If this doesn’t convince you, know that it was written in a spirit of good humor and fun by John D. Spalding, editor of SoMAreview.com, and author of “A Pilgrim’s Digress: My Perilous, Fumbling Quest for the Celestial City.”

“…we Americans lack a day that corresponds to the Pagan rites that followed six or so weeks after solstice, halfway to the Spring equinox. Groundhog Day, when Punxsutawney Phil bobs out of his hole to presage the end of winter, has been the closest “tradition we have. As our culture gets farther away from its former familiarity with the groundhog’s seasonal habits, the less we truly rely on Phil as a focus of our midwinter hopes and fears.

“The Pagans, of course, have an answer. On Feb. 2, while the rest of us go through the motions of watching Phil, many Pagans celebrate the feast of Imbolc. (Some Wiccan sects celebrate it as early as Jan. 29, while others wait till Feb. 3.) Imbolc is the ancient holiday wherein one forgot winter’s doldrums and looked forward to spring and renewal. Irish druids considered Imbolc the “festival of lactating sheep,” because this was the time of year when the local livestock had just given birth and were producing the milk of life.

“The Super Bowl is perfectly suited to be our national Imbolc, a midwinter hurrah looking forward to Spring. It has this same tendency to turn toward the sun–the game is always played in destinations we visit on winter vacations–and anticipates the transition of the seasons–the end of the NFL’s winter run, with baseball’s pitchers and catchers due at spring training a spare few weeks later.”

Read the whole thing here.