The first thing Victor Cruz thought about when he heard gunshots at a nightclub early Tuesday morning was not about his football career, but the arrival of his first child in January.
“As soon as it happened, my girlfriend and my baby went through my mind,” the Giants wide receiver said yesterday. “I said, ‘This is it for me. I’ve got to stay away from this kind of stuff.’ ”
Cruz made his vow while on the floor in the back room of the Juliet Supper Club, where at least four shots were fired at two men, one of whom died. Cruz was at the club celebrating his 25th birthday with friends when “all of a sudden you hear a few gunshots go off and everybody hit the ground,” he said.
It wasn’t the first time Cruz has heard gunshots. He grew up in Paterson, N.J., where part of his childhood included watching a man being shot to death during an argument. Escaping the violent neighborhood where he grew up served as motivation to become the best athlete he could be, a work ethic that has driven him to this break-out season with the Giants.
Bizarre isn’t it? Just when Cruz seems to have fulfilled his dream of making an impact in the NFL, he winds up dodging gun shots again.
“Just when you think you’ve strayed away from that lifestyle a little bit and you’re one of the fortunate ones to get away, it happens again,” Cruz said.
Technically, he did nothing wrong really. Tuesday is the players’ day off and a grown man is free to celebrate his birthday however he chooses. But as Giants coach Tom Coughlin said, “I don’t know what good happens at 2:30 or 3 in the morning.”
If anything Cruz understands he’s no longer an obscure player now. There were plenty of other athletes and celebrities in the club, but his name was in the headlines.
“I’m still kind of naive to this,” he said. “I think I’m this under-the-radar guy and something like this happens and my name is brought up. It’s tough to deal with initially because you didn’t do anything wrong. But because you’re a Giant and because you’re a wide receiver and you’ve been doing fairly well this year, your name will be brought up. I understand that.”
Cruz hasn’t been under the radar since September when he caught touchdown passes of 74 and 28 yards to help the Giants to a 29-16 victory over the Eagles in Philadelphia. It was a break-out game in a break-out season for the 2010 undrafted free agent. Heading into Sunday night’s rematch with the Eagles, he leads the Giants in receiving yards with 672 and is tied for the team-lead in receptions with 40. He has scored four touchdowns and earns a “Cruuuuuuuz” from fans whenever he catches the ball.
“That game [against the Eagles] basically propelled me into having that confidence to come in and be that guy that can do some good things on this team,” Cruz said. “I was very excited after that game. I knew there was some potential for some big plays for me to make. I took advantage of the opportunity and here we stand today.”
His success was part of the celebration early Tuesday morning. Local boy makes good is always an inspiring story. But life has a way of reminding you how quickly it all can be taken away. Gunshots will do that.
“I have to understand I have to be smart,” Cruz said. “The season is what’s most important. I’m going to take it down and play it real easy from now on. I have a baby on the way, so I can’t be involved in any of that stuff anymore.”
Sounding like a dad already.