One question answered, but there was still one to go across America yesterday after the world’s most famous groundhog emerged, saw no shadow in the snowy morning light, and proclaimed an early spring.
It was still hours before millions of Super Bowl fans were to learn who has taken the crown as the greatest team in football.
Just after sunrise, the bucktoothed rodent named Punxsutawney Phil squirmed before an enormous crowd chanting “Phil, Phil, Phil” at the 134th seasonal prognostication in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, about 129km northeast of Pittsburgh.
“There is no shadow of me. Spring will be early. It’s a certainty,” a top-hat wearing organiser read from a scroll after the animal failed to cast a shadow as snowflakes swirled around him.
Cheers erupted from the crowd wearing knitted hats, carrying children bundled in bright-coloured hooded winter parkas.
Each February 2, known as Groundhog Day, crowds gather on a small hill known as Gobbler’s Knob for the festivities.
The legendary prediction is rooted in the belief that if the groundhog casts a shadow, winter will endure for six more weeks. No shadow means an early spring.
But this year, yesterday also happened to be Super Bowl Sunday, and millions were poised to watch the wildly popular US sporting event to see whether the San Francisco 49ers or Kansas City Chiefs would emerge victorious. There was no word from groundhog Phil about his bet for the winner of Super Bowl LIV.