SAN ANTONIO - The New York Giants will battle the Cowboys and Redskins for the division title over the next couple of weeks, but football won't have quite the same meaning for Giants receiver Victor Cruz.
Click here to watch...Cruz spent his off day in Newtown, Connecticut. Jack Pinto was one of the victims. He idolized Cruz and was even buried in Cruz' jersey. Sunday Cruz paid tribute by wearing Jack's name on his shoes and gloves, and on Wednesday he gave those to the family.
There is something special about heroes – and it has nothing to do with the athletes themselves. In Jack Pinto we are reminded of an innocence; the prism through which a 6-year-old boy sees the world. We all immediately realized just how small and fragile these kids were.
But Pinto reminds us how 6 year old's think. He loved Victor Cruz. So much so, he was buried in his jersey.
Back in the day we didn't have replica jerseys. We had the old Hutch Uniform in a box. My Victor Cruz was Roger Staubach. He was almost deity.
Later we realize that athletes are human, flawed like the rest of us. But at age six there is an emotional connection so strong it's hard for adults to understand.
Victor Cruz didn't understand what he meant to Jack Pinto until after he met with his family. But the Pinto Family understood. There is comfort picturing how Jack would have felt.
“Victor Cruz wrote my name on his shoes? No way!”
It's the way only a six year old can feel. A feeling the rest of us can only remember, and wish we could feel. Again, because at age six there's something special about heroes.
That's my point. Let's hear yours. Email me at
DonHarris@woaitv.com.
