Start spreading the news: the Giants are back in the playoffs.
It’s been a long time coming for Big Blue, which has straddled between middling and putrid since its last postseason appearance.
That last appearance came six years ago, when New York had a roster constructed demonstrably more different to this year’s squad. Ben McAdoo’s team that year revolved around its aerial attack: Eli Manning hit the 4,000 yard mark while Odell Beckham Jr. put up nearly 1,400 receiving yards.
For all the Giants’ success that year —they went 11-5, their best record in nine years — New York’s downfall was swift. For most onlookers, that was at least partially due to one unfortunate photo op.
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We’re of course talking about New York’s infamous boat picture. Mere days before the Giants’ wild-card clash with the Packers, Beckham, Victor Cruz, Sterling Shepard and Roger Lewis took their talents to South Beach…literally. The pass-catching crew docked a yacht, took their shirts off and posed for posterity.
Giants clinching their first playoff berth since 2016, when this infamous boat photo was taken. Playoffs now on deck. pic.twitter.com/yDouMyvols
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 1, 2023
It wasn’t the best of looks, admittedly, especially with New York staring down the barrel of then two-time MVP Aaron Rodgers.
Cruz elaborated on the origins of the photo in a 2021 appearance on “Good Morning Football.” It wasn’t quite the rebellious story some might have hoped for, with the Giants’ wide receiver group opting to take a day trip after being granted an off-day by McAdoo and his staff.
“So, we’re like let’s go to Miami!”
And the rest is history…
@TeamVic tells the story of the infamous Giants boat picture. pic.twitter.com/EklmiLADXn— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) September 24, 2021
It was a starstruck affair, according to Cruz. Trey Songz, Young Jeezy and Justin Bieber (?) were at the premises, chopping it up with the G-men. Someone snapped a picture of the group, who were still decked out in the wintery apparel one would expect from a person living in NYC in December/January (we’re talking Timbs, beanies and glitzy chains).
Then, things snowballed. Social media went into frenzy when the pictures came out. And for a few days, all eyes were on New York’s wide receivers, the ones who seemingly had spurned practice responsibilities for a day in the sun.
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That, obviously, wasn’t the case. But it didn’t help that Rodgers and company gave the Giants a beating in their wild card clash, knocking New York out of the playoffs while sending Big Blue’s receivers into social media infamy.
Despite the upheaval the Zapruder-like picture caused, Beckham, Cruz and the rest of the gang appear to hold no regrets on the situation.
“I have zero regrets,” Cruz said on “GMF”, “And I will go back to Miami tomorrow and hang out with Justin Bieber, Young Jeezy and Trey Songz again.”
