Victor Cruz savors his Super Bowl experience
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INDIANAPOLIS - Well before the New York Giants came out to the field at Lucas Oil Stadium Tuesday for Super Bowl 46 media day, the crowd swelled around the podium set up for Victor Cruz. The second-year wide receiver from the University of Massachusetts, he of 99-yard touchdown receptions and salsa dancing in the end zone, soaked it all in.
"When you're sitting up in Bridgeton Academy in Maine, you're just thinking about what you can do to get yourself into college," said Cruz. "At that moment, I had no thoughts of the Super Bowl, nothing like that."
Cruz has put himself at the forefront of many Super Bowl thoughts with his play this season. After missing all but three games his rookie season with a hamstring injury, Cruz responded with 82 catches for 1,536 yards and nine touchdowns in the regular season and another 17 receptions for 244 yards in New York's run to Sunday's NFL title game against the Patriots.
That's a long way from Bridgeton Academy and UMass. Cruz was not drafted but he has made his mark on the NFL despite doubts from scouts.
"I wasn't really shocked. I understood the process and understood that I wasn't a guy that had blazing statistics, or was 6-6, 230 (pounds), or anything like that," said Cruz, who stands six-feet tall and weighs 204 pounds. "I understood that I probably wasn't going to get drafted and would just have to make the best of my opportunities and make the best of coming in as a practice squad guy and as a free agent, and just do the best I could to break through on the team."
Cruz has broken through in ways few could have imagined. He is now going to be a main concern of a New England defense that features fellow UMass alum safety James Ihedigbo.
Cruz "has evolved into a great playmaker," said Ihedigbo. "He's a great athlete and he's very versatile. You can look at him, look at (Hakeem) Nicks and look at (Mario) Manningham they're all guys who have the ability to make plays after the catch. They're a great football team like that."
Cruz caught six passes for 91 yards in New York's 24-20 win at Gillette Stadium on Nov. 6. It's the last loss the Patriots have suffered. Manning completed 20-of-39 passes for 250 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in the game. His 77.9 passer rating was one of just five times he scored a rating of less than 80 this season.
For a defense that was maligned much of the regular season, the Patriots held Denver's Tim Tebow and Baltimore's Joe Flacco to a combined passer rating of 77.5. Cruz isn't buying into the belief that the Giants passing game will overwhelm New England's secondary.
"Those guys really are ballers and they like to come downhill and really like to hit, especially Ihedigbo," said Cruz. "He's been laying some wood on people and hopefully I won't be on the other end of that."
Ihedigbo hosted Cruz's visit to UMass as the wide receiver was making his final decision on where to play in college. Ihedigbo, in true Patriots fashion, didn't want to stray from the focus of this week by talking about his college days but Cruz remembers the trip.
"I was a young guy who really wanted to know what college life was all about," said Cruz. "He showed me around and showed me the ropes. We had a great time."
As Cruz sat at his podium Tuesday, many of the questions he faced were about his salsa dance celebration. It was born in Week 3 as the NFL celebrated Hispanic Heritage month. Cruz's mother is Puerto Rican and he was encouraged to show off his flair. He caught three passes from Manning that day for 110 yards, including touchdowns of 74 and 28 yards at Philadelphia in a 29-16 victory.
He dropped his version of the salsa after both scores.
"When I got (to the end zone) I knew I had to do it," said Cruz. "I get there and I start to break it out and I got into full swing. My grandmother's phone blew up because she was the one who taught me how to do the dance. She told me I had to keep doing it, keep it going and ever since I've been doing it."
If the Giants win on Sunday, Cruz will have plenty of reason to dance.
