XLVIII-gun Seahawk salute

Unless you've got Elway-autographed horseshoes tattooed over your heart or Niner Fever overheating your brain, today is officially North Idaho Seahawks Bandwagon Day.

See, there's a football game on the East Coast that has generated some excitement. It's Super Bowl XLVIII, which is the 48th Super Bowl, for those of you keeping score at home.

We don't know why Roman numerals are attached to an American football game, but we do know that this is only the second time the Seattle Seahawks have ever played for what's known as the game's world championship, even though the vast majority of the world doesn't have an NFL team.

We also know that the Seahawks are a relatively young NFL franchise, having been hatched in a Seattle aerie known as the Kingdome in 1976. The Chicago Bears, on the other hand, once played the Packers with spiked clubs and a baby woolly mammoth's skull for a ball, but you will note that neither the Bears nor the Packers are in this Super Bowl.

The Seahawks are.

Your Seahawks are.

Because Northwesterners can all get behind the regional team and a certain newspaper that's dear to our hearts might sell a few extra copies of tomorrow's special World Championship Edition XLVIII - sounds more exciting than Monday morning rag, doesn't it? - we encourage everybody reading this editorial to root wildly for your Seahawks today. Super Bowl television coverage started about a month ago, and kickoff is officially set for 3:30 this afternoon.

There's still room on the North Idaho Seahawks bandwagon, so hop aboard.