By GLEN JOHNSON
AP Political Writer
Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney watched with elation and then heartbreak as his New England Patriots pulled ahead but then blew a last-minute lead on Sunday to lose the Super Bowl to the New York Giants.
"You stay here and watch the celebration; I'm going to bed," the former Massachusetts governor told his traveling press corps after watching his hometown team lose upon arriving in Tennessee from Missouri.
Putting on his analyst cap, he added: "It was (Giants quarterback Eli) Manning breaking loose of that sack and throwing the ball that was the play that did it." On the play Romney described, Manning escaped the grasp of several Patriots defenders before heaving the football 32 yards to receiver David Tyree.
It resulted in a first-down on the Patriots' 14-yard line with 40 seconds left.
At the time, Romney told the crowd, "That's trouble. That's trouble right there."
Four plays later, he sat silent, decked in a Super Bowl cap, as the Giants celebrated the 13-yard winning pass from Manning to receiver Plaxico Burress.
Romney had been festive upon arrival at the Hilton Garden Inn after a short flight from Missouri, where he watched the game's kickoff at a party in the St. Louis suburb of Maryland Heights.
He was touched each place, as well as Minnesota and Illinois, on Sunday as he made his own last-ditch effort to catch GOP front-runner John McCain in the 21 states voting on Super Tuesday.
His close friend and former business associate, Bob White, had beer, pizza and a bag of Super Bowl hats waiting for the arriving travelers. Romney, who eschews liquor for religious reasons, drank spring water.
The excitement heightened when the Patriots took a 14-10 lead late in the fourth quarter, but the cheers turned to groans as Manning led the Giants down the field for the winning score.
Asked if he saw a political metaphor in the seesaw game, Romney quickly said, "No," before adding, "I'll tell you when the game is over."
After the loss, he shook the hands of reporters from The New York Times and New York Daily News, each of whom he had given Patriots hats in Missouri in an attempt to turn their allegiance.
Earlier in the day, Romney revealed that he and Patriots quarterback Tom Brady exchanged e-mails on Saturday.
He said the two didn't talk politics, but simply well wishes in their respective competitions.
Romney wouldn't say how he had Brady's e-mail but that he sent him a message on his Blackberry and Brady replied with kind words.
Romney said: "He's not endorsing anybody. For all I know he's a fan of somebody else."
Waving his Blackberry, Romney joked that he sent Brady a couple of plays.
Then he added: "I wish he'd send me a couple of plays."
