One of the great things about the Victor Cruz story — from nowhere, to UMass, to undrafted free agent, to New York Giants mega-star — is that the salsa-dancing wide receiver has maintained his humility. Cruz, whose Giants play the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI, understands the uniqueness of his story.

" It’s starting to hit me now. Once I spoke to my friend Mike Adams, he’s out of Paterson and plays for the Cleveland Browns. I speak to him all of the time. He told me, ‘Man, I’ve played this game about 11 years now and I haven’t even made it to the postseason.,’ " Cruz said. “That really says a lot about how fortunate I am, how fortunate I am just to be here. For a guy like that who has paid his dues in this league and hasn’t even made it to the postseason is definitely tough. It shows you how tough this league is and how hard it is to win each and every week. I’m just a fortunate guy. It’s really starting to sink in – how rare my story is and how far I’ve come.”

— See the transcripts of all the interview of Giants players this week in the Big Blue View Transcripts section.