Who is Victor Cruz?
My father and I have been talking about Victor Cruz since the moment he made his first catch in that exhibition game in 2010. We were angry when the Giants put him on IR to get that kicker for one game. This year we may have lost it if Cruz didn’t get a chance to play. Why, because we see greatness in him. We wonder what it would be like to have a combination like Montana and Rice or Brady and Moss. We wonder what it would be like to have a receiver with hands as sure as the sun and feet as swift as the wind. We wonder if we would have won the Super Bowl in 1997 if we had had Victor Cruz and not Chris Calloway to catch that onside kick…we understand that may be a lot of pressure to put on one person, a virtual rookie, with 3 career TDs, but…we see greatness in him.
Enough is Enough
If I were a member of the Boston Red Sox organization (if only!) I would have flipped my lid after reading the now infamous Boston Globe article, you know the one with the fried chicken. I would have done it secretly, in the privacy of my own home, probably, but there would have been words. Now, let’s be clear, I’m not defending any of the players or coaches for losing focus or their commitment to this team, but I ask, hasn’t this gone too far, hasn’t it crossed a line?
Glendale’s Been Good To Us
Greetings from Boston! I’m on the right coast for a wedding, so I’ll only have time for a written post this week, you’ll have to imagine the rest. I was supposed to be going to see a baseball game tonight and I could have been doing this post from Fenway but alas…you know what, let’s not get into that now. I’m trying to enjoy my time in Boston, so perhaps we will discuss the travesty of letting Terry Francona go–aka Theo Epstein’s latest attempt to destroy the Red Sox–later, when I’m back in LA.
Also, to say that I’m in Boston, is like saying that the Meadowlands are in Manhattan. Presently, I’m in Rhode Island, where I grew up “a fan divided” surrounded by Patriots fans who hated me and who hate me a little bit more these days. The folks at Logan certainly didn’t seem to appreciate the Giants t-shirt I was wearing when I arrived–the wounds are still a bit raw in New England, I guess.
They don’t have the fond memories of Glendale, AZ that we do. No, for Patriots fans it represents the place of their worst defeat, while for Giants fans it has become the magical place, where we can’t lose (no matter how much Victor Cruz tries).
Maybe it’s the water, the air, the atmosphere, but the Giants are unstoppable at the University of Phoneix Stadium, home to the Arizona Cardinals, and more importantly, Super Bowl XLII. Since it opened in 2006, the Giants are undefeated in Glendale, they’ve won all three of their contests there, including two come-from-behind victories in the 4th quarter. The first–Super Bowl XLII–against Tom Brady and the then undefeated Patriots. The second–last night–in what could prove to be one of the biggest wins of the season. Both included two 4th quarter Eli Manning touchdown passes– in SB42 to Tyree and Burress and last night to Ballard and Nicks–on fairly similar routes.
Unlike in the Super Bowl, the Giants didn’t play particularly well last night, with the exception of the last 5 minutes, and even then a very, very lucky Victor Cruz, almost blew the whole game, but despite some lack luster play and not being able to capitalize on any Arizona turnovers, the Giants were able to finish. As Tom Coughlin said after the game, “We won the fourth quarter.” I don’t know how but we did!
This could be a huge confidence booster for the team, and a pivotal win, since the Lions and 49ers pulled off equally impressive comeback wins of their own against the Cowboys and Eagles.
Going into week 5, we’re 3 and 1 which, for whatever reason, sounds so much better than 2 and 2. Plus, we’ve proven to ourselves that we can hang in there and win games that we shouldn’t, which as my dad said, “can win you the division.”
Next week the Giants are at home against the Seahawks another game we should win easily, so probably another nail bitter. We’ll also see what the Red Sox can do to further dash any hopes of a comeback season in 2012.
Signing of from Boston (the greater Boston area), I’ll say this really quietly so the Pats fans won’t hear me, “Go Giants!”
It Wasn’t Meant to Be
This was supposed to be our year. On paper we were the best team and perhaps what made it more believable–and worse–was that everyone thought the Red Sox would win 100 games, everyone thought they’d win the World Series. No one thought the Yankees or especially the Rays would have what it takes down the stretch. Well that’s why they play the games–all of them.
In both leagues, it came down to the last night and oh, what a night it was, you couldn’t write a better script–two extra inning games, a rain delay, a walk-off home run, two historic collapses, an incredible comeback. There had to have been other forces at work, the baseball gods had to have had their hands in this, because it was too unbelievable, too poetic to be just simply what happened. But wait, wasn’t this supposed to be our year? The script was supposed to go, the Red Sox comeback from the worst start to a season ever to win not to also have the worst end to a season ever. This was supposed to be OUR year! But was it, really?
They say you shouldn’t do anything when you’re angry, go to sleep, buy a gun, write a blog post, well I did all of that last night, except the part about buying a gun, and in the light of day, this was still what needed to be said.
Well, Red Sox we could blame the Yankees, we could blame the Rays or the Orioles or the rain or the baseball gods. We can say it just wasn’t meant to be if that helps, but in the end we really have no one to blame but ourselves. So let’s remember how this feels, so that next year, we can work harder to get the ending we wanted.
It Should Have Never Gotten To This Point
That’s all I can say at the moment. More tomorrow…
Confessions of a Boston Red Sox Fan
This is how I’ve been feeling all week, particularly before last night’s win, now I’ve crossed over to the dark side and want it bad, but since I expect that all of us have felt this way, at one point or another, during this not so unprecedented collapse, I figured it was time to come clean.
Regardless of the outcome tonight, Red Sox fans we can be proud of one thing–at least we’re not Yankees fans. Rooting for their own team to lose–it’s pitiful, it’s embarrassing, it’s down right mean–just so we won’t make it to the playoffs. The fact is, they are just scared–scared of us! Let’s Go Red Sox!
Defense, Defense
I’ve said it a million times, “defense wins championships,” but you also need good defense to get you there.
Winning
Winning–it may be Charlie Sheen’s motto, but it’s what the Red Sox and Giants need to be doing. It’s a fairly simple concept–to win: score lots of points and keep your opponent from scoring points–so why do the Red Sox and Giants find it so hard to do sometimes?
Ok maybe it’s not that simple, but for the Red Sox this is–win games and go to the playoffs or continue to lose and watch the Rays go in our place. For the Giants, our win on Monday proved that we’re not a terrible team (this was a possibility given all the injuries and players we lost to other teams in the off-season) so now they need to focus on improving what they have.
Winning–hey, if Ricky Vaughn can do it so can we–maybe Papelbon should cut his hair like Vaughn too, now there’s an idea!
Let’s Go Red Sox! Let’s Go Giants!
A Long Winter
Now is the winter of our discontent…or it soon will be if the Red Sox and Giants don’t turn things around soon. I was asked recently what was the best year of my life, and I could have answered my senior year of high school, the year I got married, but no, I said 2007-08. Why? Because both the Red Sox and Giants were World Champions. What a year! Will we ever see another like it again? It’s not looking good right now, but, one thing I’ve learned in life, is to never count the Red Sox or Giants out.
A FAN DIVIDED 