L awrence Tynes knows all about the loneliness of the long-distance kicker.

He has been there when a field goal has dropped short or drifted wide and felt the isolation. After eight years in the NFL, he has learned you need a strong support network and he has been fortunate enough to make the two most important kicks of his career – in 2008 at Green Bay Packers' Lambeau Field and, just a fortnight ago, at San Francisco 49ers' Candlestick Park.

Both sent New York Giants to the Super Bowl and when he steps onto the field at the spectacular Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis for Super Bowl XLVI against New England Patriots on Sunday, he knows he will not be alone. In fact, he feels a whole nation is behind him. Yesterday, he was presented with a Scotland football shirt and a good luck message from national team manager Craig Levein. Tynes, a huge Celtic fan, also received a signed shirt from Neil Lennon. Soccer was his first love and he had desires to play professionally in Scotland after the family moved from Campbeltown to Milton, Florida, when he was 11 years old.

Alas, the sunshine state proved too dazzling and from the minute he kicked an American football in high school and discovered he had a talent for it, there was no going back. "It is an honour to kind of represent an entire country," the 33-year-old says. "I know they are all watching and supporting, so that is fun. When you get to this game, you obviously know that people are going to follow and look at you a little bit more closely. I love it. I'm very well aware from all the newspapers over there that the whole country's behind me, so that's exciting.

"I haven't been back for a few years but I am hoping to get back there in April for a Celtic v Rangers game. There has even been some talk of me taking part in the coin toss. Celtic v Rangers isn't as big as this though.

"I grew up as a soccer fan. I played it after school every day and kicked a ball on the way to school. I dreamed of growing up and playing for Celtic. Even when we moved to the US I planned to come back and play soccer, but the beaches in Pensicola were white and the weather was great so it was tough to miss Scotland too much.

"I am very proud of my Scottish background and it is an honour to feel I am representing the country over here. I still follow Celtic and my two children [Caleb and Jaden] have Celtic kits. My mum [Margaret-Ann] still has a very strong Scottish accent. When I speak to her after the games I often put her on speaker phone because the other guys love it."

Tynes has earned the reputation of being one of the toughest kickers in the league having converted overtime field goals in extreme weather conditions to send the Giants to two Super Bowls. At a frozen Lambeau Field in 2008, he famously kicked the game winner in one of the coldest games in NFL history to dump the Green Bay Packers – after missing two easier kicks in the final quarter. That earned him coast-to-coast coverage in the US and even an appearance on the David Letterman chat show.

Last month, he repeated the feat when he kicked another overtime field goal against San Francisco 49ers to put the Giants in this year's showpiece – in driving rain and treacherous underfoot conditions.

Has it gone through his mind that he could go one better on Sunday and kick the winning kick in a Super Bowl? "You think about it," he admitted. "We're at this game. It would only be right if I think about it. Of course, a lot of things would have to happen for that to come true, but you have to be ready. I'm mentally ready for that if it comes down to it. You just have to be ready, take care of your training this week and rely on past successes. Sure I'm ready for it.

"You make it and you win. They're like walk-off homers. Adam [Vinatieri, former Patriots' kicker] has had two in the Super Bowl, which is amazing. Those are fun, that's the only word to describe it. You get to turn around and see 52 grown men acting like kids again. That's the best part.

"I feel blessed and privileged to be playing this game and I just work my butt off every week to keep my job. The last Super Bowl went past in a blur but I am determined to really enjoy this one. At 33, it could be my last. I would love to have a kick to win the game."

But Tynes knows he is walking a tightrope every time he goes up to make a kick. That was evident just a fortnight ago when Baltimore Ravens' kicker Billy Cundiff missed a 32-yard field goal in the dying seconds of the AFC Championship game which sent the Patriots to the Super Bowl. Just four hours later, Tynes made his 31-yard overtime field goal at San Francisco 49ers to give the Giants their Super Bowl place.

While Tynes was praised for his toughness, Cundiff was cruelly labelled "Billy Goat" by some sections of the US media. "It is a privilege to play in this league – it is not a right," stressed Tynes. "No-one has to play in this. "I have just been blessed to be around good teams, good coaches, good players. That is the reason we are in this game again, it is not just because of me, but because of the guys that are in that locker-room."