RoanokeFan
07-14-2012, 03:04 PM
CRUZ'S BOOK TACKLES, REVIS, CROMARTIE, COWBOYS (http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/giants/post/_/id/15004/cruzs-book-tackles-revis-and-cromartie)
"He had heard plenty of trash talk last year, but being put down by Jets
cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Antonio
Cromartie resonated with Giants receiver Victor Cruz
like nothing else.
In his upcoming memoir, "Victor Cruz: Out of the
Blue," which comes out on July 17, the receiver details how Revis and
Cromartie's insults affected him heading into the teams' showdown on Dec. 24.
Revis had said he didn't know who Cruz was, while Cromartie had ripped
Mario Manningham for losing his starting job to "a guy named
Victor Cruz."
"I was one of the NFL's leaders in receiving yards, a
local guy playing in the New York market, and making big fourth-quarter plays
every week," Cruz writes in the book. "And yet these guys -- Revis and Cromartie
-- still didn't seem to think I belonged. They still saw me as an outsider, or
worse, someone whose name wasn't on their radars.
"I'd have to make them remember me."
The trash talk between the Giants'
receivers and the Jets' cornerbacks was a huge storyline heading into their
Christmas Eve showdown. Cruz even participated in the action, saying that teams
weren't really as scared to throw at Revis anymore, compared to the past when
teams never threw at the All-Pro.
In the book, he details how during the
game, Cromartie continued the trash talk with discouraging remarks about the
Giants' receiver.
"I was looking at Cro and he was telling me that he's
never heard of me, telling me that I wasn't worthy of lining up across from
him," Cruz writes. "He was just talking before, during, and after every play
from scrimmage, and I was just silent. "
Ultimately, Cruz had the final
laugh, as he scored on a 99-yard touchdown that changed the game -- and perhaps
the Giants' season. He gave the Giants a 10-7 lead right before halftime and the
Giants went on to win the contest.
After the game, Cruz ran into Revis
at a restaurant in New York's Meatpacking District and he praised the Giants'
young receiver.
"'We know who you are, Cruz,' he said as he leaned in
toward me," Cruz writes. "'Good game today. You played well.'
"I was
home by eleven in bed on Christmas Eve with my pregnant girlfriend cuddled up
next to me.
"And Darrelle Revis knew who I was, after all.
"Life
was good."
SIX FLAGS DALLAS: Cruz has a unique
description of Cowboys Stadium.
"We'd fought too hard and played too
well for our season to end in that giant Six Flags amusement park that night,"
Cruz writes about the Giants' game in Dallas on Dec. 11.
Cruz grew up as
a Cowboys fan, which led to his strong dislike for the Giants during his younger
years.
"When they beat the Cowboys in the NFC Divisional Round of the
2007 playoffs, I threw the TV remote control across our living room onto East
Eighteenth Street," Cruz writes.
"I hated the Giants."
That
allegiance to Dallas also led to Cruz not being so hot about quarterback
Eli Manning back in the day.
"Because of my Dallas Cowboys
allegiances growing up, I was never much of an Eli fan," Cruz writes.
"Troy Aikman was my favorite quarterback as a kid, and when
Tony Romo took over as the Cowboys' starting quarterback in the
middle of 2006 season, I became a Romo guy."
"He had heard plenty of trash talk last year, but being put down by Jets
cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Antonio
Cromartie resonated with Giants receiver Victor Cruz
like nothing else.
In his upcoming memoir, "Victor Cruz: Out of the
Blue," which comes out on July 17, the receiver details how Revis and
Cromartie's insults affected him heading into the teams' showdown on Dec. 24.
Revis had said he didn't know who Cruz was, while Cromartie had ripped
Mario Manningham for losing his starting job to "a guy named
Victor Cruz."
"I was one of the NFL's leaders in receiving yards, a
local guy playing in the New York market, and making big fourth-quarter plays
every week," Cruz writes in the book. "And yet these guys -- Revis and Cromartie
-- still didn't seem to think I belonged. They still saw me as an outsider, or
worse, someone whose name wasn't on their radars.
"I'd have to make them remember me."
The trash talk between the Giants'
receivers and the Jets' cornerbacks was a huge storyline heading into their
Christmas Eve showdown. Cruz even participated in the action, saying that teams
weren't really as scared to throw at Revis anymore, compared to the past when
teams never threw at the All-Pro.
In the book, he details how during the
game, Cromartie continued the trash talk with discouraging remarks about the
Giants' receiver.
"I was looking at Cro and he was telling me that he's
never heard of me, telling me that I wasn't worthy of lining up across from
him," Cruz writes. "He was just talking before, during, and after every play
from scrimmage, and I was just silent. "
Ultimately, Cruz had the final
laugh, as he scored on a 99-yard touchdown that changed the game -- and perhaps
the Giants' season. He gave the Giants a 10-7 lead right before halftime and the
Giants went on to win the contest.
After the game, Cruz ran into Revis
at a restaurant in New York's Meatpacking District and he praised the Giants'
young receiver.
"'We know who you are, Cruz,' he said as he leaned in
toward me," Cruz writes. "'Good game today. You played well.'
"I was
home by eleven in bed on Christmas Eve with my pregnant girlfriend cuddled up
next to me.
"And Darrelle Revis knew who I was, after all.
"Life
was good."
SIX FLAGS DALLAS: Cruz has a unique
description of Cowboys Stadium.
"We'd fought too hard and played too
well for our season to end in that giant Six Flags amusement park that night,"
Cruz writes about the Giants' game in Dallas on Dec. 11.
Cruz grew up as
a Cowboys fan, which led to his strong dislike for the Giants during his younger
years.
"When they beat the Cowboys in the NFC Divisional Round of the
2007 playoffs, I threw the TV remote control across our living room onto East
Eighteenth Street," Cruz writes.
"I hated the Giants."
That
allegiance to Dallas also led to Cruz not being so hot about quarterback
Eli Manning back in the day.
"Because of my Dallas Cowboys
allegiances growing up, I was never much of an Eli fan," Cruz writes.
"Troy Aikman was my favorite quarterback as a kid, and when
Tony Romo took over as the Cowboys' starting quarterback in the
middle of 2006 season, I became a Romo guy."