As Eli Manning addressed a large group of reporters, I looked over and spotted a tall, thin kid in a four-button blue suit listening intently. I thought it was either a TV reporter or an intern in the Giants' PR department, but it was actually kicker Lawrence Tynes.
He seemed remarkably unaffected by what had to be the greatest moment of his young career. When he took the podium, he calmly answered the breathless questions. Fortunately, he didn't hear the TV reporter in the back of the room shout, "Lawrence, do you feel like the king of the world?"
On this night, I think Tynes was happy to keep his job. When he hooked a 43-yard field-goal attempt with 6 minutes, 49 seconds left in regulation, a red-faced Tom Coughlin offered non-encouraging words as he jogged past.
"I'm sure he was yelling at me," said Tynes, "but that guy only wants the best for everybody, and when he yells at you, that's a good thing."
With 4 seconds left in regulation, Tynes pull-hooked a 36-yard attempt after Jay Alford delivered a high snap. At that point, I was pretty certain Coughlin wouldn't give Tynes another chance. And the same thought also crossed the kicker's mind.
With the Giants facing a fourth-and-5 at the Packers' 29-yard line in overtime, Tynes sprinted onto the field without ever looking in Coughlin's direction.
"I knew it was going to be close to 50, but I knew I could get it there," he said. "[Coughlin] had to make a decision when I was out there lining up to kick it. I kind of made the decision for him."
Added Coughlin: "I thought about going for it. I looked for a sign, and they were anxious to go do that. They were anxious to kick that. And that was a good sign that Lawrence felt like he could do that."
Tynes nailed a 47-yard field goal and then raced into the locker room because he "just wanted to get out of the cold." His holder, Jeff Feagles, saw Tynes running from him, so he celebrated with quarterback Eli Manning instead.
The Giants traded for Tynes in May because Jay Feely signed with the Dolphins. In three seasons with the Chiefs, Tynes had made 68 of 87 (78.2 percent) field goals, but he became expendable when Kansas City grabbed UCLA kicker Justin Medlock in the fifth round of the draft.
"[Chiefs GM] Carl Peterson made that decision," Tynes told Hashmarks after the game. "No one else in the organization had anything to do with that."
Tynes said two other teams showed interest, but he signed with the Giants because he thought it was an opportunity to prove himself on "the big stage."
"You know what, I think sometimes you've just got to take yourself outside of the friendly confines of the Midwest and come play in front of you guys," Tynes said. "You guys can be fun, nice and sometimes unfair. But you know what, I thought it would be a big move for my career."
If you haven't followed Tynes' career, he actually spent two seasons with the Canadian Football League's Ottawa Renegades before beating out veteran Morten Andersen for the Chiefs job in 2004. He was born in Greenock, Scotland, close to where his father was stationed in the U.S. Navy. His mother was Scottish, and he still has at least 30 to 40 family members living in Port Glasgow.
His father was transferred to Pensacola, Fla., when Tynes was 10, but he didn't transition from soccer to football until he was a senior at Milton High School.
"My high school PE teacher [Mike McMillan] was also the defensive coordinator for the football team," Tynes said. "He took me out and told me to try and kick it through the uprights the spring of my junior season, and it was a pretty natural thing."
Tynes walked on at Troy State, and eventually earned a scholarship. This past offseason, his wife Amanda delivered twin boys, Caleb and Jaden, two months premature on July 6. Their sons are completely healthy now, but he admits their condition affected his performance during training camp.
Now, Tynes will be remembered for making one of the most important kicks in Giants history. As he stood in the hall, a half-naked offensive lineman walked by and said, "I love you Tynesy."
To which Tynes responded, "Yeah, but you wouldn't have loved me if I'd missed that kick."
For one night at least, the kicker earned a reprieve. But if he'd missed that 47-yarder, Coughlin would've tied him to the bench.
