THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: Many reasons to tune in ... or not

Why watch today? 

Is it to see if the Chiefs can make history, with a three-peat in the Super Bowl? 

Is it to see if somebody — anybody — finally beat the @#$$#@!*%# Chiefs in a game that matters, for the first time in a long time? 

If you’re a Boise State fanatic, is it to watch one of your favorite sons try to win a Super Bowl as an offensive coordinator, before (reportedly) embarking on his new gig as an NFL head coach? 

Is it just to watch the commercials? Or an excuse to munch on chicken wings and nachos? (Not that that’s a bad thing.) Or to watch the halftime show, and harken back to the days when it consisted of “Up with People,” or a high school marching band?

Is it to count how many times they cut away to a shot of Taylor Swift? Or to see if Taylor and Travis Kelce make any news at the end of the game? 

Or do you go watch the wrestling tournament at North Idaho College, and if the Super Bowl is on when you get home ... bonus. 

OR DOES your mind drift? 

Do you find yourself wondering about the Lovable Zags, confounding enough to be trailing at home in the second half of conference games, but talented enough where they could still win the West Coast Conference tournament, extend their amazing run of NCAA tourney appearances, and maybe even make another Sweet 16 run? 

Do you find yourself thinking about the University of Idaho men’s basketball team — admittedly something few have thought about in recent years? But this year’s bunch gives you reason to watch — there’s a nice local flavor to the Vandals, and they play some pretty good ball at times. Then they play some other kind of ball at times. 

Do you think about how cool it would have been to watch a former Coeur d’Alene High star play in the Super Bowl? 

Do your mind wander back to the other night, watching Washington State play at Oregon State in men’s basketball, and have to remind yourself that this is a West Coast Conference game? And convince yourself that both could be spoilers when the WCC tourney hits Vegas in early March? 

Do you wonder how the upcoming best-of-3 series for the 5A Region 1 girls basketball championship is going to turn out? Sandpoint is the No. 1 seed, buoyed by victories over 6A Lake City and Post Falls. But Lakeland beat Sandpoint twice in Inland Empire League play. And only one team goes to state. 

WHAT IF you’re a fan of the 49ers? Or the Seahawks? Or just about anybody that isn’t the Eagles or the $%#%%& Chiefs? 

If you’re a Niners fan, do you think, we’d have won two of the last five Super Bowls if it hadn’t been for that *&^%$% Mahomes? 

If you’re a Seahawks fan, does your mind drift back to when your team annihilated the Broncos, then goofed up with a chance at a repeat, and haven’t been close since? 

If you’re a Lions fan ... or is that too soon? 

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @CdAPressSports.