By David Campbell / Dothan News
Lawrence Tynes battled the weather and the pressure, and the former Troy kicker booted the New York Giants into another Super Bowl.
Tynes hit a 31-yard field goal in overtime to send the Giants to the Feb. 5 Super Bowl against the New England Patriots. It looked easier than the 47-yarder he hit four years ago, also in overtime, at Green Bay to put the Giants in the Super Bowl.
“They’re both kicks to go to the Super Bowl and they have their own circumstance, but pressure-wise, they’re both the same,” Tynes said on Monday. “It was (shorter this year), but the weather was terrible. I saw the TV copy and it didn’t really do it justice. The rain was three different ways, the wind was howling, especially in overtime when the wind really picked up and was howling.”
Tynes, now in his fifth year with the Giants, was a bit more at ease before the kick Sunday than he was in 2008, when he had missed a kick near the end of regulation which would have won it. The end result was the same – mass celebration.
“I think having done it before really helped calm me down a little bit,” Tynes said. “It’s a great feeling, to celebrate with your teammates most important, those are the guys that do all the work, you jump up, bang heads, slap each other around, that’s the best part of it. Jerrel (Jernigan) was one of the first guys I found, so that was really cool.”
Tynes, Jernigan and Osi Umenyiora are three former Troy Trojans who now play for the Giants. The Trojan presence in the Giants locker room is a big one.
“We’ve got the most players from one school in our locker room,” Tynes said. “Well, Boston College has three and I think Miami has three, too, but we hold our own in there. We’re always talking Troy in there. For the most part, we’ve won more games than most of these other schools.”
Tynes said his celebrity rose a little bit after his first big kick in 2008. He’ll get recognized every now and then – not as much as star quarterback Eli Manning, but enough. However, his twin 4-year-old sons hear even more about him. Caleb and Jaden were only a few months old after the 2008 NFC title game, but now know that their father kicks footballs for a living.
“They go to a little private school here in town,” Tynes said. “All the kids and teachers know what I do. They’re at an age now where they know Daddy plays football. Jaden actually told me that he told people to stop talking about his daddy today because everyone was talking about me. It was pretty funny.
“They know I kick. Before a game, they say Daddy, kick it high and far. It’ll be pretty cool to have them at the game.”
The twins didn’t go to California, but they will be at the Super Bowl in Indianapolis. They attend most home games, Tynes said.
“They’ll stick around for a half,” Tynes said. “The Giants have a really nice childcare facility and they’d almost rather go down there and be with their buddies that they’ve grown up with.”
Tynes, 33, is the oldest member of the New York Giants. He spent a year in NFL Europe, two years in Canada and three with the Kansas City Chiefs before being traded to New York in 2008. Kickers, if they’re still consistently making kicks, have longer careers than most NFL players. Tynes said he’d like to play at least until he’s 40.
“I’ve had a goal to play to 40,” Tynes said. “I feel as healthy as I’ve ever been and strong as I’ve ever been at this stage, so I don’t see why not. Plus, they moved the kickoffs up five yards, so that’s been a big help.
“There’s 32 guys in the world that do this. It’s tough to get in. It’s even tougher to stick around. Once you make kicks and make big kicks and be a consistent player, you’ll last a while.”
