It had been 721 days since Victor Cruz salsa danced on an NFL field. 721 excruciating days of pain, rehab, setback, therapy, patience and persistence.
Then, with Sunday's 20-19 win over rival Dallas Cowboys on the line, Cruz popped open in the end zone, snagged Eli Manning's pass, and busted out the salsa.
"Doing the dance, it's in the blood, so it doesn't go anywhere," Cruz said, per the team's official website. "It's just like riding a bike. It was good to get in there. It was good to be able to score for my team. It felt good."
After suffering a patellar tendon tear in 2014, Cruz missed all of 2015 following multiple setbacks. (Moments after Cruz's TD, Seahawks tight end Jimmy Graham snagged his first catch of the season; a positive sign for patellar tendon tear victims.)
After his rehab and subsequent hiccups in recovery had been covered ad nausea the past 700 days, it was great to see Cruz not only hit the field on game day but contribute heavily to Big Blue's victory. The 29-year-old receiver snagged four receptions for 34 yards and the game-winning TD.
"(I was) just elated, just in that moment," he said of the touchdown. "Couldn't even describe what was going through my body, to obviously do the dance and make sure I got that down pat and just celebrate with my teammates. Everybody was pulling for me each and every day, each and every week. As we got closer and closer, you could just sense everybody had me in their prayers, pushing for me and excited for me to get dressed and be out there for game one and to score a touchdown. You couldn't paint this story any better."
As an undrafted receiver from UMass who rose to stardom under the brightest lights of the biggest city, Cruz's story was already grand. After a year away, he finally appears ready to add another chapter on redemption.
