Victor Cruz has no regrets about the photo that will haunt this generation’s Giants fans forever.
Cruz has told bits and pieces of the trip before, even saying it wasn’t worth it, but got more in depth on Friday’s edition of Good Morning Football on the NFL Network.
Cruz, Odell Beckham Jr., Sterling Shepard, Tavarres King, and Roger Lewis took a trip down to Miami on New Years Day of 2017 right after defeating Washington, and snapped a photo on the boat with Trey Songz and others the next afternoon.
The trip was heavily scrutinized before they even made the trip back north, and the Giants would lose their playoff matchup to the Green Bay Packers, 38-13, six days later.
But Cruz has “zero regrets” and would “go back to Miami tomorrow.”
“Yes, we lost the playoff game, but did it matter, or was the fact that we were in Miami on a boat caused us to lose? Absolutely not.”
After the loss, the receivers continued to get criticized, most notably Beckham, who had three key drops in the game. The trip didn’t affect King too much – he caught a 41-yard touchdown in the third quarter to make it a 14-13 game.
Cruz said the Giants were given an “NFL Monday” where they were “off of work” with “zero obligations,” so they decided to charter a plane to Miami.
“After a huge game, finally in the playoffs [for the first time] since 2011. We feel great,” Cruz said.
Cruz was admittedly “apprehensive,” but Beckham and Shepard were “salivating.”
To be fair, it is Miami with Justin Bieber, Young Jeezy, and more superstars – can’t blame them.
Cruz wouldn’t snitch on who decided to take the photo. His co-host, Peter Schrager, asked if he had to go that specific day, rather than wait a month, and Cruz held true.
“The answer is yes.”
The Giants are 18-49 since then.