By Anthony Giachin ’17, Section Editor

Boats, boats, boats. That seems to be all that Giants fans have heard recently. It appears to be an odd thing to be hearing about after the loss of a playoff game, but Odell Beckham Jr. and the rest of the New York Giants receivers made sure that Giants fans got an earful after their trip to Miami followed by their abysmal performance in the Wild Card round of the playoffs loss against the Green Bay Packers.

After the Giants defeated the Washington Redskins on January 1, 2017 for their eleventh win of the season and clinched playoff berth, the Giants receiving core decided to celebrate. Odell Beckham Jr., Victor Cruz, Sterling Shepard, and Roger Lewis flew down to Miami that night to party with Justin Bieber and Johnny Manziel on a boat. Manziel, a past NFL quarterback who threw his career away to pursue a life of drinking, drugs, and partying, is not exactly the type of guy you want to see your players hanging around the week before a playoff game, for most of them their first playoff game. However, this shouldn’t come as a surprise to Giants fans to see Odell Beckham being on the front page of the papers for negative reasons. Thus far, his whole career has been surrounded by drama, including fights with opposing players, fights with a kicking net, a love affair with said kicking net, and whining for the ball. Despite all these diva actions that would upset most people, Giants fans have been able to overlook them because of his spectacular play on the field. Regardless of how you feel about Odell as a person, it is undeniable that he is one of the best receivers in the league, as he possesses the speed, the catching ability, and route running skills to make him a superstar. But after a night of partying rather than working on his skills for the upcoming week, that spectacular-ness that has become expected of Odell was nowhere to be found against the Pack.

Against a weak and injured Packers secondary, Odell was expected to light it up for the Giants in his first playoff appearance. What he did was quite the opposite. Odell only managed four catches on eleven targets for 28 yards. Not quite the impact performance the Giants were hoping for. Adding to his dismal performance, he had two crucial drops, one of which would have been a touchdown and the other would have been a third down conversion that put the Giants into field goal range. Odell’s failure to show up coupled with Sterling Shepard’s poor efforts, who was also on the boat and also dropped a touchdown pass, led to a beat down during Wild Card weekend, as the hopeful Giants fell 38-13 to the Green Bay Packers. Suddenly, the bubble surrounding Odell’s off field issues that were overshadowed by his terrific on field play popped, and the criticism rolled in.

Even though Odell’s boat trip was a full six days before his lackluster efforts, the media still drew a connection between the two. Even though it is unlikely that Odell’s trip had anything to do with his performance the following weekend, the principle of taking a plane to party with known delinquents on a boat the week of the playoffs should be worth some discussion. This action is a reflection of his maturity as a player and competitor. Although it was his day off and he had all the right in the world to make the trip, it says something about his character that he chose to do so with work still to be done in the NFL season. When asked about his thoughts on Odell’s trip, Bradley Simon, a die-hard Giants fan, said, “I don’t agree with his decision to take the trip, but it was his day off. He could have done whatever he wanted, but I believe he should have been smarter with his actions especially considering the importance of the next game.” Frankly, it is disappointing for Giants fans to see such a talented young player be completely locked down in the biggest game in his life after choosing to party the week before.

To add insult to injury, after the game Odell gained more press by punching a hole in the wall and slamming his head against a door in frustration. His composure has been something that he has seriously struggled to manage for the past few years and it has clearly impacted his play. It is not promising to see him have such an outburst after he is the one to blame for his frankly embarrassing performance.

However, I do not believe all of the blame should be placed on the young receiver’s shoulders, as there were three other receivers who made the trip as well. This type of decision making is almost expected from young players like Odell, Roger Lewis, and Sterling Shepard, but it is the fourth receiver who made the trip that is the most surprising: Victor Cruz, a veteran who has been with the Giants for six years and won a Super Bowl with them. Throughout his career he has been a fan favorite with his famous salsa touchdown celebration. He has also been known to be a rather collected player who stays away from the media off the field. To see him be one of the players who flew to Miami rather than resting or working is quite disappointing as well. Veterans are expected to be the ones who make good decisions and keep the young guys in check; Cruz failed to do so.

For many in the NA community, the talented Cruz has become a role model for them. By making such poor off field decisions and displaying his immaturity, he has made himself into a poor role model for kids and young adults. By prioritizing partying above working hard, he has deemed it acceptable for his fan base to follow in his footsteps. The young receiver has a lot to work on and think about in the offseason, so hopefully he can come back next year and make the most of his God given abilities and help lift the Giants to a playoff run.