Odell Beckham Jr. does not view Sunday night against the Dallas Cowboys as a simple season opener. It's his first game back in a New York Giants uniform; it's prime time, and it's the opponent most tied to his New York story.
To Beckham, that alignment does not feel accidental.
"I always talk about God's plan, and I just think right when I was signing and then I was seeing all these things happening and then the NFL was like, all right, Giants, Sunday night, Cowboys, you know what I mean?" Beckham told reporters on Friday. "And it just – it's just crazy because of everything that's happened with that."
The schedule landed after he signed, and the league put the Giants and Cowboys under the lights. That combination invited every old highlight and every question
about what the night is supposed to mean. Beckham has heard those questions. He is not trying to script an answer in advance.
"You just try and be in the moment and not overthink and put all of the extra emphasis on what's going on and you just – you be in flow and let the game come to you," he said. "Like I've talked to you about being confident in who I am as a man, as a player, and how I feel about where I'm at now, and I'm just excited to be able to have the opportunity, the blessing to play on the field again."
That is the version of the night he wants: Less ceremony, more football. Camp gave him the chance to earn the roster spot. Sunday gives him the chance to play. The building and the opponent will supply enough atmosphere. His job, as he framed it, is to stay inside the work once the game starts.
The moment he expects to feel before any of that is the first one.
"Hopefully, if I get that opportunity to run out and I could hear this stadium, which I feel like is just going to erupt, I think that'll be the moment where your chest tightens up a little bit, and eyes might get a little watery," Beckham said. "I just – I love this game, and I've sacrificed my whole life for it. And I just want to give this city, this organization, these fans, every last bit of me. And yeah, whatever that is, I came to give it."
That is the promise he is carrying into Sunday night. Not a speech about unfinished business, and not a plan to make the evening larger than it already is. Just the walk out of the tunnel, the sound of the stadium, and a chance to empty whatever he has left for the people who have long awaited his return.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Chest tight, eyes watery: Odell Beckham describes moment he's waiting for
