Tiger to Roar Overseas in World Football Competition
Q & A with Yonsei Brigham Walker, the only Princetonian and APA on the U.S. team.
It was a purely pragmatic decision made in elementary school: let sports pay the bills for his higher education. So young Brigham Walker shot pucks and scored goals before ultimately settling on football in the eighth grade. Even back then, his athleticism was evident.
"Brig was very fast," said Brad and Debbie Walker about their son. "I nicknamed him the 'Asian Flew' but it never stuck!"
His natural talent, intelligence and hard work eventually lead Brigham to Princeton University where he fought back from a lower back injury to help his team last season win their first Ivy League championship in over a decade.
Now 22 and with a bachelor's degree in molecular biology, Brigham is poised for international stardom as one of the 45 members of the American team to compete in the Third International Federation of American Football (IFAF) World Championship of American Football July 7-15 in Kawasaki, Japan.
The Princeton Tiger's outside linebacker, who also finished out his college football career last season, was nominated for the IFAF World Championship by his head coach. He underwent a rigorous selection process to become the only Princetonian and the only Asian Pacific American player on the roster to represent the United States.
"One thing about Brig is that he is very hard working and relentless in his pursuit of a goal," said his parents.
Pacific Citizen: Describe your first experience with football. Was it prophetic of the successful football career you would have?
Brigham Walker: I wouldn't say that I've had any prophetic experiences with football, but my earliest 'major' experience came my senior year of high school. My team won the league championship in a whirlwind game with four changes of leads in the last four minutes. I caught two key passes in the wettest and most attended game of our season, including a touchdown and a fourth-down Hail Mary. As the game ended and the crowd rushed the field, my emotions went on overload. Experiencing this euphoria was the first time that I comprehended how all the hard work, dedication, and teamwork could converge into one great feeling.
PC: It seems you've always been a natural athlete. Why football over soccer or any other sport you participated in?
BW: At some point in elementary school I decided that I wanted to earn a full-ride college scholarship. Playing sports appeared to be the best route to pursue that goal. I started playing football in the eighth grade and realized that it is one of the few sports that major recruiting occurred with high school teams. So it initially was a fairly arbitrary decision out of convenience, but through experiencing the game I came to intrinsically love and respect it.
PC: Did your parents always encourage your athletic endeavors as much as your academics?
BW: My parents offered my sister and me an incredible amount of support in both academic and athletic avenues. I think that it was all part of them trying to raise us with a broad range of great experiences. And between coaching our teams and ensuring that we were on top of our schoolwork, they tried their best to give us a well-rounded, 'total' education.
PC: Talk about your decision to pass up playing for Oregon State, a Pac-10 school, to go to Princeton. Was it a difficult decision?
BW: It was such a difficult decision for me. After choosing football as the sport that I wanted to focus on, playing at the highest level and getting my education paid for was a high priority. However, going to Princeton also felt like a once in a lifetime opportunity. By playing there, I figured that the practical worse case scenario would be that I'd graduate from an Ivy League institution.
Two weeks after signing day, Dennis Erickson, the then head coach of the OSU Beavers (the school that I was most likely to play for) left to coach in the National Football League leaving the team's fate up in the air. I also ended up having back surgery after my freshman year, which wasn't 'good,' but reinforced my faith that I'd made the right decision.
PC: Your career stats continually improved through the years at Princeton. What would you say was the defining moment of your college football career?
BW: The defining moment of my college football career probably was hearing our football alumni president give a speech at my junior fall camp about what we players were actually playing for. We weren't playing just for the love of the game, or even just for the team, but for all those who enabled us to suit up in the first place. That includes the alumni, fans, and importantly, the coaches. It was the time that I felt like I was playing for their livelihoods more than for my own love of the game.
PC: You helped to lead Princeton to its Ivy League championship last season. Your parents and grandmother were there at the game. How much did it mean to you to have them there?
BW: Yes, my parents, sister and grandmother were at the title-clinching game. It certainly meant a lot to share that experience with them, especially since we're a West Coast family and it's difficult for them to all come to a game in the Northeast. Winning a championship was the only real athletic goal that I had had coming to Princeton and to end on such a positive note with family to celebrate with was simply incredible.
Obachan (Grandma) mostly cried tears of joy for me, acknowledging that the road wasn't easy.
PC: Is there more pressure to compete at the IFAF world championship than at a regular Princeton game? How will you prepare for the game mentally and physically?
BW: It's different. Having no prior in-person experience with the coaches or players, I feel a bit like an incoming college freshman, which is something different from how I felt entering my senior season. I approached each game at Princeton with the utmost seriousness and worked to always play at my peak level, but I do feel some added pride and responsibility to do well while bearing the USA name.
PC: This competition will take you to Japan. Have you been there before?
BW: I've never been there. My sister and I had actually planned on going to Japan this summer for a number of years as she also graduated this spring from high school. USA Football has been kind enough to let me stay an extra 10 days. During that time, my family and I will travel to Kyoto, Kobe, Osaka, Hiroshima, and my great-grandparents homeland of Yamaguchi-Ken. At some point, I'd also love to climb Mt. Fuji.
PC: You've recently graduated with a degree in molecular biology. What are your plans for the future? Is football involved?
BW: Football is not involved with my future plans. I'm looking to leverage my molecular biology background in some capacity in the health field.
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