A few years ago, Victor Cruz wasn’t just a fan favourite – he was becoming an icon in the greatest city on Earth.
New York has never really been a football town, not with the storied Yankees on 161st Street and the city’s historic love affair with basketball.
It doesn’t help either that New York’s football teams play their games in New Jersey.
But the appetite for pigskin has always been there. And at the beginning of 2012, with the ageing Yankees beginning their decline and the Mets, Jets and Knicks busy being the Mets, Jets and Knicks, the Super Bowl champion Giants were the toast of the Big Apple.
Cruz, somehow, became the title team’s most popular player. Eli Manning was the most respected, and probably the most beloved, but very little is cool about Eli Manning, outside of his calm demeanour in fourth quarters. Justin Tuck was more revered by loyal fans and Jason Pierre-Paul more so by experts, but both played on the less glamorous side of the ball. Cruz, on the other hand, had it all.
He was an underdog, an undrafted free agent, in a town obsessed with narrative. A slot receiver who ran fearlessly over the middle, he was tough, which resonated with the city that held the ’90s Knicks so close to its heart. And he had pace, electricity and swagger – which counted for plenty under the bright lights of Manhattan.
As much as anything, he had salsa. He played with verve, and his trademark celebratory dance in the end zone became iconic. On a team that could have been defined by the ‘aw shucks’ quality of Manning or Tom Coughlin, Cruz gave the team its spark and its character.
When Cruz went down midway through the 2014 season, Odell Beckham Jr carried on his legacy and took it much, much further. Beckham is the perfection of Cruz and then some, with his teammate’s speed and swagger, plus a few added extra-terrestrial ingredients.
The shame of Beckham’s career so far is that just as his star ascended, Cruz’s was swallowed up by the Philadelphia night. Ever since, Beckham’s had nobody on the team worthy of sharing his spotlight. He’s had to do it all, and when a wide receiver has to do it all you end up with a 6-10 record. (Click to Tweet)Just ask Calvin Johnson.
That’s why in an inevitably loaded NFL weekend, which saw the Raiders signal their intent, the Colts, Cardinals, Rams and Falcons fail to signal theirs, and the Patriots remind us that it’s still their league no matter how hard the NFL tries to make it for them, one of the most resonant, perfect moments was Victor Cruz catching a game-winning touchdown pass from Manning, in a manner reminiscent of his touchdown grab in Super Bowl 46, doing his salsa celebration, and having Odell Beckham Jr right there next to him, taking the snap.
While his stat-line was hardly prolific – four catches for 34 yards and that touchdown – Cruz looked like himself out there. He broke hard from the line of scrimmage, darted around and found space like it was 2012, and bounced back up off the ground with haste and attitude like he always did up until that night in 2014.
There’s a good chance that Sunday afternoon was the high point of Cruz’s season. Slot receivers so dependent on their speed and release typically don’t endure after two seasons on the sidelines, approaching age 30. But that’s okay. Cruz had himself a moment that seemed impossible as recently as a few weeks ago, when reports surfaced that he was dealing with even more injury setbacks in the preseason.
Even in a league obsessed with accumulation, numbers and sustained results, one perfect night that never should have been still counts for plenty.
And if it ends up only being a prelude to what’s to come, then the Giants could be a force. Beckham was kept quiet by his standards in Dallas – aside from one 45-yard beauty – but we know of his greatness, and we know that it’s only a matter of time before he turns up the volume again. He may go for 400 yards against that New Orleans secondary this week.
Sterling Shepard comes well hyped and made a fine debut, making a superb catch in the end zone for his first ever touchdown. Shane Vereen is one of the game’s best pass-catchers out of the backfield, and he rounds out a receiving corps that could be dominant.
The offensive line, a headache in recent years, held up, and created valuable running lanes for Rashad Jennings with the game on the line. The revamped defence, while hardly dominant – failing to register a sack, interception or forced fumble – held firm and avoided the farcical errors that have come to define the Giants D.
Holding firm against Dak Prescott and putting up 20 points against that Cowboys defence isn’t exactly a portent of greatness, but the Giants eked out a victory in circumstances where last year they would have contrived to somehow spew out a loss.
Their season has started on the right foot, and in a weak division proper footing is all you need to make the playoffs.
Victor Cruz, hopefully, will be a part of that march. And if he isn’t, well, he’ll always have Dallas.
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