In early March, New York Giants head coach Joe Judge lauded video games for helping his team bond during the unprecedented isolation brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.
Judge said video games created lines of contact for players, which allowed them to develop relationships away from the game of football.
During a conference call with reporters on Wednesday, defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson reiterated those sentiments and explained how it helped he and fellow defensive lineman Leonard Williams become close friends.
“I love Leonard, he is a great guy. I feel like we clicked off the field for the most part because we both love animated video games. We became instant best friends I guess you could say. I love playing beside him, he is a great guy, he brings great energy. Like you said, we have great chemistry. I’m looking forward to playing with him this upcoming season,” Tomlinson said.
Video games helps players develop team-like bonds in the virtual world, often forcing multiple parties to work together and think ahead — all skills that can be applied to real life and on the football field.
Tomlinson also believes the Zoom calls and online learning will help the team once they are able to congregate again in East Rutherford.
“I feel like it helps out a lot because most of us know each other already. I feel like we get to interact more with the other positions as well as the offense. You can put names to faces for the new guys on the team. It helps us bond a lot better so when we get back nobody is a stranger,” Tomlinson said.
“I don’t think there has been anything strange. Everybody has been bonding in the meetings, I guess you could say, getting to know each other. Some of us FaceTime each other. A lot of us play video games together in a group. We all have been on Call of Duty lately, bonding with that.”
For what it’s worth, Tomlinson believes he’s one of the team’s best Call of Duty players, although Blake Martinez may own the No. 1 spot.
“Right now, I would have to put myself in the top three. I haven’t played with Blake Martinez yet, but I’m looking forward to it. He might be number one,” Tomlinson said.
For all the negatives brought about by isolation, this type of team bonding may actually help the Giants and first-head coach Joe Judge in 2020 and beyond.
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