New York Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes has been given a surprising opportunity to recreate his unusual pre-game ritual in the lead-up to Sunday’s Super Bowl showdown with the New England Patriots.

Tynes has often calmed his nerves before big games by going outside to hand wash his car, a superstition that began during his college career at Troy University and continued into the professional ranks.

With the Super Bowl being held 700 miles from his New Jersey home, Tynes, who booted the winning field goal to defeat the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game, thought he would miss the opportunity to complete his lucky routine this weekend.

But local car dealer Pat O'Brien of O'Brien Toyota -- ironically located in the Indianapolis suburb of Lawrence -- stepped forward with an offer to give Tynes and his team a helping hand on game day.

"He is very welcome to come down here and we will let him wash any car he wants," says O'Brien, whose family-run business has been in operation since 1933, in a telephone interview with ThePostGame.com. "It might be in the 20s on Sunday though, so it might not be the best idea to do it outside."

Tynes uses his pre-game car wash technique less frequently these days, but believes the process has been of benefit to him during his career, which already boasts one Super Bowl ring from the Giants’ triumph over the Pats in 2008.

"I used to work as a car detailer as a kid," Tynes says. "They only used to give me about $7 an hour but I liked it and the work involved. You can really get into it and use it to take your mind off things and in that way it was great before football games.

"There is definitely an art to detailing a car if you are going to do it properly and it was a cool way of getting ready for games. We will see what happens on Sunday."

Tynes was born in Scotland, where his father was stationed as a Navy SEAL and met his British mother. As a youngster, he harbored dreams of playing professional soccer for the Scottish team Glasgow Celtic, but has instead carved out a decade-long career in the NFL.

The 33-year-old's heroics against the 49ers led to great excitement in his hometown of Greenock, a small and windswept town on the banks of the River Clyde in the west of Scotland.

Initial fears that some residents would be denied the chance to see the Super Bowl due to cable reach restrictions were quelled, and several local pubs will show the game.

"It means a lot to me that people in Scotland will be watching me and hoping the Giants win," Tynes says. "This whole thing just seems a lot more fun to me this time around compared to 2008.

“I am enjoying it more, taking more in, taking more photos and really getting into the spirit of it. It is a special opportunity and it goes by very quickly. I am going to stay relaxed and when the game comes around I will be loose and ready.”

Helped, possibly, by an old superstition and an accommodating car dealer.

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