for 327 yards and 3 TDs for the Bengals so far in 2024, and after a promising rookie season, Sydney has returned from his injury last season in time to face his brother this week in Cincinnati.
The brothers share a deep bond, including their competitive nature. But only one will have bragging rights over the other after Sunday’s game.
As always, Thank you for reading
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Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
