Romney forgoes Super Bowl for campaign trail

CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) – Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney won’t be glued to a TV like most Americans when his undefeated New England Patriots take on the New York Giants in Sunday night’s Super Bowl.

Such is life on the campaign trail with just two days to go until Super Tuesday, and a strict travel schedule trumps watching your hometown team on their quest for a perfect season.

“We’re going to be seeing it in St. Louis, and then seeing it again when we land [in Nashville tonight],” Romney told disappointed traveling reporters on the plane before taking off from Chicago to St. Louis. “We’ll miss the middle.”

Romney revealed that he traded emails with Patriots’ star quarterback Tom Brady on Saturday to wish him luck. Holding up his BlackBerry, he joked, “I actually sent him a couple of plays, I’ll show you what I got,” before adding, “I wish he’d send me a couple plays.”

Keeping the football theme going while talking about the race, Romney said “I don’t think anybody has a perfect season so far, I wish it were that kind of a race but I’m afraid it’s much closer.”

He compared the media’s political coverage to a game’s halftime analysis: “They’re going back and forth and they act like they’ve got it all clear, and then you go on to the second half and it’s not at all like they said.”

As it turns out, rival John McCain will be watching the game on Romney’s turf in Boston. New York Sen. Hillary Clinton will be watching her Giants in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Asked if he would call Clinton if New York prevails, Romney told CNN, “I don’t think so. I thought Rudy [Giuliani] and I would have a bet on this, but we never got around to it.”

- CNN Political Producer Alexander Marquardt