Victor Cruz: ‘I Am Giant’ Tackles Salsa-Dancing Football Player’s Rise To Fame, Plus Father’s Death Discussed On Showtime Documentary

Victor Cruz, of the New York Giants, will have his life story told in a new original documentary that will air on Showtime tonight. I am Giant will detail Victor Cruz’s life events, including how he rose to the top, the knee injury that threatened to destroy his career, and his attempt at a comeback to the game he loves the most — football. The unscripted documentary is directed by Gotham Chopra and has a running time of 55 minutes.

Since making his appearance on the football field, Victor Cruz has truly been a joy to watch. He had always dreamed of playing football professionally, so when he got the opportunity to show the coaches his talent, he was overjoyed with the success that he achieved. Starting out as an undrafted wide receiver in 2010 with the New York Giants, no one really understood the skill and talent that Victor Cruz possessed — at first. But, over the course of several games, he began to stand out in a major way. From there, it just got better and better. With each game, Cruz gained more attention from fans and the sports world as a whole, confirming him as a football favorite.

Victor Cruz’s knack for playing the game came from his own father, Mike Walker, who came back into Victor’s life at the age of seven. He had been raised by his single mother, a Puerto Rican woman in Paterson, New Jersey. Always wondering about his father, Victor was ecstatic to have his father back in his life. But, there were many questions that he had for his father about why he left the family. Instead, Victor decided that the time he spent with his father learning football was just too good to ruin with such painful questions. As he learned football, the art of dancing salsa and samba was also taught to him by his Puerto Rican grandmother. His fascination for football and Salsa dancing carried over to his time on the field, where his smooth moves mesmerized fans after scoring an amazing touchdown.

Paterson, New Jersey, has always had the reputation of being a crime-laden area. And while it was true that gunshots often rang out at night, Cruz and other Latinos enjoyed their time growing up there. The spirit of the people, coupled with the Latin flavor, made Paterson a lively place, where kids watched the adults work hard to provide the best life they could for them. About this, Cruz states the following, according to Giants.com.

“It really brought me back to when I was younger and I was fighting to get to this point. I remember fighting to get to the point where I would reach my dreams and accomplish my goals. It was nostalgic for me.”

It was this deeply ingrained pride that encouraged him to go after his dream of playing football for a living. And when he was able to lead his team to the Super Bowl, he couldn’t have felt more accomplished. His only wish was that his father could see him. Sadly, Michael Edward Walker (Mike Walker) died in 2007 at age 50 from suicide, caused by bouts of depression and a car accident, according to Ebony. An online obituary indicates that Mike Walker lost his own father at age 2 and his mother when he was a teenager. Walker’s death squashed any chance for Victor Cruz to speak intimately with his father about certain things.

“I just have so many things that I wanted to talk to him about. Those dark times fuel me now even more than before. I felt like my father was there every step of the way. If I could talk to him right now, I’d look at him and I’d ask him if he was proud of me.”

The story of Victor Cruz is inspirational, gripping, and revealing, and it is something that shouldn’t be missed. Join #Showtime as they kick off their new Victor Cruz reality-documentary #IAmGiant tonight at 9 p.m. Also, check out Inquisitr’s coverage of the Dateline NBC episode that airs tonight.

Victor Cruz: I Am Giant Showtime Trailer

[Image via Victor Cruz/Facebook]