Look up, N. Idaho sports fans

The last piece of confetti had barely hit the desert ground Sunday night when Las Vegas oddsmakers were anointing the champions of Super Bowl 50.

Yep: Your Seattle Seahawks.

While betting odds for 2016 can't un-do the 2015 damage done to Seahawk Nation by Pete Carroll - er, by the New England Patriots - they certainly portend super things for this upstart football factory. Bet a buck on the Hawks and, if they win it all next year, you'll get just five smackaroos back, early odds indicated. The mighty Patriots were next in line at 6 to 1; the Packers at 7 to 1; the Broncos at 8 to 1 and the rest of the NFL trailed from there. The Raiders, Jaguars and Buccaneers really trailed from there; all were installed at odds of 300 to 1.

We point this out not to encourage wagering, heaven forbid, but to help salve the grievous wound inflicted by Carroll - uh, the Patriots - with abundant hope for the future. And hope is the first step toward ultimate victory.

In this passionate land of ours, how our teams do goes far in defining how we see ourselves. Well, that's true of all of us fans who are truly fanatic, anyway. The others might be saner and generally healthier than we fanatics, but look at all the heartache, wasted money and hangovers they're missing!

For North Idaho fans, ethereal athletic aspirations don't begin with next year's Seahawks, either. Have you noticed the college basketball team just west of us that's putting together a pretty good season? Gonzaga has lost but once in 23 games, and is ranked second in the entire nation. The Zags will likely be favored in every game during the remainder of the regular season, their conference tournament, and then the first few games at least of the NCAA Tournament. Final Four? National champs? Well, Kentucky and a couple others might have something to say about that, but most basketball experts agree that this Gonzaga team is poised to go further than any of its fabulous predecessors. Just don't let Pete Carroll near the bench.