Any sports fan who has endured a technology-caused headache trying to watch out-of-market games has a new ally in coaching.
While in his isolation period in Arizona after testing positive for COVID-19 during a remote practice week, Giants quarterbacks coach Jerry Schuplinski just wanted to evaluate Mike Glennon’s live performance in Los Angeles against the Chargers last Sunday. No such luck on the hotel television, so the logical next step is to find someone who pays for an account to stream league-wide games — like a shared Netflix workaround.
“I borrowed from my dad, let’s just put it that way,” Schuplinski sheepishly admitted to a chorus of laughter.
Relying on a WiFi connection is never foolproof.
“My [connection] cut out after the first drive,” said Schuplinski, who called his wife to stay in the loop during the two minutes needed to reboot the iPad. “I FaceTimed her and was like, ‘Turn on the game.’ She’s like, ‘Oh, hey.’ I’m like, ‘Turn. On. The. Game! We’ll catch up later. Show me the game right now real quick until I get this iPad going.’ ”
Schuplinski rejoined the Giants after Wednesday’s practice and was on the field Thursday. He flew home after receiving two consecutive negative test results separated by 24 hours, just before he would have reached the 10-day isolation maximum anyway.
One week ago, Schuplinski was a floating head giving practice instructions as assistant Nick Williams and head coach Joe Judge’s chief of staff Ryan Hollern carried around an iPad on the field. The Giants’ support staff provided water and “more food than I needed” in Schuplinski’s room to make the experience as comfortable as possible.
“It’s a low point when you feel like you can’t be in-person with the team,” Schuplinski said. “It really hurt when I found out I didn’t get negative in time to be at the game. That was really tough to take, tough to handle.”
Schuplinski said his symptoms started with congestion, which he initially attributed to the time of the year and a plane ride from Miami to Arizona. After the rash of false-positives a few weeks ago, it seemed possible he could be back sooner.
“The next morning when I got out of the shower I realized I couldn’t smell the deodorant,” Schuplinski said. “I was like, ‘OK, it’s definitely true.’ Just a little congestion and minor stuff, but I felt OK.”
Schuplinski and offensive lineman Wes Martin — whose timelines mirrored each other from testing positive through testing negative — drove together from Tucson, Ariz., where the Giants practiced, to Phoenix near the airport as their only escape for fresh air.
“I really got to be involved in everything from the confines of the room,” Schuplinski said. “I got a little bit of cabin fever doing that. … I was probably a pain in everyone’s a– because I was like, ‘Hey, make sure I’m set up.’ ”