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A dozen Barack Obama supporters listened intently inside Page One Bookstore in the Northeast Heights.

They were being instructed on door-to-door canvassing Sunday.

That would be Super Bowl Sunday.

But with just a few days to go before another `super' day — Super Tuesday — these volunteers were forgoing much of their traditional pigskin ritual in exchange for urging registered Democrats to vote Tuesday for the first-term Illinois senator.

"We only get one chance to change the country," said Maggie Thompson, the Obama campaign field organizer instructing the canvassers. "The Super Bowl happens every year."

The New Mexico campaigns for Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton, the two remaining Democrats fighting for New Mexico's delegates to the Democratic National Convention, pushed forward Sunday, energized by new momentum created by recent visits from both candidates.

On Friday, Obama drew a total of about 6,000 supporters to events in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

In Albuquerque, lines wrapped around the Albuquerque Convention Center, and the candidate jumped on the Civic Plaza stage to address 1,500 people waiting outside. Campaign officials said the Santa Fe event drew so many people that some supporters ditched their cars and walked more than a mile to attend the event.

"We've always seen ourselves as the underdogs in this campaign," Trevor FitzGibbon, a spokesman for the Obama campaign in New Mexico, said Sunday. "Something's happened in the last 48 hours with Barack's trip here. We're seeing some serious momentum."

Meanwhile, Clinton arrived at Highland High School on Saturday night to a crowd of more than 3,000 people. Outlining her vision for America, she urged supporters to help her make history as the country's first female president.

"I want you to hire me for the hardest job in the world, and I want you to know what I will do for you," said Clinton, joined by her daughter, Chelsea. "Let's go make history together."

Mara Lee, state director for the Clinton Campaign, said the former first lady's appearance lit a fire under her New Mexico support.

"People were chanting. There was a woman crying," Lee said. "People are just so excited about Hillary Clinton being the nominee and being a part of that. The outpouring of support we've been seeing in the last few days has been tremendous."

Those appearances were preceded by stops in Albuquerque and Santa Fe on Thursday by former President Clinton and Sen. Edward Kennedy, the high-profile surrogates for Hillary Clinton and Obama.

And there's more on tap for today.

Obama's wife, Michelle, is scheduled to make an appearance in Las Cruces.

Clinton is hosting a national town-hall discussion, where she will field questions from supporters gathered in each of the 22 states holding Democratic nominating elections Tuesday. In New Mexico, they will gather at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque where the event will start at 7 p.m. The doors open at 5:30 p.m.; at 6 p.m. the local supporters will collectively decide on a question to ask Clinton.

The race between Obama and Clinton is a tight one. National polls are showing the two just a few percentage points apart.

A Washington Post-ABC News poll released Sunday showed Clinton leading Obama 47 percent to 43 percent, with a 3 percent margin of error.

A poll of New Mexico voters conducted by a New Mexico State University political science class had Obama up 48 percent to 42 percent within the state, according to a post by New Mexico politics blogger Heath Haussamen. That gap that falls within the poll's 7 percent margin for error, Haussamen reported.

While more than 100,000 Democrats voted in 2004's New Mexico nominating caucus, party leaders have predicted a much smaller turnout Tuesday.

Brian Col¢n, chairman of the New Mexico Democratic Party, said that campaign was hotly contested on TV and radio. That hasn't been the case this year — until the past few days, that is.

Col¢n said last week that turnout will come from grass-roots campaigning.

"This is not a campaign that was campaigned on the media waves. This really is a grass-roots effort," he said.

Those efforts were apparent Sunday.

Henry Cisneros, the former secretary of Housing and Urban Development, was campaigning in Las Cruces for Clinton. Snow stopped the campaign's canvassers in Santa Fe from knocking on doors, but they switched to phone banks, Lee said.

Many of the Clinton supporters locally took a break for last night's Super Bowl. Carter Bundy, the New Mexico political and legislative director for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, was hosting about 50 Clinton supporters during a Super Bowl party at his home.

"It's Super Sunday before Super Tuesday," Bundy said. "Everybody gets to enjoy the Super Bowl and then go back to work."

Former President Clinton and Gov. Bill Richardson watched the game together in Santa Fe, but the social call didn't yield any endorsement from Richardson, who ended his own bid for the presidency last month.

"He hasn't made up his mind, and he may not endorse." Richardson spokesman Pahl Shipley told the Associated Press.

The Obama campaign on Sunday planned to knock on up to 30,000 doors in six New Mexico cities, along with operating a phone bank, FitzGibbon said. The campaign's canvassers were paying particular attention to giving voters details of where to vote in tomorrow's caucus, he said.

"One of the things we're finding is that many voters don't know where they need to go to cast their vote," FitzGibbon said. "There's a huge kind of lack of education out there as we get into the actual election."

Back at Page One, the dozen Obama volunteers were getting ready to hit the streets, armed with the names and addresses of 63 registered Democrats from nearby neighborhoods.

Among those volunteers was Donald Marsh, 60, of Santa Fe, who heard Obama deliver a speech in April and has been hooked ever since.

"It's been a long time since a political person has spoke to my heart," Marsh said, by way of explaining why he's volunteering. "I feel this country needs a lot of change."