Some players have short, mediocre careers. Some have long, legendary careers. But some have careers that burn brightly, like a candle only to be extinguished much too soon. As a New York Giants fan growing up in the early 2010s, there was one player who won my admiration and has maintained it to this day: Victor Cruz.
Before going pro, Cruz played at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass). Cruz’s path to success was a difficult one. At the beginning of his college career, he struggled to successfully combine his college studies with his football career, and was twice sent home from UMass for academic reasons. After righting the ship and finally becoming eligible to play in 2007, Cruz never looked back. He finished his career at UMass with 131 catches ranking him fourth on the all-time UMass receptions list, despite the fact that he did not start a game until his junior season. He scored 11 touchdowns in his career and had just under 2,000 receiving yards. Cruz was named a first-team All-Colonial Athletic Association wide receiver for 2008 and 2009. He is fifth all-time at UMass in career receiving yards (1,958).
Even with his exceptional college stats, Cruz wasn’t selected in the 2010 NFL Draft. The day after the draft, he was signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent.
Cruz was, for lack of better phrasing, a nobody going into the preseason, but they would know his name soon enough. On Aug. 15, 2010, Cruz announced himself to the league when the New York Jets rolled into MetLife stadium for the first game of the preseason.
When Cruz first entered the game Jets coaches believed he was an option quarterback, and were visibly relieved to see that he was just a rookie wide receiver. That relief quickly vanished as Cruz caught a deep ball from Giants QB Jim Sorgi and took it 64 yards to the house. Cruz wasn’t done yet, as he would catch two more touchdowns before the game ended. Then Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan remarked during the game, “I’ve got an idea, how about we stay on top of number 3 [Cruz].” Cruz kept getting separation from Jets cornerbacks on his way to a debut performance of six receptions for 145 yards and three touchdowns.
After the game, Ryan said to then Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin, “I don’t know who the f**k number 3 is, but holy s**t.”
Cruz’s preseason performance was just the beginning of what would be an impressive stretch from the former undrafted free agent. In his rookie season in 2011, Cruz had 82 receptions for 1,536 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. In his sophomore season in 2012, he added 86 receptions for 1,092 receiving yards and 10 receiving touchdowns, earning him a Pro Bowl selection. Cruz was also instrumental in the Giants playoff run and eventual victory in Super Bowl XLVI against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, grabbing an early touchdown to give the Giants the lead.
There was nothing like witnessing a Victor Cruz touchdown. After nearly every score, Cruz celebrated with a salsa dance. He has stated that it was in honor of his deceased grandmother who taught him how to dance salsa and loved touchdown dances. I would have liked to watch Cruz do his touchdown dance for much longer than I got to.
After a solid 2013 season, Cruz was going into 2014 with the hope of continuing his success, but on Oct. 12, 2014, he sustained a serious injury when he tore his right patellar tendon during a game against the Philadelphia Eagles. That was the start of an unfortunate trend for Cruz. After completing his recovery, he returned for the 2015 season when he suffered a calf injury that caused him to miss out on the entire season. In the time that followed he also dealt with other injuries, including an ankle sprain in November 2016.
Despite attempts to return, the Giants released Cruz in 2017 and subsequently by the Chicago Bears, leading to his decision to retire in 2018 and begin a career as an analyst. Today, he works as a sports analyst for TNT Sports. Additionally, Cruz founded The Victor Cruz Foundation which runs community programs in his hometown of Paterson, New Jersey.
While Cruz’s glory may have been short-lived, I will always look back at how much I enjoyed watching him play when I was a kid with fondness. He brought so much joy to the game and the fact that his career fizzled out due to injuries will always leave me wondering what could have been if he remained healthy. But I will choose to look for a silver lining and be grateful that in a time where the Giants are awful, I can always look back on how I felt when I was a kid, watching my favorite player salsa dance after yet another touchdown.
