From Hudson, New Hampshire -
Super Bowl Sunday in the Granite State was not only a day for football, but also an opportunity for voters from this state to get out and sample the candidates for President, as Republicans tried to digest Saturday night's debate showdown between Marco Rubio and Chris Christie and its impact on the GOP race.
Credit: Jamie Dupree
Credit: Jamie Dupree
The guy wasn't a New Hampshire voter - instead he was up here from Connecticut, one of many 'political tourists' who come to the Granite State to check out the candidates.
But he managed to get himself on the TV news, right behind Rubio.
My plan had been to cover Christie, Rubio and then John Kasich on Sunday - but Rubio's delay ruined those plans - I needed to get my blog posted and file my regular radio stories.
I got a good laugh when I got out in the parking lot, as someone had done a little campaign work, printing out the front page of the Boston Herald newspaper, and leaving it on car windshields:
Credit: Jamie Dupree
Credit: Jamie Dupree
I took a photo of that and was ready to start filing, when I realized that I had just made a rookie mistake - my laptop battery was dying.
So, off to McDonald's I went - along with about five other reporters who showed up there - there's nothing that can't be solved by combining burgers, fries and electricity.
As I headed back to my hotel to watch the Super Bowl, I figured out that this was the third Super Bowl that I have watched while on the road covering a political campaign.
The first was in 2000, when Bill Bradley went so long in his Sunday afternoon campaign event in New Hampshire, that people started leaving to go watch the game.
The second was in 2004, when I missed the "wardrobe malfunction" at halftime, because I had put the TV on mute while recording my stories for the next day in South Carolina.
The biggest problem for me on this Super Bowl Sunday was figuring out what I should cover on Monday - so many events, so much driving.
Credit: Jamie Dupree
Credit: Jamie Dupree
As the night wore on, some polling data started to trickle in - none of it showed a big drop for Rubio, but it was clear his momentum had stalled.
It was a reminder to take the polls with a grain of salt, since eight years ago the polls had told us that Barack Obama would win a solid victory against Hillary Clinton.
That did not happen, just as Donald Trump did not win in Iowa last week.
Just something to remember as I drive down New Hampshire 101 again today.
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